Divorce workshop connects people with knowledge, support

When Randy Wilson, of Marietta, was going through a divorce, he joined a church workshop for divorcing men and women, and found "a whole bunch of new friends" and plenty of wisdom and advice.

Now Wilson is one of the leaders of the workshop, along with half a dozen other members of the First Baptist Church of Williamstown, who have all been divorced.

"When you go through this, you do withdraw," Wilson said. "A lot of your friends are still married and don't understand what you're going through but these people do. It gets you back out there with people."

The church is one of several in the area that has offered support groups and classes for those dealing with divorce.

At St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Marietta, a former program is likely to be re-instated late this summer or in the fall, offering guidance to both the adults and children being affected by divorce.

While the adults are in DivorceCare classes upstairs, their children are in DivorceCare 4 Kids classes downstairs, said pastor Steve Mahaffey, one of the course leaders.

"Children are the real victims of a divorce and they can learn amazing things in this program," he said.

The free course focuses on a different topic each week, with an informational component to the first hour of the meeting and a support group component with an opportunity to share during the second hour.

"We might deal with finances one night, then anger or dating," said Mahaffey, who like the other program leader, is divorced. "And people realize they're not the only ones going through this."

The message is that a divorce is difficult but not the end of the world, he said.

"We want them to know there's life and hope beyond the pain and turmoil that they're going through," Mahaffey said. "They can put their lives back together. No one plans on divorcing when they get married but we're there to basically guide them through positive ways to deal with it."

The Williamstown First Baptist Church classes, which cost $20 and include childcare, also tackle different topics for each of the seven weeks of classes. The workshop is based on the book "Growing Through Divorce," by Jim Smoke.

"None of us are professional counselors but we've all been through this before," said Wilson. "We talk about forgiveness, starting new relationships, how to communicate with an ex-spouse, kids ... it can really make a difference. I've seen people in tears at the beginning who are laughing by the last week. It can really lead to a change in attitude."

The classes are held each spring and fall at the church.