by Richard Kane.
It was supposed to be a fairly unremarkable afternoon, 3 days into our 14 day stint as chaplains to the English Speaking church in Verbier. After Marriage Week it’s nice to do something completely different, and being a chaplain for two weeks is very different to Marriage Week activity. So, Maria and I are hosting an “open house” afternoon, where anyone can drop in for a chat or more. A new couple arrive. I begin to chat with them, they tell me about their house in Bermuda, which sounds great, except that I have never been to Bermuda and I certainly don’t have a house on the beach in Bermuda or anywhere else.
Finally, I say “I know someone in Bermuda, involved in marriage ministry called Mildred”. His face lights up replying, “No way, we know her, in fact we were at a special event for Marriage Week Bermuda just last week – have you heard of National Marriage Week?”. They then begin to tell me all about Marriage Week and what a great idea it is. I stand there thinking how amazing it is that God has set up this crazy situation hearing about Marriage Week in Bermuda from two Swiss people in an English Chaplain’s flat in the Swiss mountains, with a mutual friend. They say that they really enjoyed the Marriage Week event and we meet them again, finally praying with them on the last evening.
Marriage Week is now in 26 nations, with, we estimate 10,000 leaders working hard each year to deliver the Marriage Week program in their region, which is terrific. This probably makes us a movement. While local events are so important, encouraging pastors and anyone else to do something to celebrate healthy marriage, the real story is the massive amount of media coverage on TV news, radio, social media (52 interviews in the UK alone), and this is where it matters even more, because media influences the attitudes and thinking of people everywhere. So when Jesus calls us to make disciples of the nations, the clearest way to do that is to influence the media agenda, by setting the media agenda.>
However, Marriage Week opens doors and hearts by acting as a harvesting machine drawing people into relationship with God, by inspiring them to cultivate better relationships. After all, God is the author of healthy relationships, so why wouldn’t He inhabit a project designed to be simply a great encouragement to couples all over the World.
You can start or join a Marriage Week where you are! Check www.marriage-weekinternational.com for more information. Or join the International Conference 23-25 June, Prague. Czech.