Title: KC church launches new marriage ministry
Date: May 12, 2000
Disciples News Service
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Contact: news@cm.disciples.org
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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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