We welcome people who would like to help us with providing a wonderful program for children.  If you have children that need childcare you can choose either to pay for the program ($25 per family) or to volunteer to help with the children during one of the sessions.  If you choose to help during one of the sessions, you can choose here the session during which you prefer to help.

PART TWO:  In the second part of this workshop, Steve and Vera will discuss in greater detail the coping skills and supports that have been of critical importance to them while weathering the storms of the childhood sexual abuse recovery process.  Aware of being blessed with unusual resources that have enabled them to survive as a couple, they will be happy to share further with those who would find this helpful or informative.  The format will be more informal, fielding participants’ questions and developing themes from Part 1 (workshop A6).  Part 2 will not repeat Part 1, but will offer further explanation and exploration of ideas introduced in Part 1.  (Participants do not need to attend Part 1 in order to attend Part 2.)

Vera and Steve Dyck have been married for 18 years, and live in Guelph, Ontario, with their two teenage children. Steve is starting a business and consults for businesses adapting to the Green Economy. Vera is a family therapist at a community agency, and has a special interest in supporting couples and survivors of childhood trauma. They met at the college in Bryn Athyn, and after much trial, error, confusion, and more than a little help from friends, finally figured out how to get engaged about five years later. It’s been roses ever since.  Well… it’s clear we’re in some kind of bramble, and it smells like compost around here a lot of the time! Often, we catch glimpses of something bright and promising, and some days, blossoms do abound. We are grateful to God in and beyond all who have supported us into this present day where we are alive, kicking, and still friends.  For us, marriage is a commitment to self-reflect, keep learning, and stay in the conversation.

Everyone will agree that the death of your child is likely the number one most devastating event a parent can face.  It is very difficult to talk about because of that fact.  “I can’t imagine what you are going through,” is a common statement.  That’s because no one ever wants to be in that position.  The reality is that many of us have experienced this loss.  All marriages are affected by stress.  It goes without saying that the death of a child places a huge stress on a marriage.

The goal of this workshop is fourfold.  First, we will briefly discuss our experiences in losing a child and how it impacted our marriage.  Secondly, we will look at the statistics of whether marriages survive.  Thirdly, we will share what we have learned that has enabled us to move forward as a married couple.  And finally, we will review what the writings of the New Church say about this subject.  We do not have all of the answers.  We only know what we have experienced.  We hope that by sharing and allowing the participants to listen and interact, we will all be able to heal and grow together.

Kim and Grant met in high school in 1974, where they both graduated as part of the class of 1976. They stayed close friends until 1978, when they started dating. They married in 1981 and settled in Bryn Athyn where they have been involved in various marriage groups for 18 years. Their first child, Tristan Smith, was born in 1983, two months premature and weighing three pounds. Three more children followed: Alizah, Jennica, and Jaron. On August 26, 2006, Tristan was killed by a road side bomb in Taji Iraq.

Sig and Judy met the summer of 1972, married in 1974, and by 1983 had four children. In 1977 Sig began working for the Commonwealth of Pa and is now counseling people with disabilities. Judy began teaching third grade at the Bryn Athyn Church School in 1987. In 1991 their oldest child, Erin, was diagnosed with cancer. After treatment and a short remission, the cancer returned and she passed into the Spiritual World in August 1993.  As of this year, all of their children are married and they have three beautiful granddaughters.  In the spiritual world, Erin is also married and an angel mother.

Delight is supposed to be freely available in marriage. Yet sometimes we feel like the drudgery outnumbers the fun. Why is that? In this workshop we will look at ways to enjoy marriage, and affair-proof our relationship in the process. Please bring a list of ten things you have enjoyed in the past with your partner, even if you have not done them in a long time.

Lori and John Odhner have nine children ranging in ages from 7 to 28. They are the Directors of Marriage Program for the Bryn Athyn Church.  John is on the pastoral staff, and Lori plays with children at the Lunch Bunch in the afternoons.  They have also written a passel of songs based on scripture.

“A couple that prays together, stays together.”  Come learn 11 different languages of prayer.  The prayer wheel is a very useful tool that makes prayer easy and fun.  It provides a system to praying that is simple and powerful.  We will introduce the wheel, the 11 languages of prayer, show how it works and practice it.  You will be amazed that by the end of one session you will effortlessly be able to pray continuously for five and half minutes!

Robert and Siti are enthusiastic, energetic people who are a gift to our community.  Robert leads the Wood Club which provides the service of cutting fireweed and selling it, then donating the proceeds to charity.  He works for Bank of America, and says “The happiest place on earth is wherever Siti is.”

