Strengthening Marriages in Your Community
Registration: REGISTRATION HAS CLOSED; if you wish to be invited to participate in the next course, please email [email protected].
Course Schedule-Weekly on Saturdays, January-February 2023; All sessions are 2 hours long
Starting Times for US/Canada: 1 p.m. Eastern; Noon Central; 11 a.m. Mountain; 10 a.m. Pacific
Starting Times for All Others: Please go to this link to determine the time in your area, using New York for Eastern Time: https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html
This course draws together members of institutions to study and discuss the content in a live weekly Zoom session. Its design is to increase knowledge and skills for Bahá’í Local Spiritual Assemblies, their members, or their representatives (such as a Marriage Task Force or other committee) who are responding to requests from married individuals or couples experiencing challenges in their marriages. The intention is that the Spiritual Assembly and its representatives improve their response and that the marriages they are serving have a greater likelihood of improved functioning and unity.
It is also hoped that when skillfulness improves there is less negative impact from marriages in difficulty on the Assembly itself and on the community that the Assembly serves.
In addition to addressing challenges, this course introduces Assemblies to educational and preventative measures they can take so that individuals and couples are less likely to get into difficulties.
Note: This course is an individual initiative in service to Spiritual Assemblies in support of an ongoing process of maturation of the institutions. It is not part of an official institutional training program, although the institutions are being kept informed about the course. This is one of many efforts to apply the Bahá’í teachings to the strengthening of marriages.
Change Notes for the Course
Course Schedule and Zoom Link and Phone Numbers for All Course Sessions
Course Site Use - Instructional Video
Unit 1, Lesson 1: About the Course
FREE PREVIEWUnit 1, Lesson 2: Guidelines and Principles for Faculty and Participants
Unit 1, Lesson 3: Honoring Spiritual Assemblies
FREE PREVIEWUnit 1, Lesson 4: Confidentiality
All Units - Practical Scenarios for Discussion
All Units-ScenariosforDiscussion-2-10-23
Unit 2, Lesson 1: Assemblies and the Institution of Marriage
Unit 2-Lesson 1-Quotations-Marriage-10-6-18
Unit 2, Lesson 2: The Power of the Covenant
Unit 2, Lesson 3: Service--Benefits and Balance
Unit 3 - Explanation of Year of Waiting Flowcharts
Unit 3-EXAMPLE-Year of Waiting and Divorce Flowchart-US NSA.pdf
Unit3-EXAMPLE-YOWDivorceFlowChart-OttawaCanadaSpiritualAssembly-July282013.pdf
Unit 3, Lesson 1: Building a Foundation of Trust
Unit 3, Lesson 2: Communication Skills
Unit 3, Lesson 3: Meeting with Individuals and Couples
Unit3-Lesson3-ConductingInitialMeetingswithIndividualsandCoupleswithMarriageProblems-5-8-21.pdf
Unit3-LSAReflectionandGuidingQuestions-Meeting-Ind-Couple-12-27-22.pdf
Unit3-TheArtofListeningfromMindfulMatrimony-Copyrighted.pdf
Unit 3-DevelopingtheSkillsofSendingandReceiving-MindfulMatrimony-Switzer.pdf
Unit3-Non-Violent Communication Method.pdf
Unit3-LSAWorkshop-Consultation-1.pdf
Unit3-LSAWorkshop-Consultation-2.pdf
Unit 4, Lesson 1: Providing Encouragement and Hope
Unit 4-Handout for Couples-Encouragement.pdf
Unit 4, Lesson 2: Resources for Accompanying Couples
Unit4-Lesson2-PreservingBahaiMarriagesMemoResearchDept1990.pdf
Unit4-Lesson2-PreservingBahaiMarriages2009.pdf
Unit 4, Lesson 3: Providing Referrals for Help
Unit4-Lesson3-Non-Bahai-Counselors-2-4-21.pdf
Unit 5, Lesson 1: Introduction to Relationship, Marriage, and Family Education
Unit 5, Lesson 2: Potential Actions for Individuals, Couples, and Assemblies
Unit 5, Lesson 3: Potential Lines of Action
Relationship-Marriage-FamilyEd-BahaiCommunity-12-6-20.pdf
Unit 6, Lesson 1: Introduction to Resources
US Assembly Confidentiality-2013.pdf
Assemblies and Marriage - US NSA Guidelines - Oct 2021.pdf
Assemblies and Divorce - US NSA Guidelines - May 2022.pdf
Domestic Violence Guidelines - US NSA - 2011.pdf
Character-Courtship-ChoosingPartner-Compilation.pdf
Quotations-Family-InLaws.pdf
Some Guidance for Spiritual Assemblies Related to Mental Illness and Its Treatment (permission MK Radpour).pdf
Open Circle Network
BNASAA-OpenCircle-LessonsLearned2020.pdf
Alcohol/Addictions in Marriage and Family
A Mental Progression for Overcoming Hurt Feelings.pdf
Consultation Tool for Couples.pdf
BahaiMarriage Website
Intercultural Resources
Professionals-Bahais-January30-2023.pdf
ForNon-BahaiCounselors.pdf
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You can take this course as an individual member of a Spiritual Assembly or as an appointed individual who is supporting marriages in the community on your own for personal development.
