We introduce people to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ
   and lovingly equip them to live a fulfilling life which glorifies God.

Camps Bay United Church

Address ::
Farquhar Road, Camps Bay

Telephone: +27 21 438 9674

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:

• DVD talks featuring Nicky and Sila

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

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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).

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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

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