[ 0 => '{{User sandbox}}', 1 => '<!-- EDIT BELOW THIS LINE -->', 2 => ''''<u>The Marriage Course</u>'''', 3 => '', 4 => '[https://themarriagecourse.org The Marriage Course] consists of two courses for couples – The Pre-Marriage Course and The Marriage Course. The Pre-Marriage Course is designed for couples who are either [[Engagement|engaged]] and or are wanting to explore [[marriage]]. The Marriage Course is a seven-week programme designed to help couples invest in their relationship and build a strong marriage. ', 5 => '', 6 => 'Husband-and-wife, Nicky and Sila Lee, created The Marriage Course in 1996. Originally, it was designed as a follow-up course for individuals who had previously gone through The Pre-Marriage Course at [[Holy Trinity Brompton]] (HTB), an [[Anglican Communion|Anglican]] church in [[central London]]. The programme equips couples with valuable tools to nurture and enhance their relationships. ', 7 => '', 8 => 'Following Nicky's [[ordination]] in 1985, the couple joined the staff of HTB. HTB’s vicar, [[Sandy Millar]], requested their assistance in creating a course tailored for couples preparing for marriage within the church. Building upon this initial project, the Lees expanded their efforts to develop The Pre-Marriage Course, The Marriage Course, The Parenting Children Course, and The Parenting Teenagers Course. They also authored [https://www.re-vived.com/products/the-marriage-book?variant=31906706161802&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&utm_campaign=gs-2018-09-19&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwkdO0BhDxARIsANkNcrfpNwmLVbgMacCddun4a4IF2p5wOJa8clgh-UmWOam2W_JFyO6UNIoaAnV5EALw_wcB The Marriage Book] and [https://www.re-vived.com/products/the-parenting-book?_pos=2&_sid=2384622cf&_ss=r The Parenting Book]. These resources, dedicated to fostering strong marriages and family bonds, have reached over four million individuals across more than 120 countries and in more than 40 languages. ', 9 => '', 10 => 'Providing relationship tools and actionable insights, The Marriage and Pre-Marriage Courses are relevant for couples whose aim is to be proactive in strengthening their bond or finding solutions for specific challenges. [[Nicky Gumbel]] has said of the courses: “Many couples have found their marriages enriched through attending them. For some, the course has literally saved their marriage from separation or [[divorce]].” ', 11 => '', 12 => 'The Pre-Marriage Course is tailored both for couples who are engaged and for couples who want to explore marriage, while The Marriage Course is aimed at couples who are already married or have been living together for two years or longer but have no current plans to get married. The courses are designed to support couples who wish to establish a solid marriage and strong connection, enhance communication and effectively address their differences as individuals. ', 13 => '', 14 => ''''<u>Course structure</u>''' ', 15 => '', 16 => 'The Marriage and Pre-Marriage Courses are designed to be run in a group setting, but guests do not participate in any group work or share with hosts during the course. The courses usually run one evening a week for seven weeks for The Marriage Course or five weeks for The Pre-Marriage Course. Usually, the sessions are set up to create the atmosphere of a “date night” by the host, with guests sharing the room with other couples, but seated separately with their partner. ', 17 => '', 18 => 'The sessions of the course are structured to consist of three elements: couples share a meal with one another, watch a video that covers a specific topic, and engage in guided conversations. These discussions take place with their partner only and are guided by a [https://shop.alpha.org/p/457/the-marriage-course-guest-journal-paperback?origin=Unknown Guest Journal] that each course participant receives from the course host or purchases themselves. The guided conversations cover topics such as “The First Time You Met”, “A Significant Memory”, “Recognising Your Differences” and “Talking About Sex”. There is also a “Reflective Listening” exercise and a “Rhinos and