|
|
Northwest Marriage Week 2006
Ideas on how you can celebrate Northwest Marriage Week 2006:
In your marriage...
In your family...
In your church...
In your community...
In your marriage...
- Sign Families Northwest's "Our Marriage Matters" Pledge and join thousands of other couples throughout the Northwest who are declaring, "Our Marriage Matters to Us."
- Take your spouse out on a date.
- Attend a special Northwest Marriage Week event in your community.
- Commit to going deeper in your relationship by you and your spouse attending a marriage conference or retreat in 2006. For a list of the best marriage-strengthening conferences and retreats in the Northwest, click here.
- If your marriage has become stressed or troubled, call a pastor or counselor for help. You can also attend a conference designed to provide hope and healing for hurting marriages. Don't wait - make the choice now to get things right.
- If your marriage is part of a step-family arrangement, get your hands on "The Smart Step-Family" by Ron L. Deal. It is a great resource for helping you navigate the trials that step-family marriages face.
In your family...
- Pull out your wedding album or video and spend an evening sharing it with your kids or grandkids.
- If you're a single parent, take time to share with your kids about the value of marriage. Regardless of your past experiences, you can help your children develop a vision for a healthy marriage relationship.
- Think of family members whose marriages have been a model to you over the years. Write them a letter of appreciation for their commitment and example.
- Send a note of encouragement or relationship-strengthening book to a couple you know that was married this past year.
- If you have a healthy marriage, offer to mentor a younger married couple.
- Have a gathering for your extended family and ask those couples who have been together the longest to share with the entire family their secrets to a lasting marriage.
In your church...
- Kick off a marriage-focused small group or Bible study. Click here for resource ideas.
- Let us know how you'll celebrate Northwest Marriage Week by clicking here.
- Invite couples to sign the "Our Marriage Matters" pledge.
- Take part in Marriage Message Sunday (February 12th and 19th) by giving a message during your Sunday service on the value of marriage.
- Have the youth and singles ministries meeting during that week give messages on marriage.
- Celebrate marriage in your congregation by honoring the oldest and youngest couples, as well as those that have reached significant marriage milestones (20, 40, 50 years and higher).
- If yours is one of the 1,700 Washington, Oregon and Idaho churches that have signed a Marriage & Family Agreement, read it to the congregation and explain why it is important for your church to be part of a movement for marriage.
- Set aside a special time of prayer during your Sunday services for the engaged and seriously dating couples in your congregation.
- Encourage your church's mentor couples to do something special during this week for the couples they work with.
- Put on a potluck dinner for all of the married couples in your church. Arrange to have a "Q&A" time with a few couples that have been married 30 years or more.
- Invite couples with inspiring marriage testimonies to speak at youth and singles ministries during the week.
- Arrange a special prayer meeting for singles who desire to someday have a healthy, lifelong marriage. Pray specifically for their future mates, as well as for God's guidance during their current season of life.
- Highlight your church's own marriage resources and services in your bulletin and other communication pieces during the week.
- Have pastors share stories of their own marriage journey during Sunday services or other gatherings.
- Have the congregation or church daycare ministry sponsor a "date night" by offering an evening of childcare for married couples in the church.
In your community...
- See if your community has something planned for Northwest Marriage Week 2006. Click here.
- Ask your town's mayor to sign a proclamation for Northwest Marriage Week.
- Sponsor a community-wide marriage celebration honoring marriages that have reached significant milestones.
- Encourage your town's Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, Kiwanis and other community groups to speak about marriage issues at their meetings during the week.
- If you are a leader in a church that has signed a Marriage & Family Agreement, gather together the leaders from the other participating churches to reaffirm your unified commitment to uphold marriage.
- If there is no Marriage & Family Agreement (among congregations) or community effort focusing on strengthening marriage in your area, invite Families Northwest to share with groups of leaders on how to get something significant started.
- Adopt a military couple to encourage and affirm in their marriage relationship.
- Encourage the family life chaplain at your local military base to celebrate Northwest Marriage Week.
- Hold a community event for youth and singles to make a pledge to practice sexual abstinence and take part in healthy relationships in preparation for their future marriages.
- Write an op-ed for your local newspaper about the importance of marriage.
- Encourage your favorite local radio station to run Families Northwest's "Family Matters" radio program.
*Submit your story:
Send us an email letting us know how you'll celebrate Northwest Marriage Week 2006 in your marriage, your family, your church on your community.
|
|
