Healthy Relationships Week is all about learning how to live in healthy relationships with one another, whether that be in a friendship or a dating or marriage relationship.
“Healthy Relationships Week is a week dedicated to helping students make connections and strengthen bonds with each other,” said Judy Duvall, assistant director of the Elrod Center and Healthy Relationship Week program coordinator.
Ouachita has hosted HRW for about 10 years. It began as a weekend retreat for married or engaged couples at Ouachita, a part of the week that still happens every year. It slowly grew to become something that is beneficial to all of campus.
Scheduled to begin next Tuesday, HRW has been redesigned. This year, the week will include a special chapel focused on the topic of healthy relationships, a special Refuge service and a weekend retreat that engaged and married couples are invited to attend.
Next Tuesday’s chapel speaker is Dr. Guy Grimes. Grimes has a masters degree in marriage and family counseling and a doctorate of ministry degree. He also has many years of experience as a professor, a pastor and a counselor.
In addition to speaking in chapel, Grimes will be leading a breakout session titled, “Healthy Relationship…Ready or Not? How to recognize if a person is ready for a healthy and lasting relationship” on Tuesday from 4-5p.m. in the Elrod Center. All students are invited to attend.
At Refuge on Thursday night, students will have a panel made up of fellow students who are either dating, engaged or married. This will be a unique experience for students to hear from their peers about what healthy relationships look like in college.
The last and main event of the week is the retreat for engaged or married couples. This retreat will be held at Wingate Hotel in Little Rock. It begins on Friday at 5 p.m. and goes through Saturday until 1:30 p.m.
“For the students, it’s really like a weekend of intense marriage counseling, but really fun at the same time, so, whereas a couple might go for ten sessions before they get married, they get it all in one weekend,” Duvall said.
The retreat is not just lectures for the couples to sit through. It is full of interaction between couples, and even some homework.
Dr. Chris Grace and his wife Alisa are leading the retreat this year. Grace serves as full-time director of the Center for Marriage and Relationships at Biola University, and he is a professor of psychology in the Rosemead School of Psychology. Together, Dr. and Mrs. Grace have lead many marriage conferences, and they have the necessary training, as well as experience, to pour wisdom and truth into Ouachita couples regarding their marriages.
The weekend retreat is over on Saturday, but there will be a follow-up event for the couples who attended called “The Great Date Night” at the Elrod Center. This year, Dean of Students Dr. Haynes and his wife will be doing the follow-up to review the material and continue to encourage the couples in applying what they learned to their relationships.
Whether married, engaged, dating or single, Healthy Relationships Week is a valuable week for all.
“We cannot underestimate the importance of learning how to establish and maintain healthy relationships in all areas of life, whether it be family, friendships or dating, engagement and marriage. When your relationships are good with others, this creates a sense of well being in all areas of your life. We want to provide our students with the tools they need to succeed and flourish in their interactions with others,” Duvall said.
The week’s events will start March 7 and go through March 11. For more information, contact Judy Duvall at duvallj@obu.edu.
By Katie Jo Henley, Staff writer
