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,

It’s March now, and we are waiting to see if it comes in like a lion or like a lamb. Either way, we started it off right – spending time with God during the Ash Wednesday service. It gave us time to reflect on how important God is to our relationship. We haven’t achieved daily couple prayer but we are still working toward that goal.

We would like to congratulate Fr. Lou Busemeyer, SJ, on presenting the February Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend. It was his first time as a presenting priest and he did a great job. If you see him, give him a hug. The February weekend was full, and had a waiting list, until right before the weekend. The illnesses traveling through our area took its toll on those registered. The Weekend did go on, and it was a POWERFUL one! Please keep those couples in your prayers. We had to make the tough decision to cancel our March 3-5 weekend in the Milwaukee area due to low registration. It is a hard reminder to us that we need to be passionately inviting to the weekend. Our next Weekend is May 5-7 and we ask all of you to invite a couple to this weekend. All married couples deserve the gift of the Weekend for their relationship and sacrament.

Many couples in the Rockford/Madison/Milwaukee area have been busy preparing for upcoming events. The Putting on the Ritz dance is scheduled for April 22 at St. Patrick’s Mission Church. It’s the same place as last year. The RMM campout is scheduled for June 23 – 25 at the Hidden Valley Campground in Milton, Wisconsin. Then there is the Section 6/7 Convention scheduled July 21 – 23 in Collinsville, IL. The theme is “Be the Light”. We’d like to personally invite every one of you to attend convention and experience the Worldwide Marriage Encounter movement in force. We have a big van that we can all pile in and drive together! We know that this convention will be awesome as the outline committee couples are all from the Chicago region!! Give us a call if you need a ride!! There is also a Marriage Enrichment in the works for Saturday, September 30th. This one is for the Joliet, Chicago, and Rockford/Madison/Milwaukee areas. Couples from all areas in Section 7 will be invited. We promise no snow for this one! (We had a Marriage Enrichment last year in the middle of a snowstorm!) We hope to see you at one (or more!) of these events. You can get more information regarding these events at your local community meetings or on the web site: alifetimeoflove.org.

In closing we thank you for all your inviting efforts and for your support within your local communities!! Here’s our best advice: keep dialoguing, keep making those daily decisions to love, fight for your relationship!!

Remember the list you made on the Weekend? Do you have this list of all the couples/priests you want to invite? This month’s idea is to recreate that list, update it, and place it on your refrigerator. Then, each Sunday in Lent, as a family light a votive candle and pray for these couples/priests to open their hearts to the invitation of a Weekend. Let your light shine. And if any of these folks come for a visit, see their name on your fridge, let them know that you are praying for them, their family and their marriage!

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.

A religious couple felt it was important to own an equally religious pet. So they visited a breeder and found a Golden Retriever they liked. When they asked the dog to fetch the Bible, he did it in a flash. When they instructed him to look up Psalm 23, he complied quickly, using his paws with dexterity. They were so impressed that they bought him.

That night they had friends over. They were so proud of their new dog and his skills that they showed him off a little. The friends were impressed and asked whether the dog was able to do any of the usual dog tricks, as well. This stopped the couple cold, as they hadn't thought about normal tricks.

"Well," they said, "let's try this out." Once more, they called the dog over and then clearly said the command, "Heel!"

Quick as a wink, the dog jumped up, put his paw on the man's forehead, closed his eyes in concentration and prayed.

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