Engaged Encounter

What is Engaged Encounter?

Engaged Encounter is a weekend where an atmosphere is created in which engaged couples can concentrate on one another, free of tensions and pressures and tensions of the world. It is a weekend specifically designed to give the couples planning marriage an opportunity to dialogue honestly and intensively about their prospective lives together...their strengths and weaknesses; their desires, ambitions, their goals, their attitudes about money, sex, children, family; their role in the Church and society in a face to face way. It is a working weekend not a vacation. 

Who is it for?

Any couple planning marriage who desires a richer, fuller life together. Engaged Encounter is designed to deepen and enrich your relationship with each other. 

Do you have to be Catholic?

 It is primarily for couples being married in the Catholic Church, however it is open to all, including those planning an interfaith marriage or a Christian marriage in another Church. 

What happens at an encounter? 

Through a series of ideas presented by a team of married couples and a priest, the couple is stimulated to dialogue privately with each other on all aspects of married life... always from the viewpoint of their relationship. Personal reflections and couple dialogue are the main thrust of the weekend, with communal meals and the Sunday Liturgy Providing group participation. The biggest surprise to most couples who have attended a weekend, was that they thought they had really talked about all the ideas presented, but they discovered so much more about each other on the weekend. Some have said they talked around lots of things and had not really gotten into them until the Engaged Encounter Weekend. 

Is it a sensitivity course?

DEFINITELY NOT... The emphasis of the weekend is quiet and low key. The encounter specifically designed for communication between the couple. 

What is Catholic Engaged Encounter? 

Catholic Engaged Encounter (CEE) is recognized, both nationally and internationally, as a marriage preparation program designed to meet the needs of engaged couples preparing for a marriage in the Church. Engaged Encounter introduces couples to an individual writing and sharing communication technique that they can use effectively to foster a deeper understanding of each other. The Encounter presents marriage as a sacrament, a vocation, and that God and prayer are essential to a fruitful marriage. .Each couple is challenged to use "decision-making processes" to examine the motives for seeking marriage. The teams are serious about marriage, and believe that marriage is a sacrament and should not be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but deliberately, and seriously.

CEE is an intensive weekend of preparation, in which each couple is offered the time and opportunity to question, examine, and deepen their relationship, share in community and be open to God's plan. Topics covered during the weekend include: self-awareness, values and ideals, community, sexuality, communication, decision making, Natural Family Planning, vocations, sacraments, prayer and unity. 

When and Where? 

Engaged Encounter Weekends are held in various locations, including St. Edwards Church in Lake Country (20min North of Kelowna and 30min South of Vernon). Directions will be included with your registration confirmation. The weekend begins on Saturday at 7:45am with breakfast and registration and ends Sunday at approximately 4:30 pm. 

What is The Cost? 

Usually $175.00per couple; this includes 5 meals, supplies etc.
Please make cheques payable to: CATHOLIC ENGAGED ENCOUNTER 

When should we register? 

As soon as you decide to make a weekend, since room on each weekend is limited. 

EE in the Diocese of Nelson
There is no Engaged Encounter Coordinating Couple in the Diocese of Nelson at the present time.  For information about Engaged Encounter in the Archdiocese of Vancouver, just Google "Catholic Engaged Encounter" and follow the link for Vancouver.