A Wedding Is A Day, A Marriage Is A Lifetime®

Welcome

Congratulations on your engagement, and welcome to the Boise Catholic Engaged Encounter Community! Our community has been serving the Treasure Valley area and Idaho, for over 40 years. Most of the couples that attend our weekends live in the Treasure Valley, but we warmly welcome any engaged couple to experience a Catholic marriage preparation program.

Our Community

Our community currently hosts 3 weekends per year, and has 6 team couples that volunteer their time to share the gift of marriage with engaged couples. We are also very blessed and thankful to have 2 Deacons that serve our program. Some weekends are 3 day stay-overnight weekends, and others are 2 day commuter weekends. Our weekends are typically held at the local parishes in Boise. We appreciate couple’s investment in marriage preparation for the success of their marriage.

Catholic Engaged Encounter is an investment in the future

Think of all the preparation you have done for your career. Many of us spend years studying and learning a trade. Think of the preparation you’re doing for your wedding day. Most people spend close to a year planning, and thousands of dollars, for their wedding. How much time and effort do people spend on preparing for what they hope will last a lifetime – our marriage? Ask yourself this question, “Am I willing to spend 2 days devoted to hearing ideas and learning skills that will help make my marriage the best it can be?

Testimonial from Chad and Gigi

We thoroughly appreciated and enjoyed attending the Catholic Engaged Encounter (CEE) weekend. We are blessed with the support and resources our Catholic community has to offer.  

CEE was valuable in helping us prepare for marriage with discussions on various topics that we encounter while being married. Topics that sometimes tend to not get discussed prior to being married but are so helpful to discuss beforehand. The volunteer couples shared their personal stories which was insightful for us to see similarities and differences within marriage life. During the CEE, we had personal time with our fiancé to share and talk about each topic presented. We also met and friended with other engaged couples that were preparing for their marriage. 

Post CEE weekend, we periodically hear from the volunteer couples saying hi and checking in on us. They are beautiful people with sincere interest in how we are doing. 

We felt more prepared for marriage. We have been married five months when writing this. We can say that CEE was a contribution to us having a positive, joyful start to our marriage. 

FAQ

FOCCUS is not part of the Catholic Engaged Encounter program. The FOCCUS survey should be completed and the results should be discussed with your priest / diocese representative before you attend the Catholic Engaged Encounter weekend.

We recommend using the “earlier the better” policy. Many parishes require you to start marriage prep at least 6 months in advance. As soon as you are engaged, or even considering engagement, it is the right time to attend a weekend. By attending early, you can discover areas of growth necessary in your relationship, determine if engagement and marriage is right for you and avoid the last-minute hassles of attending a retreat while trying to do everything else your wedding day planning entails.

Catholic Engaged Encounter is designed to provide engaged couples the tools needed for a successful marriage. The retreat is open to any engaged couple wanting to prepare for a deeper, more meaningful life together.

The cost for the stay-overnight weekends is $300 per couple.  The cost for the commuter and Zoom weekends is $190 per couple.

The retreat is not group therapy, instead, it provides private one-on-one time for the couple to learn about each other and marriage based on 5 major themes: The Family we Grew Up In, Sacramental Marriage, Communications, Intimacy, and Values. Couples learn about these 5 major themes through a series of presentations given by married couples. After each presentation, both fiancé’s are given time to individually reflect and write on the topic covered. Couples then are given time to privately reflect as a couple. Couples are never required to share with the group.

We suggest you bring the following items with you:

  • Wear comfortable casual clothing;
  • Bring a snack to place on the shared snack table available in the conference room (water, tea, and coffee will be provided);
  • Your favorite soda, energy or sports drink;
  • Any snack or drink items for your own personal use

Stay-overnight weekends start Friday evening at Weekends start Friday at 7:00pm, so plan to arrive between 6:00 – 6:45pm. Commuter weeeknds start Saturday morning at 8:00am so please plan to arrive by 7:30am.

Weekends end Sunday at around 3:00-4:00pm.

Each couple will receive two workbooks to use throughout the retreat. These are yours to keep. The workbook provides an outline of the retreat and topics covered.

YES, it is very important that you stay for the entire weekend. If you arrive late or leave early, you will miss important parts of the experience, and we will not be able to give you your certificate of completion.

Yes, we do ask that you observe a few basic rules.

