About the Marriage Encounter Movement

Introduction

Marriage Encounter in the UK is part of the Worldwide Marriage Encounter movement which is active in over 80 countries. It seeks to offer couples a new and enriched vision for their marriage principally through the experience of Marriage Encounter and Engaged Encounter weekends.  Over 2.5 million couples have attended weekends since the movement started in 1962.

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Belief and Purpose

Marriage Encounter believes that marriage should be a deep source of joy and vitality.  Weekend programmes are run where married couples can experience the full richness of intimacy possible in marriage, and recognise in their own terms their vision for their relationship. The couples learn communication techniques appropriate to the stage of their relationship specifically intended to support and encourage an ongoing attitude of intimate and responsible living.  The movement also offers ongoing support for those who wish to continue their journey with others of like mind.

Marriage Encounter is based on Christian principles, and presents its message in a way that is accessible to Christians and non-Christians alike.

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The Weekend Programme

Both Marriage Encounter and Engaged Encounter weekends follow a similar format.  The weekend is residential, held in hotels or conference centres, and runs from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon.  The weekend consists of a series of presentations by three or four couples, one of them a clergy couple, who share deeply on their personal experiences of different aspects of married life.  The presentations encourage couples to consider their understanding of themselves, their relationship with each other, their relationship with God and with the world around them.   Following each presentation, couples are encouraged to reflect as individuals on what they have heard and then talk together as a couple in the privacy of their own room.

This pattern of presentation, reflection and dialogue continues throughout the weekend.   It is an intensive programme which provides the couple with the opportunity to get away from the pressures of life and concentrate on each other and their relationship. There is no group work because the focus is on the couple's own relationship.  The weekend is led by couples who have themselves experienced the weekend and then received further training in the aims and concepts of Marriage Encounter.   All weekends, wherever they are presented, follow a specified set of outlines which ensure the continuity, comparability and quality of weekends.

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Who is the Weekend for?

• Engaged Encounter is for any engaged couple who wish to deepen their relationship and build a solid foundation for their marriage.  It is also suitable for newly married couples.
• Marriage Encounter is for any couple who love each other and are open to the possibility of growth in their marriage.
• Couples of all ages have attended Marriage Encounter weekends, from those married only a few years to grandparents married for many years.  However it is recommended that couples wait a while after their wedding before attending this weekend
• The weekend is based on a Christian understanding of marriage, but has much to offer those of other faiths or none.
• Couples who are currently undergoing counselling are recommended to complete their course before attending a weekend.
• The weekend is not for couples whose marriage is going through major difficulties.  The focus is on discovering and building on the strengths of a marriage.

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Financial Basis

All weekends are financed in advance.  No couple, therefore, is prevented from going on a weekend for lack of finances.  Couples are asked only to pay a small booking fee, which is transferable if the couple has to postpone and re-book.  Accommodation and all meals are provided.  At the end of the weekend couples are given the opportunity to make a confidential donation, as they wish, towards the cost of future weekends for other couples.

Marriage Encounter  receives no financial support from outside bodies including the church, and its work is financed solely through the donations of couples who have attended weekends.  The Trustees' Report and Accounts are filed annually with the Charities Commission.

Each Expression of Marriage Encounter operates as an independent charity as follows

Day to day administration of each Expression is handled by its own National Board and officers, who are all volunteers and work from their own homes

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Relationship to the Church and Other Marriage Groups

Each Expression of Marriage Encounter works within the doctrines of its own Church but in all cases the charities are independent of the church itself.

The three expressions of Marriage Encounter  in the UK (Anglican, Baptist and Roman Catholic) work in close co-operation together and with the  Worldwide Marriage Encounter movement internationally.

Marriage Encounter is a member of  Promoting Marriage, which is an umbrella group of Christian marriage organisations under the auspices of Care for the Family. Anglican Marriage Encounter is affiliated to
Marriage Resource. Baptist Marriage Encounter is a member of Evangelical Alliance.

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Other Programmes of Marriage Encounter

Engaged Workshop is a six hour non-residential marriage preparation programme encompassing much of the teaching of Marriage Encounter and Engaged Encounter which can be run locally by couples from a church or similar group.  Materials for the preparation of talks, advice on how to set up the workshop and training for couples presenting the workshop are provided.  Couples attending a workshop would find an Engaged Encounter weekend a useful addition to their preparation for marriage.

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History of the Marriage Encounter Movement

The Marriage Encounter movement began in Spain in 1962 when a Roman Catholic priest, Father Calvo, presented the first Marriage Encounter weekend to 28 couples in Barcelona.  He saw the need to encourage married couples in their communication and saw the potential of their love in reaching out to their families and communities.  He recognised that the ideal for marriage was a deep unity and intimacy which would influence society at large in spite of the pressures of modern life.

The movement spread rapidly to South America and then soon became established throughout North America before spreading to Europe, Africa and Australasia.  The movement also spread into other parts of the church and to the Jewish community.  The Roman Catholic Expression held its first weekend in UK in 1972 and the Anglican and Baptist Expressions in 1978.

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