Sour economy tests marriage vows `for better for worse'
Margaret Bernstein/Religion News Service
Issue date: 12/28/08 Section: Divine Intervention
Money has gotten so tight for Mary Brown and her husband that she has taken a part-time job as a stripper. "A furniture stripper," she explains with a devilish laugh.
A sense of humor has pulled the Browns through hard times, but even that's evaporating as the couple -- married for 18 years and with five children -- struggles to keep up with their bills. Every month, the high-interest loan they took out to buy a house in Cleveland gobbles up half their income, and what's left barely covers utilities and food.
Like many couples in this dismal economy, the Browns are turning to experts for help. Together they attended a homeowners' workshop last month and are trying to renegotiate their loan before their adjustable mortgage resets in January.
Clergy, therapists, debt counselors and others in the financial industry report hearing from more distressed couples struggling with a recession-era grab bag of troubles, from job loss and foreclosure to receding retirement accounts and uninsured illnesses.
Joe Rock, a therapist in suburban Rocky River, Ohio, says he has never had so many clients dealing with joblessness in his 25 years of practice. "In the last week, I saw 15 people who are out of work or who own a business that's failing," he said.
One byproduct of the economy, some experts say, is that fewer couples are calling it quits. In Cleveland's Cuyahoga County, the divorce rate has been shrinking steadily over the past three years.
"People are rethinking divorces," said Rock. "They realize they can't even afford attorneys," much less the cost of supporting two households.
Some say the sour economy is accomplishing a moral turnaround that ministers couldn't: convincing couples to not walk away when things get tough, but rather to forgive each other and remain committed to their vows, "for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer."
That's heartening news for Ronald Klein, pastor of missions and care at Parkside Church in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, where he has never seen such a long waiting list of couples seeking emotional guidance and financial help. Couples seem more willing than they were five or 10 years ago to seek marital counseling, said Klein, who has been providing pastoral care for nearly 50 years.
A sense of humor has pulled the Browns through hard times, but even that's evaporating as the couple -- married for 18 years and with five children -- struggles to keep up with their bills. Every month, the high-interest loan they took out to buy a house in Cleveland gobbles up half their income, and what's left barely covers utilities and food.
Like many couples in this dismal economy, the Browns are turning to experts for help. Together they attended a homeowners' workshop last month and are trying to renegotiate their loan before their adjustable mortgage resets in January.
Clergy, therapists, debt counselors and others in the financial industry report hearing from more distressed couples struggling with a recession-era grab bag of troubles, from job loss and foreclosure to receding retirement accounts and uninsured illnesses.
Joe Rock, a therapist in suburban Rocky River, Ohio, says he has never had so many clients dealing with joblessness in his 25 years of practice. "In the last week, I saw 15 people who are out of work or who own a business that's failing," he said.
One byproduct of the economy, some experts say, is that fewer couples are calling it quits. In Cleveland's Cuyahoga County, the divorce rate has been shrinking steadily over the past three years.
"People are rethinking divorces," said Rock. "They realize they can't even afford attorneys," much less the cost of supporting two households.
Some say the sour economy is accomplishing a moral turnaround that ministers couldn't: convincing couples to not walk away when things get tough, but rather to forgive each other and remain committed to their vows, "for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer."
That's heartening news for Ronald Klein, pastor of missions and care at Parkside Church in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, where he has never seen such a long waiting list of couples seeking emotional guidance and financial help. Couples seem more willing than they were five or 10 years ago to seek marital counseling, said Klein, who has been providing pastoral care for nearly 50 years.
Be the first to comment on this story