We keep piling up topics rich in fight potential—aside from the ones we already had, such as getting married, having kids, jobs, friends, and so on.  We have recently added building a house to our list (please feel free to bring your own list)!

Now, if we are both relatively sane and reasonable people, how come we keep wanting to rip each others head off?  The real question is perhaps, how can we tap into our sane and reasonable selves in the heat of an argument?  Instead of defending, withdrawing or attacking our beloved, we could possibly get a chance to understand the other’s viewpoints?!

The answer to that has been tested by us for 13+ years, proven effective (we're still married) and is still in R & D.  What that means is that we will pick one of our current model fights and display it in full color & surround sound in this workshop, live.  We'll hash our way through, using as many tools from our toolbox as we can.

Kevin is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who has been counseling families for nearly fifteen years. Naomi married him and became a quick study on Marriage and Family Therapy in self defense.

This will be a discussion of various topics from the book Conjugial Love from the perspective of my years as a pastor in Bryn Athyn, Glenview, and Kempton.

Jeremy Simons has been a pastor for 27 years serving in Glenview, Kempton and Bryn Athyn.  He is currently the pastor of the Bryn Athyn New Church.   He is married to Allyn Simons.

Vera and Steve Dyck have been married for 18 years, and live in Guelph, Ontario, with their two teenage children.  Steve is starting a business and consults for businesses adapting to the Green Economy.  Vera is a family therapist at a community agency, and has a special interest in supporting couples and survivors of childhood trauma.  They met at the college in Bryn Athyn, and after much trial, error, confusion, and more than a little help from friends, finally figured out how to get engaged about five years later.  It’s been roses ever since.  Well… it’s clear we’re in some kind of bramble, and it smells like compost around here a lot of the time!  Often, we catch glimpses of something bright and promising, and some days, blossoms do abound.  We are grateful to God in and beyond all who have supported us into this present day where we are alive, kicking, and still friends.  For us, marriage is a commitment to self-reflect, keep learning, and stay in the conversation.

“What good is a man, anyway?”  One might wonder this, given the blossoming of career opportunities for women, the entertainment industry’s indulgence in “clueless male” humor and, in the childbearing arena, the availability of sperm through “banks.” 

Fortunately, we have in Swedenborg’s Theological Writings a way of looking at our world that illuminates the sacred value of everything the Lord creates.  The Science of Correspondences shows us how the natural world describes spiritual reality.  We will look at how the activity of the lungs demonstrates the priceless spiritual gifts that men have to offer women, and, like breathing fresh air, actually give life to the organism that is human society.  This is a PowerPoint presentation.  Hopefully a discussion of ideas will follow. This is not a sharing group. For men only.

Before we get married we all have some kind of preconceived ideas as to what marriage is going to be like.  Our first ideas are grown in our youth by watching our parents.  Some of our ideas are grown from watching television, movies, or reading novels.  For some it was what they were taught in school and church about the golden prize of Conjugal Love.  Good or bad these ideas can affect how we feel about our marriage in the presence of reality.

This workshop will be light and fun.  It will give you a chance to share what you thought marriage was going to be like and then what you found to be true.  Hopefully in sharing, we can laugh at ourselves, give up some of our silly ideas and get on being with our real marriage.

PART TWO:  In the second part of this workshop, Steve and Vera will discuss in greater detail the coping skills and supports that have been of critical importance to them while weathering the storms of the childhood sexual abuse recovery process.  Aware of being blessed with unusual resources that have enabled them to survive as a couple, they will be happy to share further with those who would find this helpful or informative.  The format will be more informal, fielding participants’ questions and developing themes from Part 1 (workshop A6).  Part 2 will not repeat Part 1, but will offer further explanation and exploration of ideas introduced in Part 1.  (Participants do not need to attend Part 1 in order to attend Part 2.)

M.J. Odhner has been married for 25 years and is a mother of six.  In the past she has been an assistant midwife, a preschool teacher and has led a number of teen groups.  She enjoys theater, sign language, and supporting people on their journey.

This will be an experiential introduction to the twelve steps
of RCA, Recovering Couples Anonymous.  Join us in a small  group
setting to hear about the benefits of this method of active marriage support and do some sharing.  While the program aims at couples who are in recovery from various addictions, it is open to anyone desiring to remain in a committed relationship.  Open to eight couples.  (This workshop is a repeat of the one given in Slot A9.)

