The Marriage Course

About the course...

The Marriage Course is a course for couples who have been married for any length of time and it a great way to get back to basics and put your marriage on a firm footing.

It was developed by Nicky and Sila Lee, co-authors of The Marriage Book and The Parenting Book. They have been married for over thirty years, have four children and are on the staff at Holy Trinity Brompton - the London church that started the Alpha course. They started The Marriage Preparation Course in 1985 and The Marriage Course in 1996, and the courses continue to spread with thousands of courses now running around the world.

They have spoken to thousands on the subject of marriage and are the co-authors of The Marriage Book which has sold over 52,000 copies since it was published in 2000. They run The Marriage Course three times a year at Holy Trinity Brompton with around 100 couples on each course.

The Marriage Course talks are presented using DVD talks featuring Nicky and Sila. The talks are interspersed with filmed clips of couples talking about their experiences of marriage and street interviews from around the world.

Over seven sessions of the course you will discover practical tools to help you:

- understand each others needs

- communicate more effectively

- grow closer through resolving conflict

- heal the ways you’ve hurt each other

- recognise how your upbringing affects your relationship

- improve relationships with parents and in-laws

- develop greater sexual intimacy

- discover each other’s love languages and much, much more!

Sessions include:

   1. Building Strong Foundations    

This session helps couples to look at their lifestyle and its effect upon their marriage, and to discover more about each other’s needs and desires – particularly on an emotional level.

2. The Art of Communication

Listening is a vital skill for a strong marriage. In this session couples practise communicating their feelings and listening effectively to one another.

3. Resolving Conflict

In this session we look at how couples can increase their intimacy by expressing appreciation to each other, recognising their differences, learning to negotiate disagreements and praying for each other (if they feel comfortable doing so).

4. The Power of Forgiveness

This session addresses the ways we will inevitably have hurt each other and how to resolve these so we don’t create a backlog of anger and resentment. We look at the process of healing through identifying the hurt, saying sorry and forgiving.

5. The Impact of Family – Past and Present

This session focuses on helping couples to recognise how their family background affects the way they relate to each other. They also consider how to build a good and healthy relationship with their parents, in-laws and wider family, and how hurt from childhood can be healed.

6. Good Sex

Sexual intimacy needs to be worked at and developed. It isn’t just the icing on the cake; it’s a vital ingredient of the cake itself. In this session couples are encouraged to talk about their sexual relationship and to recognise where they need to make changes.

7. Love in Action

This session looks at five ways of expressing love – through words, time, touch, presents and actions. Couples discover which expression of love is most important for their partner and how to put this into practice.

Our first Marriage Course, in January 2010, is already fully subscribed. If you are interested in attending a future course, please contact Tony & Janet Brown at lifegroups@hopecorby.org.