Contact: Dick & Diane Baumbach, Worldwide Marriage Encounter, 321-544-3440, dickanddiane66@bellsouth.net

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif., Feb. 22, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- The response across the country to the Longest Married Couple Project sponsored by Worldwide Marriage Encounter, the original faith based marriage enrichment program in this country, was marked as extremely positive.

"We are thrilled with the response we received from all parts of the country as we honored national and state winners from the project," explained Scott and Karen Seaborn, the United States Leadership Team for WWME.  The Seaborns serve with Fr. Tom Griffith, SVD, as the U.S. Ecclesial Team.  The Seaborns added, "The positive local, regional and national media attention helped to shine a light on the strong, long term marriages that are happening in the U.S."

"Because of the very, very positive response we are considering making the Longest Married Couple Project an annual event with nominations being called for in October of each year," the Seaborns said.  The just completed project received 312 nominations from all 50 states. 

Worldwide Marriage Encounter has been offering weekend experiences for over 42 years and is considered the original faith-based marriage enrichment program.  The programs are continually updated to keep abreast of changes in society, and WWME now offers evening and half-day programs that are presented at parishes and other church facilities.  The weekend program, traditionally presented as an overnight experience at a hotel or retreat center, can also be presented at the parish where the couples return to their homes in the evenings.  WWME has a presence in over 90 countries, which makes it the largest pro-marriage movement in the world.  In North America, the WWME programs are presented in English, Spanish, French, and Korean languages.

Worldwide Marriage Encounter offers married couples the opportunity to spend time together away from the busyness of the world to focus on each other.  It offers tools for building and maintaining a strong, Christian marriage in today's world.  To learn more about the Worldwide Marriage Encounter weekends online, go to wwme.org, or you can call 1-800-795-LOVE (English) and 1-800-599-AMOR (Spanish), or contact the WWME Office at (909) 863-9963.