Web Talk No. 7: Susanne M. Alexander Discussing “Healthy, Unified Marriages as Service to Humanity” on August 30

Mark your calendars now for an end-of-the-summer Web Talk on August 30, when Susanne M. Alexander is scheduled to speak on “Healthy, Unified Marriages as Service to Humanity” in the seventh of the Wilmette Institute’s Web Talks marking its twentieth anniversary. The talk will begin at 2 p.m. Eastern time (11 a.m. Pacific time, 7 p.m. GMT U.K., 8 p.m. Western Europe). Watch for e-mail reminders with a link for registering for the talk. “When you hear the word ‘marriage,’” Alexander says, “a myriad of images and thoughts likely come to mind. Everyone has their own experience of relationships and marriages.” However, she continues, “When we take a step back and look at the broader spiritual context, our perspective shifts. Marriage, when created wisely, is a ‘fortress for well-being and salvation’ for the couple. It creates an eternal connection of oneness between them. It also provides safety and security for the creation of a new family reared up to worship God.” Alexander will focus on the role of unity in marriage. For Bahá’ís, she continues, “are focused on creating unity among all people, and healthy marriages and families are one of the key building blocks. Humanity progresses,” she notes, “as we raise children to have good characters, train youth in observing character and relationship skills, help young adults make healthy and wise relationship choices, and assist marriages to function on Bahá’í principles. Happy and unified marriages, with both partners skillful at communication and consultation, serve as a positive influence for extended families, neighbors, coworkers, and more. The Universal House of Justice, in illuminating what service includes, mentions “one’s marriage and the bringing up of one’s children” as “an element of . . . service to Bahá’u’lláh.” Alexander is an experienced relationship and marriage educator with a specialty in character. She is the lead faculty for the Wilmette Institute’s relationship and marriage courses. She has presented over eighty relationship and marriage workshops and keynote addresses in the United States, Canada, and China through her service company Marriage Transformation (www.marriagetransformation.com; www.bahaimarriage.net), including at Smart Marriages®, Better Marriages, and Fortress for Well-being conferences, as well as at many Bahá’í schools. She is certified as a coach by Life Innovations to offer to couples their PREPARE/ENRICH readiness to marry and marriage well-being assessments. Alexander has written more than a dozen books on relationships and marriage, including Marriage Can Be Forever—Preparation Counts! A journalist and editor, she is a member of the National Association for Relationship and Marriage Education (www.narme.org). She holds a BA in communications from Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio. She has published more than a hundred articles in, among others, simplemarriage.net, Marriage Partnership, Strengthening Marriage, Newsweek Japan, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, and Massage Magazine. Most Wilmette Institute Web Talks are given on Sundays, and all begin at 2 p.m. East Standard Time; 11 a.m. Pacific; 7 p.m. GMT U.K.; 8 p.m. Western Europe. Talks scheduled for the remainder of 2015 include: September 6: Dr. Arthur Lyon Dahl, “Navigating the Storm: The Transition to Sustainability” September 28: Dr. Baharieh Rouhani Maani, “The Leaves of the Twin Divine Trees” October 18: Dr. Sovaida Maani Ewing, “Building a World Federation: The Key to Solving Our Global Crises” November 15: Dr. Steve Friberg, “Science and Religion” December 6: Dr. Michael Penn, “The Nature of the Human Mind: A Bahá’í Perspective Click here for information on the Web Talks and the speakers.