Created for Connection Couples Retreat
September 18-20, 2026

"Our relationship with God colors how we connect with others, and this human connection also help us develop closeness with God... God's intention is that we experience a divine gaze when we look into our partner's eye, a gaze that communicates the miracle of being truly known and deeply loved."  

These words of Dr. Sue Johnson express the core belief expressed in her book Created for Connection.  This work explores the integral role of building emotional connection in a couple's marriage relationship, not only as a way of steadying themselves against the inevitable struggles that are inherent in marriage, bringing about a greater resilience in difficulty.  Even more, it further opens the hearts of spouses to the divine initiative to truly fashion the two into one heart, mind, spirit, and body and to bring about in them the joyful communion that God desires for them.

On this weekend, couples will dive deep into this penetrating and insightful work and discover how they can practically go about building the emotional connection that every single person longs for and that is uniquely expressed in the bonds of marital love.  

When: September 18-20, 2026
Where: Maryvale Retreat Center, Valley City, ND

"Dr. Sue Johnson is the best couple's therapist in the world" - Dr. John Gottman, Ph.D., best selling author of The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work

While this retreat is sponsored by the Red River Retrouvaille community, it is open to all couples and does not focus on the tools promoted by Retrouvaille, but instead zeroes in on building the emotional connection that allows marriages to truly flourish.