Citizens' Petition

• NFP Office Hours: All diocesan NFP coordinators and their teachers are invited to participate in the virtual NFP Office Hours held on the second Wednesday in a month at 2:00PM (east coast time). Email notification with a web link will be sent to the diocesan NFP coordinators prior to each event. Diocesan NFP coordinators are encouraged to share the link with their NFP teachers. Questions? Contact tnotare@usccb.org.
   
• National NFP Awareness Week
  Listen to a message about the importance of NFP Week from the bishops' chairman for the Committee of Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth, Bishop Robert Barron.
  
  The 2023 dates for the celebration of National NFP Awareness Week are July 23-29. This year's theme is "Marriage, One Flesh, Given and Received." To view the poster and our many resources visit usccb.org/topics/natural-family-planning/national-nfp-awareness-week.
  
  Past NFP Posters. Many of the past NFP Week posters can be used in your ongoing educational efforts since they do not include the dates of the year in which they were produced. See past posters. To order posters call toll-free: 1-866-582-0943 or write @email.
   
• Want to help your local healthcare professionals to embrace Church teaching and NFP? Visit our education page for healthcare professionals!
  
  We have links and files of resources that can save you time and energy. Please contact us at nfp@usccb.org for access to MP4 files on an introduction to the science and methodology of NFP available from FACTS (Fertility Appreciation Collaborative to Teach the Science). These files provide a general overview of all NFP methods offered in the USA. In addition, PowerPoint slides with notes on the general science of NFP are available from Marquette University's NFP Institute. They have graciously donated them for your educational efforts!
  
  See, NFP Education for Healthcare Professionals
   
• Archived Announcements

2020 December issue

2020 April issue

2020 February issue

2019 December issue

2019 November issue

Please send us information about your NFP events. We will post them here to spread the good news!

2023

• February 10, FACTS pre-conference to the AAPLOG / ACP meeting, Tuscon, AZ, 9:30AM-1:00PM;  *Register HERE!
  
  NOTE: Please register by Monday, February 6, 2023. Participants can register for this meeting even if not attending, AAPLOG / ACP.
   
  AAPLOG / ACP: Matthew Bulfin Educational Conference, February 10-12, Tuscon, AZ; https://conference.aaplog.org 
   
• April 22, The Diocese of Columbus is hosting Converging Roads, a series of regional conference offering continuing education for health care professionals. Contact:Jennifer R. Fullin, Natural Family Planning & Fertility Appreciation, jfullin@columbuscatholic.org; (614) 241-2560 ex. 3.
   
• June 2-4, The Diocese of Columbus will host FEMM Medical Management Masterclass in Columbus, OH. Contact Jennifer R. Fullin, jfullin@columbuscatholic.org; (614) 241-2560 ex. 3.
   

• July 20–22, American Academy of FertilityCare™ Professionals, annual conference, Colorado Springs, CO, aafcp.net/annual-meeting (This meeting will be offered in person and virtually.)
   

• September 7–9, Catholic Medical Association, annual conference, Phoenix, AZ
  cathmed.org/events/annual-educational-conference/
  NOTE: On Sept. 6, there will be a day devoted to NFP Science.
   

• September 29–30, FACTS annual conference; co-hosted with the Institute for Restorative Reproductive Medicine of America (IRRMA), Minneapolis, MN
  https://www.factsaboutfertility.org/2023conference/
   

• October 16–20, Catholic Family Life Association (formerly NACFLM), annual conference, Orlando, FL
  nacflm.org/
   

Archived Events

• Video Series on the Harmful Side Effects of Hormonal Contraception
  The St. Augustine Foundation developed 10 short videos on the harmful side effects of hormonal contraception with Dr. Bill Williams, MD. The videos present the findings of scientific research that demonstrates the risks to women's health when using hormonal contraception. So harmful are these drugs that Dr. Williams and his colleagues submitted a Citizens' Petition to the FDA requesting a warning label on these contraceptives.
• Chart Your Cycle Engaged
  Chart Your Cycle Engaged is an online fertility awareness coaching program that follows a multi-index approach to cycle tracking by recording and interpreting cervical fluid, basal body temperature, and additional at-home hormonal monitoring for increased efficacy and confidence. Chart Your Cycle Engaged provides two offerings for couples fulfilling their marriage preparation requirement for Natural Family Planning:
  
  1. Live Virtual Introduction to Natural Family Planning Workshop (one hour)
  Each month a free live Introduction to Natural Family Planning virtual workshop is offered. In this one-hour presentation, clients will meet a Chart Your Cycle coach, learn the basics and benefits of cycle charting, and why it matters when getting married in the Catholic Church. The live question and answer session allows time for clients to discuss the information with the cycle coach.
  
