Thursday, September 17, 2009

Five year anniversary of key marriage document

(Submitted as press release to Springfield News Sun and The Springfield Paper)


On September 17, 2004 forty-seven religious leaders signed a Community Marriage Policy at Elderly United to “raise the standard” of marriage.

The number of Clark County signers is now approximately 140, with an additional 50 or so each in adjoining Greene and Champaign Counties.

Pastor John Essig of Fellowship Christian Church in Springfield, an original signer, writes: “It is hard to calculate all the benefits from 5 Years of CMP. One thing is sure, that we are far better with it. My hope is that we invest again as we build for another 5 years of CMP cooperation.”

CMP signers pledged to encourage a one year courtship, provide premarital preparation for 4 to 6 months and raise up marriage mentor couples to provide mentoring for all stages of marriage.

Lavern Nissley, Executive Director of Marriage Resource Center, sees the CMP as crucial for ongoing marriage stability: “We estimate that some 700 marriage failures didn’t happen as a result of this collaboration.”

The original CMP with signatures is displayed at Marriage Resource Center of Miami Valley, 616 North Limestone in Springfield. A listing of signers, photos and videos are posted at http://www.marriageresourcecenter.org/.

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