St. Thomas' Church

For all couples registered for the Marriage Course and the Marriage PreparationCoure, there will be a Dessert Party at St. Thomas' in the Auditorium on April 18, 2012 from 7:30 to 9:30 pm. This evening involves dessrt, a DVD titled "What Makes a Marriage Work?" with Nicky and Sila Lee and a chance to hear from some couples who have previously completed the course. The Marriage Course begins the next week, April 25,2012 and will run for 7 weeks. Each session will be held in the auditorum at St. Thomas' and will run from 6:30 to 9:30 pm. The cost of this course is $150.00 per couple (Includes the cost of meals and manuals).

The Marriage Course is an eight-session course set in a warm, welcoming atmosphere. You will be served coffee, tea and a dessert in a romantic setting while listening to practical talks that are informative and fun presented by Nicky and Sila Lee in a DVD format. The next course will be starting in the spring of 2012.

There is never any group work and you will never be asked to share anything about your relationship with anyone other than your partner.

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, recognizing 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 recognize 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 recognize 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.