Teacher CE/ Grief / Alcatraz / Singing ? / Baby Daddy/ Marriage Media Campaign / Affairs / Evangelicals Research - 4/2/08

Wed Apr 2 18:41:19 EDT 2008

- TEACHER CEU AVAILABLE AT SMART MARRIAGES - A FIRST!!
- HOW WE GOT FROM GRIEF TO PANCAKES
- ALCATRAZ REMINDER
- MARRY YOUR BABY DADDY
- SING IN SAN FRANCISCO
- NHMRC MEDIA CAMPAIGN PARTNER SELECTED
- GETTING PAST THE AFFAIR
- PROGRESS NOTES: MARRIAGE EDUCATION PROGRAM OFFERED AT MONTEFIORE
- EVANGELICALS LESS LIKELY TO DIVORCE, BARNA SURVEY SAYS

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- TEACHER CEU AVAILABLE AT SMART MARRIAGES - A FIRST!!

Spread the good news to your teacher friends - especially if you live in the
greater SF bay area: for the first time ever, we'll have up to 2.4 hrs
professional teacher CE for the pre and post School/Youth Institutes, #115
and #914.  In addition to earning CE, participants will learn step-by-step
how to how to teach these wonderful marriage education curricula, how to
incorporate the materials into schools, communities, and families and leave
prepared to teach the programs, and how to advocate for youth marriage
education. ALSO be sure to check out the AMAZING DEALS and rebates on these
Institutes - you basically attend for FREE!!

> 115 Two Day - Tuesday & Wednesday, July 1 & 2 - half price!
> School & Youth Marriage Education Programs
> Kay Reed, chair 
> Essential Disciplines for Teens - Stephen Judah, PhD
> CONNECTIONS - Char Kamper, MA
> Loving Well - Nancy McLaren, MAT
> We have to start with the kids! These research-based, best practice,
> developmentally appropriate programs  being taught
> across the country  teach students the skills and knowledge that are
> central to building and maintaining healthy marriages. Curricula are
> easily adapted to classroom, church or community and youth
> group settings. Teens encouraged to attend.
> Click for more information on half-price discount and full tuition rebate
> And for info on 1.6 hrs CE for Teachers
> http://www.smartmarriages.com/school.html
> 
> 914
> One Day - Sunday, July 6
> LoveU2: Relationship Smarts PLUS
> Marline Pearson, MA
> Activities, media, stories, and PREP help teens build healthy relationships.
> Teach the crucial connections between marriage, fathers and child wellbeing
> and give them good reasons to avoid unwed childbearing. Use Parent-Teen
> Connection activities to partner with parents.$50 spouse discount. Click for
> more information And for info on .8 hrs CE for Teachers:
> http://www.smartmarriages.com/loveu2.html

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- HOW WE GOT FROM GRIEF TO PANCAKES

I often hear from widows/widowers that I don't send anything about life
after loss of a spouse.  This is a very nice piece from Sunday NY Times
Modern Love series. We'd all benefit from reading it....puts things in
perspective.   http://tinyurl.com/2bxdt8

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- ALCATRAZ REMINDER
> The most important thing to know is that all access to the island is through a
> private ferry company under contract with the National Park Service. Tickets
> are limited! We STRONGLY recommend advance purchase - in summer and around
> holidays they frequently sell out. For schedules, prices, and to purchase
> tickets in advance visit the Alcatraz Cruises web site:
http://alcatrazcruises.com/
> The first tour leaves the pier at 9:15am and the evening tour departs at
> 4:20pm. DO NOT make the mistake of buying a tour "around" Alcatraz - you want
> one that goes to the island and tours the prison.

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- MARRY YOUR BABY DADDY
CBS News VIDEO:  
http://www.cbs.com/thunder/player/thunder.php?pid=FVa_EMYx7YgjtT6oeSQrTpRbR_
qSFbhH 

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- SING IN SAN FRANCISCO

Betsy Sansby and her husband Al Dworsky, authors of books on African and
Afro-Cuban drumming, and leaders of the One World Community Choir (among
many other things like The Ouch Kit) are offering to lead a community
singing gathering sometime during the conference.  Email them if you're
interested: bsansby at comcast.net

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- NHMRC MEDIA CAMPAIGN PARTNER SELECTED
The National Healthy Marriage Resource Center (NHMRC) has selected TRU as
their research partner for their national marriage media campaign. As an
advocate for young people for the last 25 years, TRU has worked on a number
of critical social-marketing issues, including: anti-tobacco and drug use,
driver safety, sexual assault, crisis management, relationship abuse,
internet safety, and pregnancy prevention. TRU is a part of Research
International, the world¹s largest custom-research firm, with offices in
more than 50 countries. For more information, visit www.tru-insight.com.

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- GETTING PAST THE AFFAIR

This book with the subtitle "A Program to Help you Cope, Heal and Move On -
Together OR Apart" by Snyder, Baucom, Gordon, comes highly endorsed by
experts like Barry McCarthy, Bill Doherty, Frank Pittman, John Gottman and
this one below from Peggy Vaughan which gives an idea of why they find it so
special  as Peggy puts it, it's "like a daily house call from your own
relationship expert'.

