The WWME Convention for Sections 6 & 7 keeps getting closer and closer. Have you registered yet? If not, register here.

Planning is in full swing and it looks as though this is going to be a great convention. The theme for this convention is "Be The Light."

Be sure to check out the web site by clicking here.

Garry & Arla Thomas
(847) 658-1585
getart@flash.net

Hello Lovers,

Ahh, February, the month of Love! Valentine's Day is quickly approaching. Have you found a way to surprise your sweetheart? You may want to take a look at the love coupons available on the web site under "Fun Zone"! Happy Valentine's Day!

We are looking forward to the February 10-12 weekend at Bishop Lane in Rockford. We are excited for the couples attending the weekend and are praying for them and the presenting team. We ask you to also keep these couples and our priest Father Lou Busemeyer in your prayers as the weekend begins.

We would like everyone, ourselves included, to adopt a sense of urgency when it comes to inviting other couples, praying for them after they register, and journeying with them after their weekend. This is our mission! This is our ministry! Jesus commanded us to "love one another as I have loved you." And He loved us to His death. Can we take five minutes and say an "Our Father" or "Hail Mary" for the couples and religious we want to invite? Can we take a few extra minutes after Mass and spend time with them, just listening to their struggles and successes? And the hardest for us since we are always on the go with one of the kids, can we take 30 minutes to stop over to see them to say hi - or call them on the phone just to talk?

I know that when I (Garry) am in relationship with Arla that I can see God more readily in our Sacrament. The same holds true when we are in relationship with others, especially our Share Group. Jesus is calling us to be present to others just as He was present to the Apostles. He is calling us to do it now, in His time, not in ours. There are so many couples who have barely scratched the surface of what their sacramental relationship could be. Do you remember how you felt Sunday night of your weekend? We were flying! We couldn't stop talking about what we experienced on the weekend and how we felt like newlyweds again. We need to be that beacon of light calling to those couples who haven't taken the time to make their relationship the best it can be. We need to be calling them home - calling them to God. Every couple deserves the rewards of a loving, responsible and sacramental relationship.

What a perfect month to plan that romance dinner. Get your community going by finding the place, planning the menu, put together the invitations. If couples have been dodging you about making a weekend, this is the perfect tool to get them on board. Plus, it is a great community builder besides! Have fun with it.

The Presenting Team community prays the Rosary at 7:00 pm on the 1st Thursday of every month. The evening is open to all Encountered couples and their families. We all know the power of prayer, so pray the Rosary as often as you can.

Check the web site for more information on location and dates or call Ben & Jane Deutsch at (630) 377-0635.

Is the Spirit calling you to be more involved in the WWME movement? The Rockford/Madison/Milwaukee Marriage Encounter Community is in great need of couples who ant to be more actively involved in changing the world one couple at a time! Listed below are some of the ways you can help. If you have any questions about any of these jobs or if you're a Community Leader and have a couple in mind that you think would be a great asset to any of these communities please contact Ben & Jane Deutsch at (630) 377-0635 for more information.

SUPPORT COMMUNITY
House/Greeter Couple: Responsible for the set up and takedown of the Weekend. This job is split between 2 couples. This couple is also responsible for scheduling communities to greet on & off for the Weekend.
Prayer Couple Coordinator East: This couple is responsible for making sure all couples on the Weekend from the Eastern part of the Rockford Diocese have a prayer couple and extended Dialogue letter.
Prayer Couple Coordinator North: This couple is responsible for making sure that all Wisconsin couples making the Weekend have a prayer couple and extended dialogue letter.

CONTINUING THE JOURNEY COMMUNITY
Zone Leaders : This couple would coordinate communication from the Continuing the Journey coordinators to the local communities in their zone and attend scheduled meetings to relay and receive information regarding communities within their zone.

INVITING COMMUNITY
Ministry Fair Coordinators: This couple would be responsible for tracking and getting help, if needed, for parish ministry fairs.
Media Coordinators: This couple would be responsible for planning and placing ads in different Catholic publications. They would also explore other media vehicles for getting the WWME word out to people.
Mass Talk Workshop Couple(s): This couple/couples would be responsible for coordinating those couples who already have Mass talks written. They would also workshop couples who would like to write and present Mass talks throughout the 3 dioceses.
Pulpit Pal Coordinators: This couple would be responsible with the scheduling and maintenance of our pulpit pal boards. These new inviting tools are used in the backs of various churches as another means for getting the word out for the Weekend.

Please prayerfully consider one of these or other roles within our Worldwide Marriage Encounter community. Also, please take the time to complete our survey so that you can "Share Your Couple Love" with the community at large.

There was a man who had worked all of his life and had saved all of his money. He was a real miser when it came to his money. He loved money more than just about anything, and just before he died, he said to his wife, "Now listen, when I die, I want you to take all my money and place it in the casket with me. I wanna take my money to the afterlife."

So he got his wife to promise him with all her heart that when he died, she would put all the money in the casket with him.

Well, one day he died. He was stretched out in the casket, the wife was sitting there in black next to her closest friend. When they finished the ceremony, just before the undertakers got ready to close the casket, the wife said "Wait just a minute!" She had a shoe box with her, she came over with the box and placed it in the casket.

Then the undertakers locked the casket down and rolled it away. Her friend said, "I hope you weren't crazy enough to put all that money in the casket."

She said, "Yes, I promised. I'm a good Christian, I can't lie. I promised him that I was going to put that money in that casket with him."

"You mean to tell me you put every cent of his money in the casket with him?"

"I sure did," said the wife. "I got it all together, put it into my account and I wrote him a check."

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