DC Rally Update: Mike McManus of Marriage Savers Speaks Today
August 19th, 2007 by Glenn Sacks, MA for Fathers & Families
Background: As I've discussed previously, this weekend the "Bringing Children and Families Back Together" rally is being held at the National Mall in Washington DC. Speakers include Dr. Stephen Baskerville, President of the American Coalition for Fathers and Children, Minister Ronald Smith, Founder of Children Need Both Parents, Robert Looper, Chairman of National African American Coalition for Shared Parenting, and many others.
One of the speakers at the rally today is Michael McManus, the founder of Marriage Savers. His group works with troubled couples, and his program is said to have helped save 100,000 marriages over the past couple decades.
I met Michael at the ACFC conference last September, and was very impressed. I had moderated a panel before Michael spoke, and as I noticed him in the audience he looked like a tired, older gentleman. He came up to speak and I thought, "Somebody needs to get this guy some caffeine--fast!" But as soon as he began speaking about saving marriages his eyes lit up, and he gave one of the most impassioned and impressive speeches of the conference.
McManus didn't claim to be an expert on family law, having spent many years preventing couples from coming to family court to begin with. He did, however, endorse shared parenting, and it's an endorsement with a lot of credibility. He also laid out his ideas for putting some limits on no-fault divorce in marriages with minor children, an idea worth exploring.
When I was sitting with him later I told him that he was actually underselling himself--he hadn't saved 100,000 marriages but probably many more, since children of divorce are themselves more likely to divorce. I told him it reminded me of a quote from the Talmud--"He who saves one life in time saves the world."
[Late note: the text of McManus' remarks can be seen here.]
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