What blocks us from bringing these two things together in our married lives, and how can we overcome those blocks?  The presentation will draw on CL, Schnarch’s Passionate Marriage, the work of Naomi Wolf, and Madeleine L’Engle’s novel The Love Letters.  An open discussion will follow; feel free to bring your own thoughts and observations.  For women only.

The first chapter of the book Conjugial Love talks about fantasy ideas of what heaven is like and how people come to realize that they are not the real joy of heaven.  As an opening for a major book on marriage it offers an interesting parallel for our false expectations for marriage.  Join Tom for a presentation and discussion about what we used to think happiness in marriage would be like, and what we are coming to realize what it really is.

Linda Simonetti Odhner has been collecting sources and giving workshops on marriage and sexuality for over a decade.  She edited Theta Alpha Journal for nine years, and pursues many interests in art, science, and philosophy.  She and Dewey have been married for nearly 28 years and have three grown daughters, the oldest married.

Jared Buss is a sophomore at Bryn Athyn College, an ex-resident of South Africa and of scattered parts of the US.  Owing to his love of the power of words and of humanity’s expression, he is a student of English.  Aware that English is truly only a tool for greater purposes, he is excited to see what happens when he takes that tool, step by step, into the world.

Tom Kline is the bishop of the General Church and has been a pastor in Atlanta, Washington and Bryn Athyn.  He and his wife Nina have been married for 40 years and they have four children and 10 grand children.

Ned Uber has led many small groups using The Screwtape Letters, Rise Above It, and the Bible; he has given talks at Laurel.  He is treasurer in of the Pittsburgh New Church, has four grown children, and is engaged to Theresa McQueen.

Gwenda and Michael met at church came (Maple Leaf Academy) in 1974.  After graduating college and theological school respectively, they married in 1982.  During the span of their 27 years together they raised six children (two are married).  They served the church in five different congregations, especially loving their work at Laurel and Maple camps.  Currently living in Phoenix, AZ, Gwenda works as a classroom aide and Michael works as Clinical Supervisor of the child and family department of a behavioral health agency.  They dream of someday building a cabin in the woods.

The evil spirits are out to damage or destroy your relationships with your spouse, family, and friends.  If you can recognize their tactics for what they are, with the Lord’s help, you can easily defeat them.  This session uses reading and discussion of several of The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis to help you be prepared for, and preferably avoid, their attacks.

“Love is being on the side of the other person”— Naomi Aldort

Authentic Parenting is a natural extension of Attachment Parenting and continues with the beliefs that children are to be trusted and their needs are real.  It is coming out of ‘autoparent’ and searching beyond behavior and our reactions to understand unmet needs of our children and perhaps ourselves as well.  Authentic parenting includes trusting the individual pace of growth and learning outside of societal standards.  Authentic Parenting is, in its intention, a way to be with our children, celebrate each other and the journey we are on together, let go of control, and discover deeper connections with our children.  Ultimately, it is about finding our most authentic selves and honoring ourselves in the process.

In this workshop we will share our parenting struggles and discuss ways in which we might discover fresh perspectives on our children and ourselves.  We can share triumphs as well as challenges, and offer support and ideas.

Luke 6:31 provides a version of the “Golden Rule” with these words: “And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.”  It is not hard for a man to think that if he loves his wife in the way that he feels loved, that he is appropriately following this teaching.  The same could be said of a wife.  This session will look at the variety of ways people feel loved and how we can more wisely follow the Golden Rule in marriage.

Rev. Eric Carswell, shown here with his wife, Donna, has been a pastor and educator for nearly thirty years.  He and his wife, Donna, have raised five children.  He is currently Vice Chancellor for the Academy of the New Church and Bishop's Representative for Education.

Stephanie Latta King was transformed by the birth of her children, Phoenix, (5 yrs), and Serena (2 yrs).  She has been married to Carl King for six years and feels deeply grateful for the opportunity to be a wife and mother and the spiritual growth that is inherent in these roles.

During almost 24 years of marriage, Freya and Daniel Fitzpatrick have lived and worked in Sweden, Florida, Arkansas and Georgia.  They homeschooled their two daughters Annika and Kaemmerle who are now ‘all grown up’, and now live with their rabbit in a big ole house in Atlanta.  They really enjoyed their last honeymoon in Belize and are eagerly planning the next.

