This past year our family expanded to a new generation. The precious new addition greatly enhanced our appreciation of the benefits and importance of family. Several articles I read recently also reminded me not only of the importance of family but just how precarious are families in today’s culture.
Retreat from Marriage
An article in Christianity Today by Bradford Wilcox and Chuck Donovan described the retreat from marriage in our culture and its disastrous implications as it takes hold in the middle class.
Our high divorce rate and widespread single parenthood were once largely confined to the lower class. But now it’s in all classes, particularly the middle class. This has significant implications for our children and our society.
“We cannot afford to be a nation where marriage is a luxury,” they write. This trend away from marriage is raising our social costs and raising our taxes. “We should aggressively pursue improved marriage education programs.”
Benefits of Marriage
Veteran journalist David Aikman, writing In praise of marriage at Virtue online, adds additional information. “Children born to single moms tend to be poorer, less well-educated, and more likely to drop out of school, form addictions, and fall into crime than those from intact families,” he notes.
Cohabitation has become widely practiced despite the fact that most young people don’t realize that it decreases their chances of having a successful marriage, to which they still aspire. “In a Pennsylvania State University study, those who live together before marriage — even if they marry the person they have been living with — have a 61 percent greater likelihood of divorce than those who refrain from sex and cohabitation before marriage.”
Marriage Savers
As if to answer Wilcox and Donovan’s demand for better marriage education, Aikman describes the work of Michael and Harriet McManus, who have traveled to cities across the country with their Marriage Savers program, which helps cities establish a Community Marriage Policy.
Madison is one of those communities with a Community Marriage Policy. The Madison Marriage Covenant was signed in a ceremony at the capitol in 2002. Every January since then, Madison Marriage Ministry, a committee representing a broad variety of Madison churches, has sponsored a marriage seminar to benefit local families.
Marriage Seminar
This year’s seminar will be Saturday, January 29th, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at City Church, 4909 E. Buckeye Road, Madison, WI 53716. The seminar is being led by Gary Thomas, the author of Sacred Marriage.
“This seminar helps couples uncover how marriage can become a doorway to a closer walk with God and each other. You will learn how to:
* Turn marital struggles into spiritual and personal appreciation.
* Love your spouse with a stronger sense of purpose.
* Partner in the spiritual growth and character formation of your spouse.
* Transform a ‘tired’ marriage into a relationship filled with awe and respect.”
Registration and additional information is available on the City Church website.