MARRIAGE POLICY AIMS AT FEWER DIVORCES

If you plan to marry on a whim, Cape Girardeau may not be the best place to tie the knot. A communitywide Marriage Savers policy adopted by many churches requires couples to seek at least four months of premarital counseling before the ceremony.

The idea is not to prevent marriages. The aim is to discourage divorce. About 30 churches representing a wide range of denominations have embraced the Marriage Savers program since it launched two years ago.

It's probably too early to measure the program's success. But the results will be worth the wait. Over the long haul the program should lower the local divorce rate to well below the national average.

Cape Girardeau has been on the cutting edge of this movement. The city was the first in the state to adopt the Marriage Savers policy. About 55 other cities in the nation have adopted similar policies.

Our children learn best by example. Local communities must once again embrace the significance of marriage as a message to our young people.

Marriage Savers also provides another avenue linking neighbor to neighbor. Both ministers and lay people are involved in lifting up young couples and in laying a foundation for a strong union.

For too long communities and organized religion have ignored the nation's growing divorce rate. Programs like Marriage Savers demonstrate that marriage does matter.