Hedgehogs” discussion. ', 19 => '', 20 => 'The video recordings viewed in each session are narrated by Nicky and Sila Lee, creators of The Marriage and Pre-Marriage Courses and authors of [https://www.re-vived.com/products/the-marriage-book?variant=31906706161802&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&utm_campaign=gs-2018-09-19&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwkdO0BhDxARIsANkNcre9HgNEj4nFpJfJKTWyZrTMA4mwTrmq4z1BuotA0TgeVjfgqHZC0RcaApOLEALw_wcB The Marriage Book]. The videos also feature inserts of topical insights shared by renowned psychiatrists, authors, psychologists and psychosexual specialists, as well as vox-pop interviews on the street with members of the public, and honest relationship stories by couples from around the world. ', 21 => '', 22 => ''''Featured experts''' ', 23 => '', 24 => 'The following individuals are featured in the video series of The Pre-Marriage and Marriage Courses:', 25 => '', 26 => '[[Henry Cloud]] – Psychologist and co-author of ''Boundaries in Marriage''', 27 => '', 28 => '[[Sue Johnson]] – Clinical Psychologist and author of ''Hold Me Tight''', 29 => '', 30 => '[[Gary Chapman (author)|Gary Chapman]] – Author of ''The Five Love Languages''®', 31 => '', 32 => '[https://www.emmawaring.com/ Emma Waring] – Psychosexual specialist and author', 33 => '', 34 => '[https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=_0-iYBMAAAAJ&hl=en Xuefu Wang] – Psychotherapist and founder of the Zhi Mian Institute for Psychotherapy', 35 => '', 36 => 'Mosun Dorgu – Child and adolescent psychiatrist', 37 => '', 38 => '[https://www.eauk.org/author/john-kirkby John Kirkby] – Founder of [[Christians Against Poverty]]', 39 => '', 40 => '[https://www.viacharacter.org/about/people/roger-bretherton Roger Bretherton] – Psychologist, [[University of Lincoln]]', 41 => '', 42 => '[https://robparsons.com/ Rob Parsons] – Founder of [https://www.careforthefamily.org.uk/ Care for the Family]', 43 => '', 44 => ''''History'''', 45 => '', 46 => 'Nicky and Sila Lee joined the staff of [[Holy Trinity Brompton]] (HTB) Church in [[central London]] following Nicky's ordination in 1985. The vicar requested their assistance in creating a course tailored for couples preparing for marriage within the church.^[1] [https://www.themarriagecourse.org/course/the-pre-marriage-course The Pre-Marriage Course] was launched in 1985. Nicky and Sila also ran the [[Alpha course]] at HTB for five years, before handing this over to [[Nicky Gumbel]] and his wife, Pippa, in 1990. The Lees went on to develop [https://www.themarriagecourse.org/course/the-marriage-course The Marriage Course], which has been running since 1996.^[2]', 47 => '', 48 => 'In ''[https://www.re-vived.com/products/the-marriage-book?variant=31906706161802&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&utm_campaign=gs-2018-09-19&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwkdO0BhDxARIsANkNcre9HgNEj4nFpJfJKTWyZrTMA4mwTrmq4z1BuotA0TgeVjfgqHZC0RcaApOLEALw_wcB The Marriage Book]'', Sila explains how she and Nicky have worked with hundreds of couples and how The Marriage Course was developed: “For the past thirty-five years we have been increasingly involved in seeking to help other marriages. We have seen hundreds of couples and have faced with them a range of diverse and difficult issues. From all of them, and from our own marriage, we have learnt that the marriage relationship is not always easy, but it is highly rewarding. These experiences, combined with our own research and plenty of advice from others in the field, enabled us to develop a five-week Pre-Marriage Course for couples who are either engaged or exploring marriage and a seven-week Marriage Course for couples at any stage of their marriage. Thousands of couples have been on these courses and we still run each of them three times a year. After we put the courses on film, in response to numerous requests, they started to be run by thousands of couples in many different countries and languages around the world.”