Local couples can renew vows at Feb 13 ceremony

Becki Robinson, coordinator for the Marriage Resource Center of Miami Valley’s Greene County satellite office, prepares for several upcoming events meant to forge lasting relationships. One of those events is “A Celebration of Marriage.” The Sunday, Feb. 13, ceremony will allow married couples to renew their vows and learn more about what makes a healthy marriage.

Published in Xenia-Gazette 1/27/2011 10:10:00 PM

Local couples can renew vows at Feb. 13 ceremony

XENIA — Greene County couples will get to strengthen their bonds and reaffirm their love on Sunday, Feb. 13, when the Marriage Resource Center of Miami Valley holds “A Celebration of Marriage” at Emmanuel Baptist Church, 1120 S. Detroit St.

The event, which will take place during Marriage Week USA, is meant to be a community-wide ceremony that helps couples recapture their zeal and rekindle their commitment to their marriages. The ceremony will begin at 3 p.m. with a vow renewal, giving attendees an opportunity to repeat the words spoken to their significant other on their wedding day. Certificates will be provided for participants.

Following the vow renewal, time will be taken out to honor those who provide essential instruction and guidance to couples before and during marriage. During the mentor recognition segment of the event, mentors will stand and be recognize for their efforts to build and preserve healthy relationships between spouses. Marriage mentoring, says Becki Robinson, the Greene County coordinator of the Marriage Resource, has made an unappreciated contribution to the preservation of relationships.

“Statistics show there is a 90 percent success rating for couples who take a year of dating, courtship and mentoring,” said Robinson.

After the mentor recognition, local pastors, businessmen and city officials will join together with the signing of a marriage policy that declares their commitment to the institution of marriage. According to Robinson, the policy affirms local leadership’s conviction that strong communities are built on the bedrock of strong marriages.

“This marriage policy shows their dedication to the idea that healthy marriages lead to healthy families,” said Robinson. “In turn, healthy families lead to a healthy community.”

Before the event comes to a close at 5:30 p.m., a reception will be held, complete with wedding cake and punch. The Marriage Resource Center’s Greene County office will also be open for attendees to visit.

Robinson hopes to have Greene County’s longest married couple present at the celebration. People wishing to nominate a couple for consideration are encouraged to visit the Marriage Resource Center’s website at www.marriageresourcecenter.org or contact Becki Robinson at 937-324-3604. Couples wishing to register for the vow renewal or get more information can also visit the website or call 937-689-0149.

The Sunday, Feb. 13, ceremony will set the stage for a Real Intimacy and Growth Skills (RINGS) class on Feb 19. The class, which will be held from 8:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Emmanuel Baptist Church, seeks to equip couples with the tools and skills required to build and preserve a loving and lasting marriage.

“The class does not present what is ideal,” said Robinson. “It gives practical tools. Some men are scared of the RINGS class. I tell the guys that we don’t sit in a circle and share our feelings. It’s about getting the tools that help people be successful in marriage.”

The class will be carried out in an informal classroom setting, complete with lunch and learning materials. Attendees will be asked to envision the goals and benefits of a loving, lasting marriage. In addition, mentors will help couples learn how to strengthen their communication and conflict resolution skills. The class, says Robinson, is well-suited for couples of all stages.

“So many people think, ‘My marriage is doing okay. I don’t have to do anything,’” said Robinson. “When you have a car, you have to have regular maintenance. When you have a plant, you need to water it or it will die. Likewise, you need to do something that keeps life and health in your relationship.”

The cost of the class is $40, which covers workbooks and refreshments. Interested couples can check the website or call to register and learn about discounted rates.

The Marriage Resource Center of Miami Valley was founded in 2004 to address the high divorce rate in Clark County. In 2006, the center began offering classes in Greene County. Three years later, a satellite office was started in Greene County at Emmanuel Baptist Church. The center, which is working to procure its own building in Greene County, partners with community churches and works to inspire marriage success by developing initiatives that build value and skills for healthy relationships.

'Not-So Newlywed Game' winner get second honeymoon cruise

By Whitney DeGroat

Staff Writer for Springfield News-Sun - published 10/20/10

SPRINGFIELD — Marriage Resource Center of the Miami Valley is turning to an old game to raise money and bring attention to couples who have had successful marriages.

Four local couples will face-off in the “Not-So Newlywed Game,” a play on the 1960s game show “The Newlywed Game,” to win a second-honeymoon Carribean cruise.

Three couples will be chosen by voters via a ballot at www.springfieldnewssun.com - all except the final couple, who will be chosen from a drawing the night of the game as “wild card” competitors.

The game will take place 6 p.m. to 8p.m Nov. 5 at Shawnee Place Apartments, 102 East Main Street.

Tickets are on sale from $25 to $40, and are available at newlywed.eventbrite.org. Proceeds will fund the operations of Marriage Resource Center, who is hosting the event.

Marriage Resource Center, which works to promote family stability by teaching couples and individuals how to build healthy relationships, was launched in 2004 and began teaching classes in 2005. The group focuses their efforts on Clark, Greene, and Champaign counties, but has had individuals come from as far as Wisconsin, said Executive Director Lavern Nissley.

Supported by a combination of government, private, and individual funds, the group has served nearly 8,500 people in the past five years, said Nissley.

The results, he says, have been positive.

“In 2004, around the time we began operations, Clark County’s divorce rate was twice the national average,” he said. “It has since dropped about 20 percent.”

The center was created as a response to those high divorce rates.

The center’s impact is also seen in the responses of those who have participated in their services. “I’ve heard people tell us that their marriages might not be intact if it weren’t for our organization,” said Nissley. “That’s what makes it worthwhile.”

Couples honored for long-lasting marriages

(Springfield News-Sun article, 4/17/09)
Six inducted into MRC’s Marriage Hall of Fame for long-lasting relationships

By Bridgette Outten
Staff Writer

SPRINGFIELD — Don’t go to bed angry. Make your spouse feel important. Be secure in your marriage.
    Those pieces of advice were a few words of wisdom from couples who were honored in a reception hosted by the Marriage Resource Center of Miami Valley on Thursday, April 16. They also have been inducted into MRC’s Black Marriage Hall of Fame.
    But the advice wasn’t all serious.
    “Smoking, drinking and real good blues,” Ralph Goodwin responded when asked about the secret of his 51-year-old marriage to his wife, Marlene.
    Marlene Goodwin poked her husband affectionately and added, “respect for one another,” to the list.
    The couples honored were the Goodwins, Darryl and Lynn Crockett, William and Hazel Carter, Sonny and Beverly Young, James and Ella Smith, and Clarence and Winifred Miller, who could not attend the reception. The five couples in attendance have more than 200 years of marriage combined.

    It’s the first time the MRC has recognized March 22 as Black Marriage Day because of the need to show “the importance and significance of marriage in the African-American community,” Executive Director Lavern Nissley said.

     At 66 years, the Carters had the longest run of the couples. They said they respect each other and put each other first.

    The Smiths, married for 63 years, said the relationship has to be give and take.

    None of the couples said making a marriage work is easy. “Marriage is work,” Lynn Crockett said. “It doesn’t have to be hard work, but it is work.”

    Though Darryl Crockett claimed that every husband should just say “Yes, dear,” and “You might be right,” he agreed with his wife of 30 years that “marriage is a choice. You have to choose to make it work.”

    And there’s one element that can’t be forgotten. “I love Sonny,” said Beverly Young, speaking of her husband of 31 years. “He’s my best friend.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0374 or boutten@coxohio.com.