|
The Marriage Course
The Marriage Course
(currently running at Camps bay United Church)
Click here to register an interest in a future course
The Marriage Course is an
eight week programme aimed at giving married couples the
practical tools to build strong and healthy marriages that
last a lifetime.
The marriage course is
currently facilitated by Lynne and Barry Smith who have been
married for 25 years and have two teenage children - a son and
a daughter. The course is ideal for any couples who
have been together for at least 2 years as a couple.
Although the course is called the Marriage course you do not
have to be married to do the course. Couple who are engaged
or are planning to be married in the near future will
benefit greatly from the course. This course is also not
only for church people, you are welcome even if you don't go
to church.
The most recent marriage
course was held in the church in October and was
attended by 12 couples, with age groups ranging from 60's
to 20's. The greatest strength of the course is that as a
couple you are able to discuss difficult issues and
sometimes contentious issues in a safe environment. Often
couples will tend to avoid discussing certain areas of their
marriage such as in-laws or sex as they wish to avoid
conflict or embarrassment.
The Marriage Course
was developed by Nicky and Sila Lee, co-authors of The Marriage Book
and The Parenting Book. They have been married for over thirty
years, have four children and are on the staff at Holy Trinity
Brompton - the London church that started the Alpha course.
The Marriage Course
talks are presented in one of two ways:
The talks are
interspersed with filmed clips of couples talking about their
experiences of marriage and street interviews from around the world.
Over seven sessions of
the course you will discover practical tools to help you:
-
understand each
other’s needs
-
communicate more
effectively
-
grow closer
through resolving conflict
-
heal the ways
you’ve hurt each other
-
recognise how your
upbringing affects your relationship
-
improve
relationships with parents and in-laws
-
develop greater
sexual intimacy
-
discover each
other’s love languages and much, much more!
The aim of The Marriage Course is to help couples grow closer and build a healthy
relationship that will last a lifetime.
Session Topics
-
Building Strong
Foundations – This session helps couples to look at their
lifestyle and its effect upon their marriage, and to discover
more about each other’s needs and desires – particularly on an
emotional level.
-
The Art of
Communication – Listening is a vital skill for a strong
marriage. In this session couples practise communicating their
feelings and listening effectively to one another.
-
Resolving Conflict
– In this session we look at how couples can increase their
intimacy by expressing appreciation to each other, recognising
their differences, learning to negotiate disagreements and
praying for each other (if they feel comfortable doing so).
-
The Power of
Forgiveness – This session addresses the ways we will inevitably
have hurt each other and how to resolve these so we don’t create
a backlog of anger and resentment. We look at the process of
healing through identifying the hurt, saying sorry and
forgiving.
-
The Impact of
Family – Past and Present – This session focuses on helping
couples to recognise how their family background affects the way
they relate to each other. They also consider how to build a
good and healthy relationship with their parents, in-laws and
wider family, and how hurt from childhood can be healed.
-
Good Sex – Sexual
intimacy needs to be worked at and developed. It isn’t just the
icing on the cake; it’s a vital ingredient of the cake itself.
In this session couples are encouraged to talk about their
sexual relationship and to recognise where they need to make
changes.
-
Love in Action –
This session looks at five ways of expressing love – through
words, time, touch, presents and actions. Couples discover which
expression of love is most important for their partner and how
to put this into practice.
Click here
to register an interest in a future course
|