The Marriage Course
January 28, 2009
A handbook for marital success
In this week’s PopeCast in which we discussed Weddings, I made mention of a marriage workshop that Suzanne and I attended which we found to be quite valuable. When we recorded “A PopeCast Wedding,” I could not for the life of me remember the name of the program. Well as promised, here it is: The Marriage Course.
Produced by the same folks that brought you Alpha, The Marriage Course is not counseling between the married couple and a third party. Rather, it is a guided study designed to provide the married couple tools to better communicate, better connect with one another. It’s non-denominational, too!
The Marriage Course is designed to build, strengthen, and even mend marriages. It helps married couples learn practical tools to build a strong and healthy marriage. Over eight evenings, couples have the chance to discuss important issues often ignored in the rush of daily life.
Our class was held over a period of eight weeks. It was rather intense. Despite that I would have characterized ours as a good marriage before participating in the course, I will say that it created an environment between the two of us allowing for improved, more effective communication. The study walked us through ways to listen in such a manner that we heard the needs of the other. The course supported my desire to be a better husband and continues to support me on my journey.
I spoke to two men several months after our course was completed. With their wives, they attended the same sessions as Suzanne and I did. Both shared with me that their marriages were profoundly affected by their involvment in the Marriage Course. Each couple had been on the road to separation and perhaps even divorce. Today, they remain together with their spouses and report happier, healthier marriages. So one might say that the Marriage Course helps make marriages less coarse.
Sorry about that.
I’m a fan of the Marriage Course. Check out the website and find a course near you! Or, if there’s not one in your area, share it with your church leadership. It’s a terrific resources for churches to offer.
Aron Head
Twitter + PopeCastAron
