Living and Loving in Authentic Connection

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the importance of Christian marriage, and shared that I plan to create opportunities for married couples in our midst to grow in their capacity to live as couples in the way God intends. To that end, I’d like to invite all married couples, whatever phase of your married life you may be in, to attend a workshop hosted at Christ Church on November 13-14.

The workshop leader will be Karen Merry, a committed Christian and licensed marriage and family therapist. The workshop is titled “Living and Loving in Authentic Connection,” and will focus on identifying areas in our lives that keep us from experiencing intimacy with our spouse, then exploring what it might look like to experience freedom and health. This is challenging work that requires courage. But it is good and essential if we are fully to experience the beauty and mystery of marriage as intended by God.

In our effort to build healthy marriages at Christ Church, the goal is not simply for the couples themselves to experience abundance and blessing, but also for the health of our congregation, and even as a witness to the world around us. We desperately need mature married couples to serve as mentors to younger married couples, and also to engage in intentional hospitality to single people, allowing the love given and received in marriage to overflow to those around them.

Finally, I’m struck by one of the petitions in the Marriage Liturgy of the Book of Common Prayer: “Make their life together a sign of Christ’s love to this sinful and broken world, that unity may overcome estrangement, forgiveness heal guilt, and joy conquer despair.” Developing good, healthy marriages is part of our congregation’s witness to the world, which is indeed sinful and broken, yet so passionately loved by God.

We have a great opportunity to grow in this witness in November. Please talk and pray with your spouse about whether it might be a good thing for you to attend. I’m looking forward to the time, and trust that good fruit will come of it.

Peace,

Chris