Your entire Spiritual Assembly or appointed marriage support team can take this course by individuals registering. If you are unable to afford part or all of the fee, or if more than 5 members of your Spiritual Assembly are participating and you wish to request a discount, then please email [email protected] with your requests.
“As Spiritual Assemblies are being asked by the Universal House of Justice to 'rise to a new stage in the exercise of their responsibilities as channels of divine guidance...', the St. Johns County Assembly feels blessed to have cultivated a relationship with you. Your dedication to develop and implement an educational program that focuses on empowering couples, Assemblies, and individuals, has transformed our local Assembly. Our study with you has increased our capacity to serve our community. This guidance and education we received is allowing our community to begin the process of shaping new patterns of community life that will promote healthy marriages, strengthen the family, and increase bonds of affection in the greater community. We look forward to working with you in the future.”
Spiritual Assembly of St. Johns County, Florida
“The Course was extremely useful and applicable to my personal service in that I serve on a Counselling Committee in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The quotations, some of which I had never seen before, provided clear insight into many of the challenges that arise during a year of waiting. The course deepened and elevated my appreciation for the fact that a "Baha'i Marriage" is a sacred and divinely ordained eternal institution unlike any other institution in the history of civilization. The quotations provided guidance in what we needed to know and learn. The scenarios gave us practical experience in how to deal with reoccurring and similar situations. The discussions were a bridge to the future in that they inspired many of the participants to engage in supportive activities with the Assemblies in their home communities. Yes, I would highly recommend the course for individuals who serve on those institutions in the communities. I would also highly recommend the course for anybody in a marriage or anyone considering getting in a marriage or anyone considering getting out of a marriage. Thank you very much to all of the faculty who made the course an engaging and rewarding learning experience.”
David Andrews, Member Counselling Committee, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
“The course is a comprehensive and much needed source of information and guidance, especially in this time when relationships are being swept back and forth by a variety of divisive forces. Thanks so much for your gracious hosting and in-depth content. It's a ton of work and we all appreciate it so much.”
Clark Connelly, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, Marriage Counseling Committee
“The course offers Local Spiritual Assemblies an excellent opportunity to think about the role of healthy families in the advancement of the Plan and, consequently, the responsibility to help build and maintain these cells of society as points of light that light up and illuminate everyone around them. Grateful for the opportunity.”
Fariba Vahdat, National Spiritual Assembly of Brazil
“This course about marriages in difficulty has offered a wealth of resources, organized in a systematic manner in trying to touch on all essential elements, and grounded in study of the guidance available to us. The exploration also takes into account various research in the field of communication, intimacy, and relationships, thereby offering a scientific input to balance the spiritual approach to very real problems. It was a very useful exercise, one that I recommend for all individuals, couples, and institutions to become familiar with. I hope it becomes available to a greater audience each passing year.”
Hayat Rushdy-Hanna, Spiritual Assembly of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
“I am extremely grateful to Transformation Learning Center for offering this vital course. I was so impressed with the breadth and depth of knowledge and experience of the faculty, and their commitment to this field and course. I highly recommend any member of an LSA or individual called on to help with challenged marriages in a community take this course. It provided so much clarity about essential issues--and also provide a valuable space to talk through approaches to issues that have little clarity. Thank you!”
Ley Schleich, Spiritual Assembly of Anchorage, Alaska, USA
Susanne M. Alexander (Relationship/Marriage Coach), Leslie Asplund (Counselor), Tina Badiyan (Marriage and Family Therapist), Daniel Dashnaw (Marriage and Family Therapist), Gayle Gonzalez-Johnson (Psychotherapist), Dave Grammer (Marriage and Family Therapist), Wendy Hanevold (Psychologist), Karen Tucker Lynch (Family Coach), Riaz Mostaghim (Marriage Therapist), Jackie Najafian (Marriage and Family Therapist), Taravat Ostovar (Psychologist), Ana Maria Pavon Marin (Clinical Counsellor), Shiva Sabet-Kazilas (Marriage and Family Therapist), Lolita Schmalenberg (Social Worker; Psychotherapist), and Shiva Yan (Individual, Couple, and Family Therapist).
