Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1) What is an Engaged Encounter?

Engaged Encounter is one of the approved marriage preparation programs available to couples being married in the Catholic Church. Engaged Encounter is an investment in the future--a weekend experience in which an atmosphere is created that enables each couple to concentrate exclusively on one another while free of the pressures and interruptions of daily life. It is a weekend to be shared privately by a couple, though the weekend will have approximately 25 couples attending. The weekend is not a recreational retreat. The weekend utilizes a dynamic process based on listening, writing and dialogue. It gives couples making a commitment to Christian covenant marriage the opportunity for honest intensive communication about their future lives together. Engaged Encounter is a program designed to give each couple an opportunity to discuss honestly with each other, in a face-to-face manner, their strengths and weaknesses, desires, ambitions, goals, their attitudes about money, sex, family, their role in the church and in society. The couples are urged to communicate in terms of planning a marriage, not only as a wedding day celebration, but as a lifelong commitment to each other.