  • Please refrain from the use of alcohol and illegal drugs.
  • Please respect this is a Catholic experience – we ask that you dress appropriately. Gentlemen, please no hats.
  • Please remember the weekend is presented at a Catholic facility and be respectful of your surroundings.
  • Please do not leave the weekend, for any reason, unless an emergency arises. If you need to leave, please speak to one of the team members.

Dress for the entire weekend is casual. Please dress comfortably. We will attend Mass during the weekend, however casual attire is acceptable.

Catholic Engaged Encounter is a smoke free environment, and due to state law all of our facilities prohibit smoking, including the use of e-cigarettes. If you do smoke, each facility has designated smoking areas outside of the building. Additionally, as a sign of respect, we ask that you please refrain from using e-cigarettes or vaping inside the facilities.

Planning a wedding can be a fun and exciting time. It can also be stressful. Catholic Engaged Encounter offers a weekend-long retreat away from the hustle and bustle of life, where you can focus on each other, your relationship, and what it means to become a sacrament. While couples spend the majority of the retreat together – there is not much free time. Couples should plan to start their day a little earlier and work a little later than they typically would on an average weekend at home.

Catholic Engaged Encounter offers a weekend-long retreat away from the hustle and bustle of life, where you can focus on each other, your relationship, and what it means to become a sacrament. As such we ask that couples refrain from using electronic devices as much as possible – including cell phones, laptops and tablets.

No, the purpose of the Catholic Engaged Encounter weekend is to interact with and talk with your fiancé about issues you may or may not have already discussed. If your fiance is not present, you will be unable to complete the program.

Reservation Policies

Our community currently hosts 3 weekends per year, and has 6 team couples who volunteer their time to share the gift of marriage with engaged couples. We are also very blessed and thankful to have 2 deacons that serve our program. Our weekends are typically held at local parish facilities in the Treasure Valley.

Payment for the commuter weekends covers meals on Saturday (3) and Sunday (2) and all materials, but no overnight lodging.  Facilities costs are sometimes incurred as well as other presentation costs associated with the weekend.  Your reservation is not booked until you pay in full, so to secure your seats please pay as soon as possible. Credit card processing through Paypal is the fastest form of payment accepted, and can be used even if you don’t have a Paypal account!

Payment for the overnight weekends covers lodging on Friday and Saturday nights, meals on Saturday (3) and Sunday (2), and all materials. Dinner is not provided Friday night. Separate overnight accommodations are provided for you and your fiancée. Your reservation is not booked until you pay in full, so to secure your seats please pay as soon as possible. Credit card processing through Paypal is the fastest form of payment accepted, and can be used even if you don’t have a Paypal account!

 

We ask that your payment be made when you make your reservation.  If your reservation is not paid in full 2 weeks prior to the weekend, your reservation may be at risk. Should you need to cancel we ask that you provide as much notice as possible so another couple can possibly have your space.  Cancellations within one week of the scheduled weekend will be subject to a $75 cancellation fee.

 

 

 

 

Commuter Weekend - St Marks School - Boise

Google Map Link
7:30 AM
2-Day(s) ($190.00)
~ Register By ~
May 31, 2024 12:00 PM
4 space(s)
7:30 AM
2-Day(s) ($190.00)
~ Register By ~
Oct 4, 2024 12:00 PM
30 space(s)

Volunteer for CEE

Have you ever wanted an opportunity to do something that will really help make the world a better place?

Our community is always looking for charitable people to donate their time to this ministry. Joining our community is not all that time consuming. Those of us that present weekends are usually involved in 1 or 2 weekends per year.

There are many different opportunities for you to help out:

  • Prayer – We have a wonderful community full of people that simply pray for the Engaged Couples on weekends.
  • Host Team – Host teams greet the Engaged Couples at the beginning of the weekend and help them get settled in.
  • Administration – There are several administration tasks  which include: registration, supplies, finance, web development, social media, and more. If you are interested in volunteering please contact our Local Coordinators. We would love to share this wonderful ministry with you.
  • Presenting Team – Our presenting teams present the weekends, sharing their lives and passion for God-centered, life-giving marriage.

If you have a strong call to serve our community, you and your spouse may be interested in serving as a team couple. Serving as a team couple involves writing talks on topics using your personal marriage experience. Involved Catholic couples find presenting weekends to be a great couple ministry.

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    Please contact us if you have any questions. We’re looking forward to hearing from you!

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