Southeastern Region Formation Weekend - November 8-10, 2024

Southeastern Region Formation Weekend - November 8-10, 2024 - SEPI Retreat House, 7700 Miller Dr, Miami, FL, United States, 33155

The Southeast Region (Region 6) will host a Formation Weekend - November 8-10, 2024 in Miami, Florida at the SEPI Retreat House. All Retrouvaille Alumni couples are invited to participate.

Before dismissing this opportunity, we urge you to please read further!
Steve and Leigh Baumann, the Region 6 Support Team, along with Bill and Trudy Hehn, one of our most experienced workshopping couples, will facilitate this Formation Weekend. Fr. Andy O'Reilly will be our priest for this amazing weekend!

Many couples who have benefited from the healing from their Retrouvaille weekend often feel called to share their journey with others. The Formation Weekend is a structured opportunity for couples to write and present their stories as a way to inspire and encourage others. These specialized retreats are designed to help you articulate your past experiences and spiritual journeys. Guided by experienced facilitators, you are given the time, space, and tools to craft your testimonies. These weekends are not only a means of personal healing but also a way to prepare you to share your stories in various ministry settings.

This is a wonderful chance to spend time in a nurturing environment with others who understand the importance of making marriage a priority and to focus on your marriage free of distractions. Most marriages benefit tremendously from the growth and healing of writing and the Formation Weekend is an opportunity to continue to heal your marriage and experience personal and couple growth. Some couples may write on Retrouvaille topics solely for their own enrichment, while others may be open to being Retrouvaille presenters. If you are considering writing, have a talk in progress and have stalled, or need to update your current talks, this is a fantastic getaway opportunity! It is a great time to focus just on each other and have time away from your daily grind to work together on your talks with the support of couples who are on site to offer assistance and support.

The format for a Formation Weekend is different than a Retrouvaille weekend or Post session. Less time is spent listening to presentations and substantial time is spent writing and sharing with your spouse as well as with others on the retreat. You may choose either a Post or Weekend talk to write on, with an outline/template to guide you. If you attend, there is no obligation to present your talk, however, participants are encouraged to share if they are comfortable. Please allow yourself the opportunity to experience the warm marital intimacy and friendships that this weekend will develop.

Cost of the weekend is $395 per couple and $350 for priest and includes accommodations Friday and Saturday night at the SEPI Retreat Center, breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Saturday, and breakfast on Sunday. Please eat before arriving on Friday. There will be no requests for donations. Please bring your preferred laptop computer/devices, on which to write, power strips and extension cords, as needed. You are welcome to bring a pre-packaged snack or fruit and a drink to share. The weekend will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday evening and will be completed around 4:00 p.m. on Sunday.

You will have the option of writing one or more of the following areas:

Weekend Talks
• Weekend Stage I - relationship with oneself (one person/me) i.e., personality, mask, family of origin. Stage I consists of two relatively simple talks (Introduction and We are Not Alone) and two somewhat more introspective talks (Encounter with Self and To Trust Again).
• Weekend Stage II - relationship with spouse (two of us/couple), i.e., past hurts, forgiveness, dialogue. Stage II consists of two relatively simple talks (Communication is More than Just Talking and the Value of Dialogue) and two more personal talks (Marriage in Today’s Society and Forgiveness and Healing).
• Weekend Stage III – relationship with God (three of us/God & couple), i.e., spirituality of marriage, God as partner in the covenant. Stage III consists of two talks on feelings, (Our Emotional Lives and The Challenge of Being a Couple), two talks on spirituality (Living a Christian Marriage and Belonging to Each Other and to Our Father) and a relatively simple final talk (The Journey Ahead) which closes the weekend with a hopeful, realistic tone.

Personal Introduction and Post Talks
• Writing our Story/Personal Introduction – 6–8-minute introductory story about yourselves and your Retrouvaille journey including (1) the beginning (Romance), (2) troubles that led you to Retrouvaille (Disillusionment/Misery, (3) life now (Awakening to Joy).
• Post Session 1 - Building Blocks to a Healthy Marriage
• Post Session 2 - Effective Listening & Dialogue Workshop
• Post Session 3 - Exploring our Family of Origin & Personality Style
• Post Session 4 - Needs, Expectations & Interests; Values vs. Ideals; Relationship with God
• Post Session 5 – Decisions: Commitment and Love
• Post Session 6 – Decisions: Forgiveness and Trust
• Post Session 7 - Introduction to Conflict Management
• Post Session 8 – Conflict Management (continued); Healthy Discussion; Anger Management
• Post Session 9 – Intimacy
• Post Session 10 - Our Sexual Relationship
• Post Session 11 – Marriage as Sacred Covenant: Family, Church, Community, CORE
• Post Session 12 - Looking Beyond Us: Post review; Sharing Gifts

If you have any specific questions please reach out via the contact us button or call the Regional Support Team, Steve and Leigh Baumann, at 912-269-8500. If you are planning on mailing a check for registration rather than paying by credit card, please email [email protected] to confirm the names for your name tags, any special needs (dietary, accessibility, etc.) and send check to Retrouvaille Southeast, 16 Saint Andrews Drive, Jekyll Island, GA 31527.