Marriage Week UK Celebrating Commitment

Marriage Week, which falls from 7 – 14th February, is an opportunity to raise awareness of the value and contribution of marriage to relationships and to society.

Mothers’ Union believes strongly that marriage provides couples, and children of the couple, with the best foundation for a happy, stable family life, and that it follows that stable families provide a positive bedrock for all of us in society.

In his letter to the Thessalonians St Paul says “Test everything. Hold on to the good.” Marriage is one ideal that we believe is proven and is good. And research bears us out. It shows that married couples and the children of married parents live longer, are happier, and are financially more secure.

Does it follow, therefore that Mother’s Union – by supporting marriage, by praising its virtues of stability, happiness and well-being – is condemning relationships outside marriage? Withdrawing support with a “holier than thou” attitude?

Emphatically no. Firstly, our volunteers actively support families in all their diversity. We support family relationships both within prisons and for families affected by the imprisonment of a family member. Through child contact centre work we encourage family stability even through the trauma of separation and divorce. In churches and community centres our volunteers run community-building relationship groups, from parent and toddlers, outreach to teenagers, to events for the elderly and isolated. Our Away from it All Holidays are a blessing to many families – of all shapes and sizes – who would not otherwise have the opportunity for a special time away together.

Secondly, in our own lives we know that marriage is not always the panacea that cures all. Divorce, separation, the loneliness of never being in a relationship or of widowhood, the instability of cohabitation, we all of us can share experiences of this, if not in our own lives, in our wider families.  We know too that the cosy fantasy of perfect marriage is far from the reality that most of us experience.

But that is the point. Marriage remains the ideal of many – including the majority of cohabiting couples. But an idealistic view of marriage as the perfect happy ending is not the answer.  Yes we have a vision that all relationships should be loving, and respectful. But we also believe that couples need the support of all of us if relationships are to flourish and provide the best environment for couples and their children. When a couple marry, not only do they make a public commitment to each other, but those attending the wedding – their community – make a commitment to do all they can to support that marriage. This is a vital element to marriage which we overlook to our detriment. All relationships need support at some stage. By giving, and by calling on government to actively support marriage as an institution, we believe we can achieve our vision of a world where God’s love is shown through loving, respectful and flourishing relationships.

Most couples, and that includes 79% of all cohabiting couples, see marriage as the ideal. Recent figures which show that divorce rates have dropped to their lowest level in 33 years indicate that awareness of and access to relationship education may be bearing fruit.  Although there is no blueprint as to what makes a lasting marriage, the drop in divorce statistics encourages us at Mothers’ Union to continue our efforts in relationship support. Through training marriage preparation facilitators through our Loving for Life programme we are able to effectively engage with the needs of couples and give them the tools to be able to work at being able to remain loving for life.

To read more on Mothers' Union's support for marriage click here.

For more information on Marriage Week click here.