See how world-renowned experts Tony Robbins and Cloé Madanes use Human Needs Psychology to trigger profound reconcili­ation within a single intervention.  This inspiring DVD-based program teaches couples to develop trust, rekindle passion, break barriers, align goals, and design a compelling future.  In this session we will watch one of the DVDs and discuss its application to our own marriages, especially when facing serious difficulties.  Please be advised that this DVD contains X-rated language as we watch the live intervention with a couple on the edge of divorce working towards a breakthrough in their relationship.

When Ray and Star met in 1976, they wanted to write a book about the eternity of marriage.  Two years later they found a copy of Emanuel Swedenborg’s book about the spiritual dimension of marriage—Conjugial Love.  Since that time they have raised seven children, led numerous workshops/courses on marriage and spirituality, and co-authored Rise Above It: Spiritual Development through the Ten Commandments.  Their hope, prayer and passion is to help others grow in and through their relationships—especially marriages—so that all people might realize a higher level of joy and fulfillment in their lives.

This will be a discussion of various topics from the book Conjugial Love from the perspective of my years as a pastor in Bryn Athyn, Glenview, and Kempton.

Bobbie Stein Hitchcock grew up in the Pittsburgh New Church, graduating from ANC Girl’s School and Bryn Athyn College, with an interdisciplinary degree in Religion and Psychology.  She lives with her husband and four children.  Her career dreams of joining the military, becoming a spy and doing acting haven’t quite played out, but unexpected adventures have followed her anyway, and her investigative nature has been irresistibly challenged by the opportunity to explore “the mysteries of faith.”

Joralyn Echols is the Outreach Coordinator at Glencairn.  She loves sharing the teachings of the New Church with visitors to the Museum, especially the teachings about heaven and marriage.  It is a treat for her to be offering this special marriage tour again.

Jeremy Simons has been a pastor for 27 years serving in Glenview, Kempton and Bryn Athyn.  He is currently the pastor of the Bryn Athyn New Church.   He is married to Allyn Simons.

“A couple that prays together, stays together.”  Come learn 11 different languages of prayer.  The prayer wheel is a very useful tool that makes prayer easy and fun.  It provides a system to praying that is simple and powerful.  We will introduce the wheel, the 11 languages of prayer, show how it works and practice it.  You will be amazed that by the end of one session you will effortlessly be able to pray continuously for five and half minutes!

Delight is supposed to be freely available in marriage. Yet sometimes we feel like the drudgery outnumbers the fun. Why is that? In this workshop we will look at ways to enjoy marriage, and affair-proof our relationship in the process. Please bring a list of ten things you have enjoyed in the past with your partner, even if you have not done them in a long time.

The havoc wreaked on couple relationships by childhood sexual abuse, and the story of how one couple has thus far reckoned with the beast.

PART ONE:  In the first part of this workshop, Steve and Vera will speak from their experience about how Vera’s childhood sexual abuse and her intensive journey of recovery have impacted their marriage.  They will review what has been the most difficult for each of them during this journey, as well as what has been the most helpful to them, individually and as a couple.  While this workshop is designed particularly to assist those who are (or who suspect they may be) dealing with the ghosts of childhood sexual abuse in their marriages, it is open to anyone seeking a better understanding of the challenges that couples facing this issue are up against and what might be helpful to them.  The format will be primarily a planned presentation, with a question-and-answer period at the end. 

(PART TWO is Workshop B7)

We keep piling up topics rich in fight potential—aside from the ones we already had, such as getting married, having kids, jobs, friends, and so on.  We have recently added building a house to our list (please feel free to bring your own list)!

Now, if we are both relatively sane and reasonable people, how come we keep wanting to rip each others head off?  The real question is perhaps, how can we tap into our sane and reasonable selves in the heat of an argument?  Instead of defending, withdrawing or attacking our beloved, we could possibly get a chance to understand the other’s viewpoints?!

The answer to that has been tested by us for 13+ years, proven effective (we're still married) and is still in R & D.  What that means is that we will pick one of our current model fights and display it in full color & surround sound in this workshop, live.  We'll hash our way through, using as many tools from our toolbox as we can.

Tirah Keal, daughter of Clark and Margie Echols, and married nearly nine years to Solomon, has four children—ages 7 years to 9 months.  She admits that she realized only in the past 18 months how selfish she was, not only as a person but especially as a spouse.  Several things have happened in her life that have slowly made her aware of her selfishness, including: her mother's death, Solomon’s acceptance into Theological School, the birth of their fourth child, and leaving her full-time job as a bookstore manager to return home as a full-time parent.  She believes that she is only at the beginning of her long journey to becoming unselfish, but already the blessings and love that have come into her life have been profound.  She says, “I want to share my continuing journey with others, with the hope that we can encourage each other in this difficult but wonderful growth.”

