WORLDWIDE Marriage Encounter (WWME), a ministry formed to proclaim the value of marriage and holy orders, will celebrate 40 years of work in Australia on August 17.
Founded in Spain in 1952, WWME spread to Sydney in 1974, and then to other parts of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
The work of WWME revolves around a ‘Marriage Encounter Weekend’, in which married couples and priests learn skills to communicate better, coordinator Max Mayes told The Record.
“I don’t like to think of it as a one-off, all-fix weekend, but the weekend is pivotal in having that process of dialogue start,” he said.
There are usually three Marriage Encounter Weekends held in Perth every year, each attracting about 10 couples. Mr Mayes said the weekend involved very little spontaneous individual sharing, but followed a more structured format.
“There are three married couples that are experienced in the process that present and there’s a marriage encounter priest,” he said.
“All of them share from their own lives… the people attending the weekend reflect on what they’ve heard and the couples dialogue individually in privacy.
“In that way they gradually come to understand more about themselves and about each other and learning the value of dialogue.”
As the new WWME ecclesial team for Perth, Mr Mayes, his wife Annie, and Fr Emil Ciecierega SDS recently met Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB.
“We were delighted to meet him,” Mr Mayes said.
“We had some discussion about problems we’re facing and the kind of things we’ve achieved and Archbishop Costelloe gave us quite a bit of advice and encouragement.
“The Church and the Archdiocese are very interested in the family unit, as being crucial to the basis of the Church and our society.”
With marriage breakdown common even among Catholics, Mr Mayes said WWME aim to help marriages to succeed and families stay together.
“The ongoing cycle that broken marriages sets off is terrible,” he said.
“We talk about youth ministry and all that kind of thing, but really, in the first place, if marriages are strong and healthy, everything looks after itself.”
Mr Mayes said WWME has helped thousands of people in Australia, Catholics and non- Catholics, over the years.
“It was really big, in terms of the number of people that were coming through, some years ago, but we’ve gone through a bit of a lull in the last five years, but we’re starting to see a bit of a kick up again,” he said.
It is hoped the ministry’s 40th anniversary celebrations on August 17 will attract many previous Marriage Encounter Weekend participants, as well as anyone interested in the work of WWME.
Archbishop Emeritus Barry Hickey will celebrate Mass at St Thomas More Parish in Bateman at 11am to mark the occasion, followed by a shared lunch and presentations from several couples.
Mr Mayes said his and his wife’s experience at a Marriage Encounter Weekend had inspired them to want others to also gain the benefits of the program. “Ours was a perfunctory kind of marriage in many ways when I look back, we were just sort of going through the motions,” he said.
“We did the weekend first in October 2008 and it was life-changing, but it was the beginning of big changes in our relationship, because of the tools and structures made available to us.
“Through WWME we’ve really got a deeper and more fully expressed relationship and I’d just love that for everyone here in Western Australia and indeed in the world.”