"This book is wise, practical, and thorough. It guides you through the
initial trauma of dealing with an affair, then goes beyond most resources in
taking you step by step through the process of understanding what happened
and deciding what to do next. This book is like a daily 'house call' from
your own personal relationship expert. It is a 'must read' for anyone trying
to recover from the trauma of an affair and make good decisions about the
future."  Peggy Vaughan, http://www.DearPeggy.com, author of The Monogamy
Myth

Buy this 5-star rated book on amazon for from $9.30 new and used at:
http://www.smartmarriages.com/app/Media.Booklist

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- PROGRESS NOTES: MARRIAGE EDUCATION PROGRAM OFFERED AT MONTEFIORE

'Supporting Healthy Marriage' Program Offered by Montefiore
 Aim Is to Build a Solid Foundation for Marriage and Family

NEW YORK, March 31, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Montefiore Medical
Center is offering an innovative program, "Supporting Healthy Marriage" to
members of the community interested in strengthening their marriages. The
purpose of the program, administered by University Behavioral Associates,
the behavioral health practice at Montefiore, is to build a solid foundation
for marriage and family through communication, managing stress, conflict
resolution and other skills for coping with the everyday worries that can
create pressure in a marriage.

"Research has shown that a healthy, happy marriage is the most important
factor to beneficially impact people's finances, emotional well-being,
physical condition and children's academic success," said Scott Wetzler,
PhD, Chief of the Division of Psychology at Montefiore and a leading
authority on relationships.

The UBA program is an interactive way to strengthen marriage. Bi-monthly
meeting with other couples in a relaxed atmosphere, everyone can learn
simple, effective communication skills that help defuse tension surrounding
many common problems couples face, such as child-raising, financial worries,
stress and sexual intimacy. The program offers the opportunity to listen and
be heard on these and other issues and promotes ways to have fun together as
a family.

"Even if there's nothing wrong with your marriage," said Dr. Wetzler, "the
program will help make your relationship even better. Couples need to pay
attention to the health of their relationships just as they pay attention to
their physical health. Supporting Healthy Marriage builds on your
relationships strengths."

To learn more about the program, call (718) 401-5050.

Funding for this project was provided by the United States Department of
Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Grant
90FE0086. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations
expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily
reflect the views of the United States Department of Health and Human
Services, Administration for Children and Families.

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- EVANGELICALS LESS LIKELY TO DIVORCE, BARNA SURVEY SAYS

Evangelicals less likely to divorce, Barna survey says
Baptist Press 
April 1, 2008 
By Michael Foust
Mar 31, 2008

> "There no longer seems to be much of a stigma attached to divorce; it is now
> seen as an unavoidable rite of passage," he said in a news release.
> "Interviews with young adults suggest that they want their initial marriage to
> last, but are not particularly optimistic about that possibility. There is
> also evidence that many young people are moving toward embracing the idea of
> serial marriage, in which a person gets married two or three times, seeking a
> different partner for each phase of their adult life."

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Evangelicals are less likely than the overall
population to divorce, although one out of every four evangelicals who are
or have been married nevertheless have gone through at least one divorce,
according to a new study by The Barna Group.

The telephone survey found that, among all U.S. adults who have been
married, 33 percent have been divorced at least once. By comparison, 26
percent of evangelicals who have been married have been divorced. The poll
DID NOT ASK evangelicals whether the divorce occurred before or after their
salvation experience.

The survey was based on a sample of 5,017 adults conducted over a year, from
January 2007 through January 2008. Of this sample, 3,792 adults were or had
been married.

Christian researcher George Barna said Americans have grown accustomed to
divorce.

"There no longer seems to be much of a stigma attached to divorce; it is now
seen as an unavoidable rite of passage," he said in a news release.
"Interviews with young adults suggest that they want their initial marriage
to last, but are not particularly optimistic about that possibility. There
is also evidence that many young people are moving toward embracing the idea
of serial marriage, in which a person gets married two or three times,
seeking a different partner for each phase of their adult life."

Among adults who have been married the poll also found that:

-- 28 percent of self-identified conservatives who have been married have
experienced a divorce, compared to 33 percent of moderates and 37 percent of
liberals.

-- 38 percent of those associated with a non-Christian faith who have been
married have been divorced.

-- 32 percent of whites who have been married have been divorced, 36 percent
of blacks, 31 percent of Hispanics and 20 percent of Asians.

-- 28 percent of self-identified Catholics who have been married have been
divorced.

Nearly four out of every five U.S. adults (78 percent) have been married at
least once.

"Government statistics and a wealth of other research data have shown that
co-habitation increases the likelihood of divorce, yet cohabiting is growing
in popularity," Barna said. "Studies showing the importance and value of
preparing for marriage seem to fall on deaf ears. America has become an
experimental, experience-driven culture. Rather than learn from objective
information and teaching based on that information, people prefer to follow
their instincts and let the chips fall where they may. Given that tendency,
we can expect America to retain the highest divorce rate among all developed
nations of the world."

For a person to be considered an evangelical by Barna researchers, a
respondent must say: he has made a personal commitment to Christ that is
still important to his life today; when he dies he will go to heaven because
he has confessed his sins and accepted Christ as his savior; he has a
personal responsibility to share his beliefs about Christ with
non-Christians; he believes that Satan exists; eternal salvation is possible
only through grace, and not works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on
earth; that the Bible is accurate in all that it teaches; and that God is
the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and
still rules it today.

Among the 3,792 participants included in the survey there were 339
evangelicals, 1,373 non-evangelical born again Christians, 1,488 notional
Christians, 197 associated with a non Christian faith and 269 agnostics or
atheists. Of these, 875 identified themselves as Catholic and 1,997 as
Protestant. Participants described their ethnic identities as white (2,641),
African American (464), Hispanic (458) and Asian (128), and they called
themselves conservative (1,343), moderate (1,720) and liberal (474) on
social and political matters.

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