^[3]  ', 49 => '', 50 => 'Although The Marriage Course was initially created for congregants at HTB (which is also the birthplace of [[Alpha course|the Alpha course]]), wider interest began to grow as its reputation spread. Even beyond London, people started sending requests about hosting the course within their local communities – in their homes, restaurants, pubs or village halls. The programme even made its way into UK prisons and military bases. Although the course is based on Christian principles, by 2013, a large proportion of the participating couples had no religious affiliation.^[4]', 51 => '', 52 => 'In 2020, the course was being run in over 120 countries, in 45 languages, and had been completed by over 2 million couples worldwide.^[5]', 53 => '', 54 => 'The Marriage Course is a part of [[Alpha course|Alpha International]], a [[Charitable organization|charity]] registered in [[England]] and [[Wales]] (no. 1086179) and in [[Scotland]] (no. SC042906) and a private company limited by guarantee and registered in England & Wales (no. 4157379). However, Alpha International is not directly involved in the running of individual courses, which are the responsibility of the course leader, church or organisation running it.^[6]', 55 => '', 56 => ''''The Marriage Course during lockdown'''', 57 => '', 58 => 'During the [[COVID-19 pandemic|Covid-19 pandemic]], churches offered The Marriage Course online. According to an article in [[The Spectator|''The Spectator,'']] sign-ups for the “ever-popular Marriage Course” soared when the course went online at the start of lockdown.^[7] Journalist Henry Mance also commented on the high course registration numbers in a [[Financial Times|''Financial Times'']] article, noting that HTB church’s “seven-week marriage course normally has 80 to 100 couples attending; 5,500 couples have signed up online since lockdown began.”^[8]', 59 => '', 60 => 'Another story in [[The Daily Telegraph|''The Telegraph'']] stated that, “online searches for ‘I want a divorce’ have gone up 150 percent since lockdown”. The author, Lucy Denyer signed up to do The Marriage Course with her husband and wrote about the impact the course was having on her marriage. “Having to sit down and properly talk about things is certainly a game-changer, especially at the moment. … Having a two-hour slot set aside on Monday evenings where we have to confront the things that are bugging us and work through them in a constructive manner has reset our relationship each time.”^[9]', 61 => '', 62 => 'During the lockdown period, Nicky and Sila also recorded and shared videos, which appeared on [[YouTube]] and on The Marriage Course website. These videos were entitled “Nicky and Sila: How to Cope as a Couple during Coronavirus” and “Nicky and Sila: How to Have Healthy Conflicts”.^[10]', 63 => '', 64 => ''''The Pre-Marriage Course'''', 65 => '', 66 => '[https://www.themarriagecourse.org/course/the-pre-marriage-course The Pre-Marriage Course] takes place over five sessions.', 67 => '', 68 => 'The format of [https://www.themarriagecourse.org/course/the-pre-marriage-course The Pre-Marriage Course] differs slightly from that of The Marriage Course in that couples attending the course will usually complete the Couple Survey before starting the course and meet with a Support Couple after completing the course. The Couple Survey is an online questionnaire that highlights the strengths of their relationship and raises discussion points to help couples understand each other better. While it may bring up issues for a couple to address before getting married, it is not a compatibility test.', 69 => '', 70 => 'The Support Couple hosts the couple (in person or online), shares some of their own experiences of marriage and walks them through their Survey results. A Support Couple is a couple who have been married for at least two years and completed The Marriage Course themselves.