IMPROVING YOUR MARRIAGE: WFWP NY METRO HOLDS CORNERSTONE FOR HAPPINESS SEMINAR

Editor’s Note: The Cornerstone for Happiness seminar is a new curriculum developed for WFWP in 2019 and local chapters are already benefiting from this exciting resource. Check out other recent reports of the seminar’s success here and here. Contact your local WFWP chapter chairwoman or representative if you would also like to hold such a seminar in your community.

On a warm, breezy afternoon in New York City, the WFWP New York Metro Chapter hosted an interactive one day marriage and family seminar titled “Cornerstone for Happiness”, followed by a Marriage Rededication Ceremony. Over 30 women, couples, and guests attended on Saturday, March 30th, 2019 and had a wonderful experience!

The event started off with an introduction to WFWP USA by Rev. Beryl Green, who is the WFWP New York Metro Chairwoman. Rev. Green spoke about the history of how WFWP came to be and its vision and goals for everlasting peace in the world and especially within our own families, which was very fitting for the theme of this event.

Then our WFWP USA Vice President Katarina Connery presented the powerful core material of the seminar, which focused on building a healthy marriage and family as well as addressing the challenges that come with it. The presentation was followed by discussion questions, such as issues parents face when raising healthy families and how pop culture and media can affect children in understanding love and relationships.

The participants deeply expressed their concerns about how today’s culture and society does not properly demonstrate the marriage and family structure. One participant said in particular that kids learn easily how to disrespect others because that behavior was modeled in the families they grew up in. Another participant discussed how social media can influence people to feel depressed and hopeless in love after seeing someone else’s happy life, whether it be married or being with a family. It was crucial to hear everyone express their concerns about the challenges that they witness with marriage and families and hope to come up with solutions to build a family of love and peace.

After the seminar, the second part of the program was led by representatives from the Family Federation for World Peace. Rev. Mari and Richard Curry officiated the marriage rededication ceremony, which gave the three participating couples the opportunity to renew their commitment to each other and to their family before God. The officiators led the couples in their rededication of marriage vows and closed with a prayer of blessing. Then they offered all couples congratulations, which was celebrated with a cake cutting. Everyone then enjoyed a delicious dinner and beautiful entertainment.

It was a successful event overall, with the newly dedicated couples happily devoted again to each other and participants becoming more determined to teach the values of marriage and families back in their communities, and even in their own homes!