Celebrate Marriage!

National Marriage Week is February 7th -14th (www.NationalMarriageWeekUSA.org). We love marriage here at Orange Friends Church. We want your marriage to be long lasting and healthy. It is a blessing from God even during difficult times - and we all have those times. In light of National Marriage Week, I want to remind you all of our commitment to marriage health through our Healthy Marriage Policy. The following is the ideal for us. It is a standard we strive for in hopes of marriages started the best way possible, saving struggling marriages, and building up thriving marriages. Join us as we seek to invest in healthy relationships.

Orange Friends Church 
Healthy Marriage Policy

This policy expresses the common concerns of our Church family regarding the need to better prepare, strengthen and restore marriages and to support step-families in our community.

We Believe:

1. God has established marriage in Scripture.
2. God intends the marriage bond to be between one man and one woman and to last for a lifetime.
3. As a church, we have a responsibility before God to raise the standard for marriage.
4. As a church, we believe we have a responsibility before God to strengthen and nourish step-families.

Therefore, We Will:

1. Encourage a courtship of at least one year.
2. Affirm fidelity in marital relationships.
3. Educate ourselves and others about the negative effects of premarital sexual activities and co-habitation.
4. Provide a premarital preparation process of four to six months.
5. Provide annual enrichment opportunities in the church and community.
6. Identify, inspire and train couples with strong marriages to serve as marriage mentors.
7. Provide mentoring for all stages of marriage.
8. Cooperate with other congregations in sharing resources and information.

(Adopted at the Church on 12/10/2009)