^[11]', 71 => '', 72 => ''''Course narrators (Nicky and Sila Lee)'''', 73 => '', 74 => 'The Marriage and Pre-Marriage Course videos are narrated by Nicky and Sila Lee, who have been married since 1976. Nicky met Sila when he was eighteen and she was seventeen. The couple met at the [[Swansea docks]] while waiting for a ferry to [[Ireland]]. Nicky proposed to Sila in February 1976 and they were married in July. Over more than 47 years of marriage, the couple has lived in [[Japan]], the [[North East England|North East of England]], [[central London]] and the [[Southern England|South of England]]. They have four children and ten grandchildren.^[12]', 75 => '', 76 => 'In the foreword that he wrote for ''[https://www.re-vived.com/products/the-marriage-book?variant=31906706161802&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&utm_campaign=gs-2018-09-19&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwkdO0BhDxARIsANkNcre9HgNEj4nFpJfJKTWyZrTMA4mwTrmq4z1BuotA0TgeVjfgqHZC0RcaApOLEALw_wcB The Marriage Book]'', Nicky Gumbel writes of Nicky and Sila’s marriage that: “It inspires us to aim for the very best,” and “We have learnt so much from the example of their marriage and family life. We have observed in their home something to which we can aspire.”^[13]', 77 => '', 78 => '----^[1] https://www.eternitynews.com.au/australia/sharing-the-secrets-to-a-long-happy-marriage/', 79 => '', 80 => 'Lim, Anne. “Sharing the secrets to a long, happy marriage”, eternitynews.com.au, 3 October 2023.', 81 => '', 82 => '^[2] Gumbel, Nicky. “Foreword”, ''[https://www.re-vived.com/products/the-marriage-book?variant=31906706161802&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&utm_campaign=gs-2018-09-19&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwkdO0BhDxARIsANkNcre9HgNEj4nFpJfJKTWyZrTMA4mwTrmq4z1BuotA0TgeVjfgqHZC0RcaApOLEALw_wcB The Marriage Book]'', Hodder & Stoughton, 2020, p. viii.', 83 => '', 84 => '^[3] Lee, Sila. “Introduction”, ''[https://www.re-vived.com/products/the-marriage-book?variant=31906706161802&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&utm_campaign=gs-2018-09-19&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwkdO0BhDxARIsANkNcre9HgNEj4nFpJfJKTWyZrTMA4mwTrmq4z1BuotA0TgeVjfgqHZC0RcaApOLEALw_wcB The Marriage Book]'', Hodder & Stoughton, 2020, p. 9.', 85 => '', 86 => '^[4]https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/dec/28/mission-to-save-marriages', 87 => '', 88 => 'Moore, Anna. “A mission to save marriages”, theguardian.com, 28 December 2013.', 89 => '', 90 => '^[5] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/relationships/signed-online-marriage-therapy-course/', 91 => '', 92 => 'Denyer, Lucy. “Why I’ve signed up for an online marriage therapy course”, telegraph.co.uk, 16 April 2020.', 93 => '', 94 => '^[6] https://themarriagecourse.org/, themarriagecourse.org, 27 October 2023', 95 => '', 96 => '^[7] https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/coromance-is-blossoming/ Rossiter,Joanna. "Coromance is blossoming”, spectator.co.uk, 23 May 2020.', 97 => '', 98 => '^[8] https://www.ft.com/content/a0975a06-9996-11ea-8b5b-63f7c5c86befMance,Henry.”How&#x20;the&#x20;pandemic&#x20;reinvigorated&#x20;religion”,&#x20;ft.com', 99 => '', 100 => '^[9] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/relationships/signed-online-marriage-therapy-course/', 101 => '', 102 => 'Denyer, Lucy. “Why I’ve signed up for an online marriage therapy course”, telegraph.co.uk, 16 April 2020.', 103 => '', 104 => '^[10] https://www.youtube.com/@TheMarriageCourse', 105 => '', 106 => '^[11] https://themarriagecourse.org/try/the-pre-marriage-course', 107 => '', 108 => '^[12] Lee, Sila. “Introduction”, ''[https://www.re-vived.com/products/the-marriage-book?variant=31906706161802&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&utm_campaign=gs-2018-09-19&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwkdO0BhDxARIsANkNcre9HgNEj4nFpJfJKTWyZrTMA4mwTrmq4z1BuotA0TgeVjfgqHZC0RcaApOLEALw_wcB The Marriage Book]'', Hodder & Stoughton, 2020, p. 8.', 109 => '', 110 => '^[13] Gumbel, Nicky. “Foreword”, ''[https://www.re-vived.com/products/the-marriage-book?variant=31906706161802&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&utm_campaign=gs-2018-09-19&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwkdO0BhDxARIsANkNcre9HgNEj4nFpJfJKTWyZrTMA4mwTrmq4z1BuotA0TgeVjfgqHZC0RcaApOLEALw_wcB The Marriage Book]'', Hodder & Stoughton, 2020, p. viii.' ]