Conference "receptions" /Marriage Uncensored /Black Marriage "the mouths of babes" - 3/23/07

[Smartmarriages]

- PRIVATE EVENTS AT THE CONFERENCE
- JOB LISTINGS
- COMMUNITY MARRIAGE POLICY
- MARRIAGE UNCENSORED TV SHOW
- STRENGTHENING BLACK MARRIAGES: OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES
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- PRIVATE EVENTS AT THE CONFERENCE

Several have asked about scheduling a private gathering at the conference ­
a coffee, reception, tea, reunion, etc - for your program, university,
state, etc. 

I control all available meeting space at the Adam's Mark so it is necessary
to go through me. I can assign a room for your event and connect you to the
hotel food and beverage services.  If you have your own suite (bedroom
suite) you can do this on your own but if you need a meeting room, contact
me.   

The best possible times for such an event are the breaks on Fri 5:30-7pm and
Sunday 4:30-6pm. Both are before a banquet so you can plan on light fare
(i.e. - tea and cookies and don't have to supply dinner).  On Thurs
(5:30-6:30pm) and Sat (4:15-70m) there are breaks but people must use the
time to eat dinner before the evening events. So, Thurs and Sat work only if
you plan to meet over a meal.

Meeting space is limited, contact me early. Do not hit reply to this email,
it goes into cyberspace.  Start a new email and address it to me at:

diane at smartmarriages.com
(Diane "at" smartmarriages.com )

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- MARRIAGE EDUCATION JOB LISTINGS

Puleeze, if you have filled the job you posted at
http://www.smartmarriages.com/jobs.html  let me know so I can take it down.

And, if you have new jobs to post, send me the listing.  It's free.  Got a
new one this morning from Oklahoma.

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- COMMUNITY MARRIAGE POLICY

> - Ministers to promote marriage preparation
> Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio
> March 26, 2007 
> Susan Mykrantz
> 
> WOOSTER - Ministers from churches across Wayne County signed a Community
> Marriage Covenant on Wednesday.
> 
> As part of the covenant, some pastors have agreed to encourage couples to
> commit to counseling for one year, complete a premarital inventory, mentor
> with an older couple, have a one-year courtship and refrain from premarital
> sex.
> 
> The covenant will strengthen families and the community, said Bill Donaldson,
> a member of the committee coordinating the covenant program.

I include this to remind you that THE VERY BEST thing you can do to
strengthen marriage in your community is to create a Community Marriage
Policy.  Attend the McManus Marriage Savers Institute for the blueprints and
step-by-step "how to" guidelines. - diane

> 113 Two Days - Wednesday & Thursday, June 27, 28
> Creating Marriage-Saver Congregations & Community Marriage Policies
> Mike & Harriet McManus
> Learn how to reduce the divorce rate to near zero in your congregation and
> slash city divorce rates in half by training Mentor Couples who can put a
> "safety net" under every marriage as they prepare couples for life-long
> marriage, enrich existing marriages, save 90% of the troubled ones, help the
> separated to reconcile, and stepfamilies to be successful.  Learn how to
> create a Community Marriage Policy. $100 spouse discount.  Click for more
> information: http://www.smartmarriages.com/marriagesavers.html

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- MARRIAGE UNCENSORED TV SHOW

Dear Diane,
 
I was excited to see your write up about the Marriage Uncensored program
airing on PBS across the US and Canada (and proud that British Columbia is
making a difference.) I highly recommend the program, and I cannot say
enough positive things about the host, Dave Currie. He is a man of
impeccable integrity.
 
Viewers can expect to see some of the most relevant issues about Marriage
covered in a responsible, gripping and practical way. They cover everything
from sexual issues, to parenting issues, to prioritizing marriage in our
rat-race pace society, and the list goes on.
 
Brian and I appeared on the show in 2005. Out of the many television
programs we¹ve done, this one is my favorite. They did the best job of
handling such a sensitive topic as extramarital affairs in a way that will
help any couple who watches whether they¹ve personally dealt with affair/s
or just want to prevent them. As your previous email stated it¹s real, raw
and candid. At the same time I would add that it is not sensationalistic or
voyeuristic as so much television is. Instead it is responsible, truly
valuable marriage education. To watch our episode online here¹s the link:
 
http://www.marriageuncensored.com/index.php?page_id=15
 
Scroll down to find episode #206 titled ³My Husband¹s Affair Became the Best
Thing That Ever Happened to Me.² (We appeared during season 2.)
 
