Dear Lovers,

Ahh, we can feel Spring in the air and it feels good!! I (Arla) am definitely looking forward to longer sunnier days!! What a change from a few weekends ago when we faced blizzard warnings! We want to thank those brave couples who braved the snow to attend "Romance After the Fairy Tale". Despite the snow we had a great turnout! 16 couples experienced Rory Rowland's lively and very interactive and informative presentation. We had many excited and positive comments about this enrichment. The biggest complaint was that it was too short! We'll keep that in mind for next time. Rory's presentation really was a gift to our area and we wish you all could of been there.

We also want to send a HUGE THANK YOU to Rory Rowland for flying in early to avoid the storm and giving the gift of his presentation to our area. We will be working with with our Parish Marriage Enrichment committee to bring more events like this to our area. If you have ideas to share or would like to help with the Parish Marriage Enrichments please contact us and we'll point you in the right direction.

One advantage of longer daytime hours is that we can get more done and we have a lot to do! Our Rockford area couples have been working with the Family Life Office to bring you the musical "I Do! I Do!" to celebrate World Marriage Day. We really want to thank our community leaders for being so instrumental in getting the word out about this event and also the couples who volunteered to pass out programs at each performance. If you're looking for something fun to do for World Marriage Day or Valentine's Day, there is still time to reserve your seats for the performance and dinner. All you need to do is contact the Family Life Office at (815) 965-5011. You can also find out more information on our website.

We also have a very special ME Weekend coming up. This is a combined weekend between Rockford/Madison/Milwaukee Doceses and the Joliet Diocese being held at Bishop Lane. We have a large number of couples on this Weekend and are looking forward to seeing them on Sunday. Please keep these couples and the presenting team in your prayers as they experience the Weekend. And while it's exciting to have a large Weekend, we ask you to keep looking ahead to the upcoming Weekends (April 1-3, June 10-12) and keep inviting couples to experience the Weekend. Your personal invitation is the most important inviting tool we have.

Speaking of invitations, we'd like to invite you to the Putt'n on the Ritz dance on May 7th. Once again we will be dancing the night away with the same fantastic DJ and location we had last year. Watch the eSpirit and the website for upcoming details. If you'd like to help give us a call!

In closing we just really want to thank you for loving each other, believing in your marriage and fighting to keep it strong and growing! Keep dialoguing and loving each other!!! We love you!!

All our love,

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

Dear faithful friends,

Praise God for a Spirit-filled, prayerful Selection Process for our International Coordinating Team (ICT) for the WWME World Council! The Council was fortunate to have four couples and seven priests who were open to the Process. Only one priest was actually present at the Process as he also serves as a member of a Secretariat ecclesial team who was participating in the World Council.

Due to financial considerations, candidates are rarely present for the Selection Process. Each member of the Council is given a written biography of the candidates, including a photo. After reading the biography, we listen to a 10 minute audio presentation from the candidates. As in every Selection Process, there is time for prayer, discernment, music, and trialogue. The Process was an enriching experience and we felt the influence of the Holy Spirit among us. Thank you for your prayers and good wishes.

Our new ICT for 2005-2008 is David & Bronwyn (Bronny) Lea from Pahiatua, New Zealand and Fr. John Rate from Randwick, Australia.

David & Bronny were married in May 1973 and have two adult daughters. They experienced their Weekend in 1984. They were the National Team for New Zealand from 1993-1995 and the Pacific Secretariat leadership from 1995-1998. David’s primary personality style is Catalyst and Bronny’s is Helper. David is one of eight children; Bronny is from a family of nine children. They met as youngsters and have been members of the same parish for all their lives. They are both interested in theater and performing arts.

Fr. John was ordained in May 1973 in the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC). He is currently a parish priest for Our Lady of the Sacred Heart parish in Randwick, Australia. He speaks English, French, and some Italian. Fr. John made his Weekend in November 1982. He served as a member of the Pacific Secretariat Team from 2002-2004 and as a member of the ICT from 1990-1991. He has presented Retrouvaille and Cursillo experiences. His primary personality style is Helper.

We feel excited to be able to share our ministry and our leadership with three gifted and passionate people and look forward to the next World Council in Canada in September. Please pray for David & Bronny and Fr. John as they begin their ecclesial relationship for the sake of our movement and our Church.