Selfish: Lacking consideration for others; concerned chiefly with one’s own personal profit or pleasure.  Defined in this way selfishness is terrible!  Yet so many of us are really quite selfish and hide it not only from others but ourselves as well.  We are commanded repeatedly in the Word to love our neighbor and love the Lord, which put another way is to live unselfishly.  It is frustratingly easy to be oblivious to our own selfishness, and this session will strive to help those of us that have to work hard to become aware of this tendency in ourselves to learn to be truly loving. 

This will be much like a support group for the selfish, with opportunities to share stories and learn tools from each other for overcoming selfishness.  There will be a short presentation and some take-home tools for all participants.  Please come with any experiences and ideas you have to share that can help us all on our own paths.

Robert and Siti are enthusiastic, energetic people who are a gift to our community.  Robert leads the Wood Club which provides the service of cutting fireweed and selling it, then donating the proceeds to charity.  He works for Bank of America, and says “The happiest place on earth is wherever Siti is.”

Lori and John Odhner have nine children ranging in ages from 7 to 28. They are the Directors of Marriage Program for the Bryn Athyn Church.  John is on the pastoral staff, and Lori plays with children at the Lunch Bunch in the afternoons.  They have also written a passel of songs based on scripture.

Everyone will agree that the death of your child is likely the number one most devastating event a parent can face.  It is very difficult to talk about because of that fact.  “I can’t imagine what you are going through,” is a common statement.  That’s because no one ever wants to be in that position.  The reality is that many of us have experienced this loss.  All marriages are affected by stress.  It goes without saying that the death of a child places a huge stress on a marriage.

The goal of this workshop is fourfold.  First, we will briefly discuss our experiences in losing a child and how it impacted our marriage.  Secondly, we will look at the statistics of whether marriages survive.  Thirdly, we will share what we have learned that has enabled us to move forward as a married couple.  And finally, we will review what the writings of the New Church say about this subject.  We do not have all of the answers.  We only know what we have experienced.  We hope that by sharing and allowing the participants to listen and interact, we will all be able to heal and grow together.

Kim and Grant met in high school in 1974, where they both graduated as part of the class of 1976. They stayed close friends until 1978, when they started dating. They married in 1981 and settled in Bryn Athyn where they have been involved in various marriage groups for 18 years. Their first child, Tristan Smith, was born in 1983, two months premature and weighing three pounds. Three more children followed: Alizah, Jennica, and Jaron. On August 26, 2006, Tristan was killed by a road side bomb in Taji Iraq.

Sig and Judy met the summer of 1972, married in 1974, and by 1983 had four children. In 1977 Sig began working for the Commonwealth of Pa. and is now counseling people with disabilities. Judy began teaching third grade at the Bryn Athyn Church School in 1987. In 1991 their oldest child, Erin, was diagnosed with cancer. After treatment and a short remission, the cancer returned and she passed into the Spiritual World in August 1993.  As of this year, all of their children are married and they have three beautiful granddaughters.  In the spiritual world, Erin is also married and an angel mother.

Kevin is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who has been counseling families for nearly fifteen years. Naomi married him and became a quick study on Marriage and Family Therapy in self defense.

This specially-designed tour, focusing on marriage and family, will take you through the art treasures of this remarkable castle.  Free for Conference participants.  Meet at Glencairn promptly at 10:15.

Marriage, like most aspects of life, gets rather ‘daily’.  The newness, the excitement, the romance of marriage wears off after a while, and marriage, like everything else, can easily become a matter of going through the motions and doing what has to be done.

Yet many of us hope and expect our marriage to be a source of inspiration and comfort in the midst of those ‘other things’ that are daily, boring and even unpleasant.  When marriages don’t give people what they expect, they often feel an itch to leave, and interestingly, this itch tends to show up in 7-year cycles.

This seminar will help you identify ‘symptoms’ of the itch, ingredients for a cure, and will showcase a technique that we have found makes every 7 years of our marriage, instead of a time of disillusionment, a time of renewal.

This workshop will be looking at the role of “knowing” in relationships with the opposite sex (not marriages)—a consideration that I believe is particularly relevant to men.  Branching from the obvious question of “How do I know if this is real?”—we will look at questions like, “How certain can you ever be?”  “How certain should you try to be?” “How much can something like love be known or be subject to certainty?” “Is it even important to know, all the time?” and then, when you are thinking of actually asking someone to marry you, “What would that certainty look like—is it even certainty?”