Anne Bercht
http://www.beyondaffairs.com


Anne and Brian will repeat their highly-rated workshop Denver:

> 808 - Sunday, July 1
> Beyond Affairs: Prevention and Recovery
> Anne and Brian Bercht
> Learn the steps to not only recover from infidelity, but to make your marriage
> even stronger, from a couple that¹s been successful. Also, learn how to give
> back by leading BAN recovery support groups in your community.

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 STRENGTHENING BLACK MARRIAGES: OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES

A push to promote black marriages
Churches in Lexington unite to combat decline among African-American
community
The Herald-Leader
March 24, 2007
By Benita Heath | Special To The Herald-Leader

Out of the mouths of babes can often come the sign of the times. At least
that's what Deborah Keys, a family life educator based in Lexington,
discovered. Working with a group of fifth-graders one afternoon, Keys was
told proudly by one 10-year-old that when he grew up he was going to have
five children.

"I'm going to be a good daddy,'' he said. "I'm going to pay child support."

And if statisticians are to be believed, that youngster understands his
culture well. Marriage is on the decline in this country, and one sector hit
the hardest is the African-American community.

"This is the pattern they see," Keys said of the student. "He doesn't have
it in his mind that he is going to be a husband. Something happened in our
community where marriage is no longer attractive to some young people."

That's why when she learned about Black Marriage Day, she wanted to bring it
to Lexington. Her church, Imani Baptist, will celebrate the day on Sunday.
Another predominantly black congregation, Consolidated Baptist Church, will
hold an event today. Also, various churches have nominated couples for a
local Black Marriage Hall of Fame to celebrate black couples who have been
married at least 20 years. This year, the Lexington nominees have been
married for more than a century combined. One of the five local couples will
be chosen Sunday during the Imani Baptist Church event and will be eligible
to enter the national competition.

"We want to draw attention to black marriage, the good, the bad ... to
celebrate what it is," said Keys, who has been married for 28 years. "It's a
way for a couple to come together and grow together over time, leave a
legacy for their children and the couples around them."

Five years ago, Nisa Islam Muhammad, a reporter for Final Call Newspaper,
started Black Marriage Day through her Wedded Bliss Foundation, based in
Washington, D.C. Its mission is to have at least 50 cities across the United
States celebrate marriage, especially long-term ones, in the black community
on March 25.

"We seek to honor those couples who have led by example, holding together
for decades those marriages whose enduring bond now inspires us,'" she
states on her Web site.

And that's a bond has been slowly breaking for decades.

According to the Smart Library Web site, in 1960, 83 percent of white women
between the ages of 25 to 29 were married compared with 60 percent of black
women. In 1980, 32 percent of black women in the same age group were married
compared with 62 percent of white women.

Likewise a recent study shows more of the same. Black Fathers in
Contemporary American Society, published in 2003, says that most black
children live in single-parent homes, although the study does say that the
trend is slowly reversing. Data from the Joint Center for Political and
Economic Studies shows that, by the age of 30, just more than half of
African-American women will be married.

Explanations for this are diverse: a drastic decline in job prospects for
black men, especially inner-city males; the high rate of incarceration of
black men; and the increasing economic independence of black women.

However, Marvin King, director of ministry at Consolidated Baptist Church,
has a more philosophical reason: Society doesn't teach young people what
marriage really is.

"We have adopted a marriage paradigm that you fall in love, get married and
the rest is history,'" he said. "We have adopted a Hollywood way of
marriage."

And many times the problems couples have arise from this fantasy.

"A lot of times women perceive it to be one thing and men perceive it to be
something else," says Derrie Dodge, who is coordinating a marriage
counseling workshop -- Together We Can Make It -- set for June 8 and 9.
"They need to sit down and have counseling and understand what marriage is
all about. Then they can be on the same page. You have to be able to sit
down and have good communication ... know how each other feels, what each
other is thinking, and respecting each other's feelings."

http://www.kentucky.com/158/story/25145.html

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11th Annual Smart Marriages Conference, Denver Adam's Mark Hotel,
June 28-July 1, 2007
Download a brochure: http://www.smartmarriages.com/Brochure.07.pdf


List your program and resources on the Directory of Classes at
http://www.smartmarriages.com

Order conference audio & video CD/DVD/MP3s: 800-241-7785 or
http://www.iPlaybackSmartMarriages.com

Coalition for Marriage, Family and Couples Education, LLC (CMFCE)
Diane Sollee, Director
5310 Belt Rd NW, Washington, DC 20015-1961
http://www.smartmarriages.com
202-362-3332

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