Our time in Kenya was extraordinary! Kenya has a very diverse population that includes most major language groups of Africa. About 75% of the work force is engaged in agriculture, mainly as subsistence farmers. The primary language is English & Swahili, but there are more than 40 local ethnic languages! The religion is Protestant 40%, Roman Catholic 30%, Muslim 20%, and indigenous beliefs 10%.

The World Council was hosted in a beautiful pastoral setting at St. Mary Magdalene Retreat House at Resurrection Gardens in a suburb of Nairobi named Karen. Sr. Felista Wamutitu, a Dimesse sister, looked after our needs. She told us repeatedly how much she “loves Marriage Encounter”!

The local WWME community treated us to a fascinating tour to Lake Nakuru National Park where we were able to view many animals in their natural habitat—rhino, African buffalo, giraffe, zebra, lion, baboon, and thousands of pink flamingos, storks, and pelicans! We met members of the Maasai tribe who retain their traditional dress and culture despite the intrusion of modern civilization.

The closing Mass on Saturday was a never-to-be-forgotten experience! Many of the couples rode a crowded bus for 6-8 hours over very rocky roads in dust and heat just to be present with us. We were often moved to tears as we looked around the church at our beautiful worldwide family! We will send photos to eMatrimony as soon as possible, so please take time to visit the site.

We are so grateful for your continued presence in our lives and in our leadership. We are sustained by your belief in us and lifted up by your prayers. May God bless you in your ministry for his beloved Church.

With much love,

Bob & Joy and Fr. Chuck

This month feature is all about Church Bulletins. There is a section of our site loaded with sample bulletin announcements about the Weekend.

They are divided into four categories: Generic, Four Seasons, Concepts, and Eye-Catching. Each announcement can be used as is or can be modified to fit your particular parish or church. There are some that refer to Information Nights and most have a reference to our Website and the toll-free number.

As a sidenote, we have been placing some special announcements in our parish bulletin and encouraging people to visit http://alifetimeoflove.org to learn more. We had 140 visits to the Website when the notices first hit our bulletin.

Here's a sample:

The fun never stops in our "Fun Stuff" section.

We continue to create new crossword puzzles each month as well as new on-line quizzes. In addition to our "Romance" and "Marriage History" quizzes, this month we feature our New Year's Trivia quiz. There are only eight questions regarding New Year celebrations around the world, but be careful. These quizzes can be addictive.

We have also included a place for you to share your favorite recipes with other Encountered Couples. Everyone knows that Community nights are all about the food. Why else would everyone gather around the kitchen? Just kidding!

And while you're browsing the section, don't forget our downloadable screen savers for your PC. There are several pre-made screen savers with a Marriage Encounter theme. And as if that wasn't enough, we can customize and create your very own, personalized version of one of the available styles.

We are all family and we believe in the lifestyle and mission of Worldwide Marriage Encounter. From time to time we need assistance in fulfilling that mission. To that end, we have installed a quick survey and we want to get some information for what assistance you might be willing or considering to offer.

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 want 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
Community Start up Couple: This couple would be responsible with helping the CTJ Leaders to get new communities started up. CTJ is also looking for seasonal couples who could help with different functions throughout the year. These different committees would be for "Puttin' on the Ritz" dance, WWME Family campout, and the Rolle Bolle tournament.

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.

Is your community looking for a great way to invite couples to the Weekend? A romantic candlelight dinner might be what your community is looking for. Candlelight dinners are easy to give and fun for the whole community. The Rockford/Madison/Milwaukee WWME Community has 2 candlelight dinner kits available for use. Each kit contains all you need to help your community put on a romantic candlelight dinner. If your community is hosting a candlelight dinner please let us know and we'll announce it here in The eSpirit. For more information contact Garry & Arla at (847)658-1585 or by email at: getart@flash.net

Chocolate Mousse

• 3 egg yolks
• 6 squares (6 oz) semisweet chocolate
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons confectioner's sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Semisweet chocolate shavings for garnish

Directions:
In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks. In a saucepan, melt the chocolate with water, stirring until smooth. Add 3 tablespoons of chocolate mixture to the egg yolks, then pour mixture back into the pan with the remaining chocolate. Cook over low heat, stirring until thickened, about 1 minute. Transfer to a new bowl and let cool for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the cream, sugar, and vanilla with a mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Transfer 1/2 cup of mixture to a small bowl and refrigerate. Fold the remaining mixture into the chocolate mixture. Spoon into 4 dessert cups. Refrigerate until firm (approx. 2 hours). Spoon refrigerated cream mixture onto mousse before serving and add chocolate shavings as garnish.