Marriage Course in Frankfurt, Germany

“Marriage Course” Frankfurt, Germany, 10. January 2014 The Frankfurt Study Group on Family and Education, which was established last year on initiative of Monika Kunde, decided to offer a marriage course for all blessed families of the community. Naomi Ikehata presented the “Marriage Course” designed by Nicky and Sila Lee, which is based on a Christian worldview and is being taught now in many countries. Margaret Staudinger, responsible for the Blessed Family Department in Frankfurt, prepared a wonderful environment for the seven evenings we met at the Frankfurt chapel. Each session started with a candle light dinner. Nine couples, among them two 2nd gen, attended the course which lasted from November till January. The reaction was all positive. Contents of the course are relevant and important to each married couple, no matter if it has a history of 40 years of successful marriage, or only 40 days. It is valuable for both, well working marriages and marriages in crisis. We plan to offer this course in due time again and offer it to couples from outside of the church as well. It is a way to help people improving their marital life. Eventually they can be introduced to the blessing, thus contributing substantially to the strengthening of marriage and family in society. Hildegard Piepenburg

Here a report by Ellen van Kampen, who participated with her husband. 7 exiting evenings with my husband We are married since 1978 and some of our relatives were quite amused when told that we were going to attend a “marriage course”. However since once and a while we should be doing something good to ourselves, we did joint the 7 Candle- Light Dinners in the beautifully decorated surroundings with table cloth and flowers. The calm music in the background created a peaceful atmosphere. Everybody could serve oneself with hot or cold drinks, before Naomi greeted everybody and introduced the evening’s topic. The presentation by Nicky and Sila Lee were informative and lively, supplemented by commentaries from couples who had participated one of those courses earlier and shared about their experiences. Each evening had its own subject and after each class people could realize how their communication among husband and wife had progressed. Practical work with the partner was to be done in between the presentations. Each couple had its own table and thus were pretty private in their conversation. Thus a private atmosphere was assured.

Sila and Nicky Lee are Christians who view marriage as a commitment to each other. We, members of the Unification Church, could very well resonate with their view. God is at the center of marriage. Finally we came to the conclusion that the distance between the evenings could have a bit longer. The talking of the persons interviewed wasn’t always easily understood. Subtitles may help the non-native English speakers. The course is highly recommendable for all, who want to keep their marriage fresh and lively. Young and old can both profit, giving their relationship a new momentum. Ellen van Kampen

Marriage course couples in action – reflecting at the end of the course