wfn.org | KC church launches new marriage ministry

["Office of Communications"<wshuffit@oc.disciples.org>]

Date: May 12, 2000
Disciples News Service
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Contact: Clifford L. Willis
E-mail: CWillis@oc.disciples.org
on the Web: http://www.disciples.org

00b-19

     KANSAS CITY (DNS) -  Great Start - a wedding preparation
and early marriage ministry   is being launched nationally May 15 at
Country Club Christian Church, here. Representatives of more than 50
churches from as far away as South Africa will be here for a three-day
(May 15-17) workshop and will carry the program back to their
congregations.
     
     The innovative new program was designed to stem the rising tide
of divorce. "The statistics are alarming," said the Rev. R. Robert Cueni,
senior pastor and developer of the program. "Today, 50 percent of all
marriages end in divorce   20 percent in the first two years.  The 
average
marriage lasts seven years."  

     Cueni's concern over deteriorating marital relationships evolved
into the Great Start program, developed and piloted by Country Club
Church three years ago. The program's expansion is offered in
partnership with the Religion, Culture and Family Project of the
University of Chicago Divinity School with a generous grant from the
Lilly Endowment, Inc., Indianapolis.

     Since the pilot began in 1997, more than 500 couples have
participated in Great Start. The program initially was made possible by
the financial support of Martha Jane Starr. A church member, she has
been a longtime benefactor of marriage preparation and enrichment
programs.  

     Great Start combines two highly successful national programs
with a mainline theological grounding for marriage:  
     
     1) Prepare/Enrich, developed by Life Innovations, Inc.,
     Minneapolis, provides an inventory assessment and feedback for
     couples to develop together and understand their strength and
     growth areas.

     2)  Couple Communication, developed by Interpersonal
     Communication Programs, Inc., Evergreen, Colo., features
     practical talking, listening and 
     conflict resolution skills.  

     Great Start is designed as a marriage ministry for all
congregations and is adaptable to any faith community or theological
perspective. Cueni and the Rev. Carla Aday, associate pastor,  are 
writing
a practical theological statement on the program for presentation at the
workshop. It will provide a Christian perspective on effective and 
lasting
marital relationships based on equal regard and the interplay of love,
mutuality, self-sacrifice and self-fulfillment.  
     
     "Great Start can transform a wedding program into an effective
wedding and early marriage ministry for any congregation, regardless of
size and faith tradition," said Cueni. "It works because it provides the
church with a process for helping couples develop interpersonal skills
that are proven to help prevent divorce. It not only benefits the couple
but we have found it also will renew and grow the congregation." 

     Over the last two years, Cueni and Aday, upon request, have
presented workshops on Great Start at national meetings of the Disciples
of Christ, Smart Marriages and the Association for Couples in Marriage
Enrichment.  The May workshop is the first scheduled event of the
outreach program and is targeted at a seven-state regional area.
Participants will be certified to teach Great Start in their 
congregations.
The training will be free and the program will feature day-long sessions
on each of the three components. 

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