Our Retrouvaille Connection

Information for Retrouvaille Couples Seeking Information about Marriage Rediscovery

Many couples from within the Retrouvaille ministry may wonder what Marriage Rediscovery is and how it may affect the Retrouvaille ministry. There is a great deal of speculation based on incomplete information. This page in intended to help clarify what Marriage Rediscovery is, and how it relates to Retrouvaille.

Retrouvaille is a Marriage Program. Marriage Rediscovery is a Marriage Help Platform and a Program

Retrouvaille provides a wonderful program of a weekend plus followup sessions to help struggling marriages, and focuses specifically on its own program and couples that attend it. Marriage Rediscovery is first and foremost a platform for marriage enrichment and help, which may often create more awareness of the Retrouvaille Program and encourage couples to attend it. However, it does not limit itself to helping promote Retrouvaille. Instead, it is dedicated to help couples find what best suits their needs and desires. Additionally, the creators of Marriage Rediscovery have found many programs for good marriages, and several for marriages in crisis. But there is little for everyone in-between. Similarly, many of the programs focus on a specific religious denomination, and have many rules that disqualify some committed couples from attending. With that in mind, Marriage Rediscovery is developing a program to fill those gaps.

Does Marriage Rediscovery Compete with Retrouvaille?

No. This is described in greater detail below, but this is a big fear among many that serve in Retrouvaille. The Retrouvaille program focuses on providing help for struggling married couples. Marriage Rediscovery is a a platform that will actively promote this in an effort to help Retrouvaille get the word out significantly more, and help more couples than ever.

However, there are segments of couples that Retrouvaille does not serve, and Marriage Rediscovery is creating a program for that segment. First, Retrouvaille’s program presumes a couple is in a struggling marriage. In doing so, many couples that are not in crisis are not attracted to the kind of help Retrouvaille can provide. Marriage Rediscovery’s program is being developed to attract those couples that are not in a blissful relationship, but would not consider their marriages in crisis. Additionally, Retrouvaille does not serve committed cohabiting couples. Marriage Rediscovery’s program will allow for this, while making a clear case to help couples see the value in a marriage covenant.

When couples are on the MR website, if their needs are in line with what Retrouvaille offers, the website is geared to help direct them specifically to the Retrouvaille program. To help increase awareness of Retrouvaille

With Respect to Marriage Rediscovery's Weekend Program:

How are Retrouvaille & Marriage Rediscovery Similar?

Both share tools that teach a communication process that can transform couple relationships.
Both offer support and resources to couples to allow for a journey of self-discovery, personal growth, and spiritual awareness.
God uses each of us, gives us the words to say, and allows us to leverage our pasts to help other couples move forward.
Both are structured to provide for a religious service, either mass or a multi-denominational service.

How are Retrouvaille & Marriage Rediscovery Different?

MR is Specifically targeted to couples that are married and also in committed relationships, while Retrouvaille is specifically for married couples.
Multi-Denominational in nature, the program focuses on core biblical teachings that do not contradict any specific denominational tradition within Catholic or Protestant faith.
Retrouvaille focuses on getting couples to the weekend first and foremost, and everything moves forward from that point with focus on the attending couple. MR's concept is to offer help right out of the gate, which may very well lead to many couples getting the help they are seeking and never attending a Marriage Rediscovery weekend. In fact, content on Marriage Rediscovery's website may very well lead couples to attend Retrouvaille weekends! When someone finds the MR website, they have a variety of marriage help articles, blogs, and even a peer-to-peer forum at which they can get help. They will also be able to immediately join a small group, both online, or in person. Any of these may be a path to attending a weekend, but the order is dictated by couple choice.
Retrouvaille's program operates with a concept of secrecy until concepts are revealed. Marriage Rediscovery Programming is be designed to let couples know how the schedule will unfold, and attempt to build anticipation for what comes next.
MR Seeks to reach couples in early disillusionment to the misery stage in an effort to remove the perceived stigma of attending a program for couples in crisis. In order to reach a wider audience without losing impact, the program powerfully addresses couples in crisis, but is worded and presented in a tone that comes across as cautionary for those in earlier stages of disillusionment, and even for those in the romance stage that are seeking preemptive help. Retrouvaille specifically focuses on married couples in the misery stage.
The MR Weekends, while filled with deep and powerful sharing, will have a significantly more modern and polished presentation with dynamic visual aids, media, and highly engaging content.
MR focuses on the development of helpful content and online curriculum that will be widely accessible and also offer a problem-specific programming so couples will be able to select teaching modules specific to their needs.
Retrouvaille provides a community model to organize weekends. MR Weekend Seminars are not dependent upon a community-presence to organize weekends. A simple community model allows communities, or “small groups” to form in churches, parishes, etc, without the overhead and burden of maintaining a corporation, leadership roles, or the financial resources needed for marketing and weekend programming.
MR’s small group curriculum is not dependent upon a couple having attended a weekend, and may actually lead to a couple's participation in a weekend, which may be Retrouvaille, Marriage Encounter, or Marriage Rediscovery. MR is also focused on multi-denominational churches and identified as an organization that welcomes all Christians to participate fully in the ministry. Non-Christians will be welcomed with open arms to participate in any capacity possible. For example, if there is a presentation on a topic that does not relate to scripture, a non-christian will be free to present it. If a presentation relates to old testament scripture, and not new testament, a Jewish couple would be free to present it. The simple rule is that you can present it if it aligns with your beliefs. The program will have a rich online presence.
Small groups will have their own private social and outreach networks, Weekend Follow Up sessions will be offered in a highly dynamic webinar format as an “always available” alternative to in-person follow-ups.
MR weekends optionally have a chaplain, which may be a pastor, pastor couple, or priest, which may be Catholic, or of other Christian denominations. However, if there are the pastoral presentations, they are only on Saturday, and are concentrated to several key talks, in which that pastoral presentations are focused on the pastor, so that a full-time pastoral presence is not required, although allowed.
MR utilizes a weekend programming and publicity model designed to project outreach weekends to areas not currently served by a biblically based, dialogue-based marriage ministry, such as Retrouvaille, Marriage Encounter and Tikkun Habriet.
Marriage Rediscovery does not seek any specific denominational affiliation, and as such will never create policy in order to align with any specific denomination. While Retrouvaille welcomes all denominations, it is first and foremost a Roman Catholic ministry. Marriage Rediscovery will not, although it will welcome Roman Catholics at all levels equally.