Engaged Encounter teams are all volunteers. The first Engaged Encounter (EE) weekend was given in Detroit in 1974 as an outgrowth of Worldwide Marriage Encounter. In 1975 EE spun off on its own and became a self sustaining National Ministry. EE was started here in the Monterey Diocese in 1977. EE has had astonishing growth throughout our country and also throughout the world. EE is now taking place in more than 30 countries around the world. It has become the preferred Marriage Preparation Program for our Catholic Church as well as other denominations.

We're here to give engaged couples ample time to examine the issues you will encounter in your marriage relationship. You may have an unrealistic or negative picture of marriage from TV, the press, relatives or friends. On this weekend you will have the opportunity to explore your strengths and weaknesses, your goals and your attitudes toward family life, children, sexuality, finances, and the church.

Engaged Encounter doesn’t have any magic formulas. We are not therapists or counselors; we're just ordinary people. We want to provide you with an opportunity to see marriage from the inside. Failures as well as successes and what we've learned from these.

The presentations we will be sharing are not given for you to know us, but to discover your own reactions to what the team brings up in the talk. We don't know everything there is to know about marriage - we are still striving ourselves. We will not be telling you how to live, but rather we'll be reflecting with you.

We are here because we are concerned for engaged couples, for marriage and for families. We want to have a positive impact on reducing the divorce rate. We're here to help you make your relationship stronger and the best it can be.