{"id":4453,"date":"2025-04-15T17:42:34","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T00:42:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepursuitofholiness\/?p=4453"},"modified":"2025-04-15T17:42:34","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T00:42:34","slug":"marriage-enrichment-retreat-draws-record-turnout-in-germany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepursuitofholiness\/2025\/04\/marriage-enrichment-retreat-draws-record-turnout-in-germany\/","title":{"rendered":"Marriage Enrichment Retreat Draws Record Turnout in Germany"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

WALDFISCHBACH-BURGALBEN, GERMANY \u2014 The\u00a0Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA<\/a>\u00a0(AMS), welcomed a record thirty-one U.S. Air Force couples to Waldfischbach-Burgalben, Germany, this past weekend for an AMS Marriage Enrichment Retreat. The couples, from the\u00a0Holy Family Catholic Community<\/a>\u00a0at\u00a0Ramstein Air Base<\/a>, about 20 miles away, all participated in the April 11-12 retreat at the\u00a0Maria Rosenberg Pilgrimage Site and Spiritual Center<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 a site run by the\u00a0Diocese of Speyer<\/a>\u00a0in southwest Germany. Fathers Emeka C. Okwuosa, Ch, Capt, USAF, and Joseph Deichert, Ch, Col, USAF (Ret.), worked with the planning committee and the facilitator, AMS Vice-Chancellor for Evangelization Mark Moitoza, Th.D., D.Min., to organize the retreat.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Photo of the Marriage Encounter courtesy of the Archdiocese for Military Services<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The couples came to the retreat center following an opening session at Ramstein\u2019s\u00a0North Chapel<\/a>, where they prayed the\u00a0Stations of the Cross<\/a>\u00a0and enjoyed a soup supper. They spent the weekend huddled in prayer, group sessions, and dialogue, using the\u00a0REFOCCUS<\/a>\u00a0Marriage Enrichment Inventory, a resource developed by\u00a0FOCCUS, Inc. USA<\/a>, of the\u00a0Archdiocese of Omaha<\/a>\u00a0in Nebraska. FOCCUS stands for \u201cFacilitate Open Couple Communication Understanding and Study.\u201d<\/p>\n

The couples engaged in sessions covering the topics of \u201cMarriage as a Process,\u201d \u201cIntimacy,\u201d and \u201cCommitment.\u201d In their post-retreat evaluations participants said the encounter provided, among other things, \u201ca better understanding of how to talk with my partner\u201d; \u201cthe ability to sit and connect with my wife and learn from small groups that we are not alone\u201d; \u201ca deeper appreciation of the gift of \u2018self\u2019 to my husband\u201d; \u201ca good reminder about the importance of nurturing our marriage\u2014it is God\u2019s marriage\u2014He loves us so much thus we love each other in this covenant.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was the ninth such retreat sponsored by the AMS since 2018 at locations throughout Europe, the U.S., and Guam. It boasts the largest attendance yet! Previous AMS Marriage Enrichment Retreats have been held Feb. 16-18, 2018, in Marriottsville, MD; Dec. 7-9, 2018, in Alhambra, CA; Sept. 27-29, 2019, in San Angelo, TX; Dec. 6-8, 2019, in Assisi, Italy; Oct. 1-3, 2021, in Atlanta, GA; July 8-10, 2022, in Waldfischbach-Burgalben, Germany; May 19-20, 2023, on Guam; and Oct. 18-20, 2024, in Nemi, Italy. These retreats are funded by benefactors of the Archdiocese.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WALDFISCHBACH-BURGALBEN, GERMANY \u2014 The\u00a0Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA\u00a0(AMS), welcomed a record thirty-one U.S. Air Force couples to Waldfischbach-Burgalben, Germany, this past weekend for an AMS Marriage Enrichment Retreat. The couples, from the\u00a0Holy Family Catholic Community\u00a0at\u00a0Ramstein Air Base, about 20 miles away, all participated in the April 11-12 retreat at the\u00a0Maria Rosenberg Pilgrimage Site and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4296,"featured_media":4456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1805,311,2179,493],"class_list":["post-4453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-archdiocese-for-military-services","tag-catholic","tag-germany","tag-marriage"],"yoast_head":"\nMarriage Enrichment Retreat Draws Record Turnout in Germany<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"WALDFISCHBACH-BURGALBEN, GERMANY \u2014 The\u00a0Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA\u00a0(AMS), welcomed a record thirty-one U.S. Air Force couples to\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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