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Office of Communications |
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Office of Communications |
November 3, 2008 |
Contact: Amy Batheja Communications Specialist Office: (817) 531-7521 abatheja@txwes.edu |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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MARRIAGE EDUCATION INSTRUCTOR TRAINING SEMINAR Anyone interested in becoming an instructor for the TWOgether in Texas state certified course, Growing Love in Christian Marriage, may attend an instructor training workshop Saturday, Nov. 15, at Texas Wesleyan University. Effective Sept. 1, 2008, House Bill 2685 provides that couples who have attended a certified eight-hour course can receive a certificate waiving the state marriage license fee of $60. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission has started the TWOgether in Texas initiative to inform couples about the opportunity, certify courses, and register marriage education providers. Richard and Joan Hunt, who developed the curriculum for Growing Love in Christian Marriage (GLCM), will lead the training session. The couples book course, updated in 2001, is ecumenical in nature and is used by the United Methodist Church for its marriage education courses. “We want to enable churches, pastors, and leaders to offer effective ministries and support to couples so that their marriages are the basis for healthy parenting and family relationships,” said Dr. Richard Hunt. Pastors have used the GLCM couples book with over 300,000 couples since its inception. The workshop for instructors will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, in the Louella Baker Martin Pavilion on the Texas Wesleyan campus. The cost for the training workshop is $30, which includes training materials and refreshments. At the seminar instructors will learn how to use the GLCM book and the GLCM MIRROR Internet-based curriculum. The GLCM course includes eight sessions: commitment, communication, conflict management, companionship and lifestyle, career and finances, children and parenting, community networks, and compass for the future. Once instructors are trained and registered as providers with TWOgether in Texas, they can organize and lead the eight-hour GLCM seminar at any location, including at Texas Wesleyan. Richard and Joan Hunt have been involved with marriage education for most of their lives. They have co-led marriage workshops at college campuses, churches, prisons, and other settings. Richard has published and presented in the areas of marriage preparation, education, enrichment, and assessment and in clergy assessment, selection, and support. He is first author of Marriage Enrichment: Preparation, Mentoring, and Outreach (1998), and first editor of Clergy Assessment and Career Development (1990). Richard and Joan co-authored the Caring Couples Network Handbook (1996) and Awaken Your Power to Love (1994). As a long time member of the United Methodist Central Texas Conference, Richard served pastoral appointments in this conference for thirteen years. In addition to his service as chaplain of Texas Wesleyan University from 1957 to 1959 and as adjunct instructor until 1965, Richard and Joan both attended Texas Wesleyan. Joan completed her B.F.A. at Southern Methodist University and taught in public schools in Garland for 10 years. Richard completed his B.A. at Texas Wesleyan, M.Div. and M.A. at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, and Ph.D. in psychology at Texas Christian University. He was professor of psychology at SMU for 20 years and at the School of Psychology, Fuller Seminary, Pasadena, CA, for 11 years where he continues as a senior professor. Instructor Training Seminar For more information, email glcm@careermarriage.org.
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