Pilgrim's Progress - 12th Frebruary 2010
Valentine's Day: there has been a lot in the papers about tax incentives for married couples, but today I don't want to enter into that political debate.
As a vicar, I want to affirm marriage, because its benefits and blessings are well-attested. To affirm marriage is not to disparage those who are not married, or whose marriages have, for whatever reason, not lasted. Single parent families and cohabiting couples can all possess the qualities of love and fidelity which we long for, but we should encourage what is good for people seeking lasting love, and wanting the best for their children.
There are many strains on marriage today, with the desire and the need for both parents to work, the erosion of time together through increasing patterns of shift work and the pressures of looking after growing children and older parents.
People are choosing to get married later, and are often forced to live far away from supportive family networks.
There is often a lack of preparation for the demands of married life, and a lack of support for those going through inevitable times of stress and pressure which affect every married couple.
One of the positive aspects of being married in church is that many churches like ours offer marriage preparation or courses.
Our aim is to give couples the best possible start and to help good marriages get better, so that not only is marriage and family life built up and supported, but healthy marriages have a ripple effect on our society. We aim too, along with others, to support not only people in all these complex relationships in our society, but those who are experiencing the increasing problem of loneliness.
Rev Rupert Martin,
St Helens,
Sandal Magna
Churches Together are at www.wdco.org/site/Churches-Together-in-Wakefield
Pilgrim's Progress is edited by Nick Shields
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Friday 25 May 2012
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