  Participants will receive a certificate of completion for their marriage preparation program. The couple is required to attend together but may attend on separate devices. This is a great option for couples who are not in the same geographic location.
  
  To learn more and register for the next session visit: Introduction to Natural Family Planning at awesomecatholicmarriage.com;contact: @email
  
  2. Complete NFP Method Instruction
  Complete NFP instruction and support are offered through a 12-week hybrid program offering self-paced learning with online live coaching for charting evaluation and support.
  
  Full instruction for autonomous use of fertility awareness cycle charting and interpretation for NFP is provided.
  
  The program uses Chart Neo, a medical management model cycle tracking app and platform for secure charting and data management.
  
  This hybrid program offers both on-demand content and live coaching. It is intentionally structured for busy couples. Join anytime, work at your own pace, and receive personalized support with regularly scheduled check-ins.
  
  Chart Your Cycle Engaged includes an Introduction to Catholic Marriage, which provides background on the integration of fertility awareness in Catholic marriage.
  
  To get started visit: awesomecatholicmarriage.com; Melissa Buchan, NBC-HWC, Chart Your Cycle Founder, Neo Fertility Advisor, Integrative Health Coach; Chart Neo Co-Founder, melissabuchan.com, chartneo.com
  
   
• Embodied Magazine: Making the invisible visible!
  Every single person wonders what the meaning of life is: Who am I? How am I supposed to live? What will make me happy? St. John Paul II pointed us to self-gift as the key to becoming more fully human, which leads to the happiness we seek. In what is now known as the Theology of the Body (TOB), St. John Paul II reminds us what it means to be human and that we were designed by God to love as He loves, making God visible in the world. Embodied Magazine delivers inspirational real-life stories of people who have found this TOB way of life bringing them peace, fulfillment, and understanding.
  
  Embodied Magazine is unique because it provides: inspirational witness through the lens of TOB via a distinctive, beautiful, and compelling magazine. It brings empowering, practical solutions to tough moral and relationship questions.
  
  Embodied could be used in parishes and schools that teach TOB, in marriage preparation programs, RCIA, young adult ministry, etc. Embodied is available in print and digital view published issues at https://issuu.com/embodiedmag/docs
  
   
• BOMA-USA has launched virtual education for healthcare professionals. This excellent series covers NFP science and general methodology in addition to focusing on the Billings Method. Continuing education units are available for both physicians and nurses. See boma-usa.org/health-professionals.html.
  
   
• Free NFP podcast featuring Dr. Marguerate Duane of FACTS speaking about NFP science and methods. The interview is hosted by the Podcast Hormone Genius (hormonegenius.com), a service of two Creighton Model FertilityCare teachers. Share this link with your family practice physician and young adults who need to know about NFP!
   
• Humanae Vitae, 50 Years Later, Embracing God's Vision for Marriage, Love and Life, A Compendium is available from The Catholic University of America Press (2019). Edited by Theresa Notare, Ph.D., Assistant Director, NFP Program, USCCB, this Catholic Press Association 2020 award winning book features the papers from the 2018 Humanae vitae 50th anniversary symposium held at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC (April 4-6). Orders, 1-800-537-5487.
   
• NFP Conversations--a video series by the USCCB's NFP Program launched during the 2020 pandemic that showcases NFP pioneers and topics of interest in NFP ministry. Hosted by the USCCB NFP Program's Assistant Director, Theresa Notare, PhD. A sample of our guests and topics include
  Hanna Klaus, MD, founder of Teen STAR an adolescent fertility appreciation and chastity curriculum
  Mary Shivanandan, STD, author, professor, and NFP promoter
  Donna Dausman and Mary Pat Vann Epps, former diocesan NFP coordinators of the 1980s and '90s
  "Leading with Church Teaching," NFPNAB members, Alice Heinzen and Cindy Leonard
  "Fertility Apps" with Michael Manhart, PhD and Richard Fehring, PhD, RN
  "NFP Outreach to Young Adults," with USCCB's Paul Jarzembowski
  For new videos, search "NFP Conversations" in YouTube.
   

• Faith and Marriage Ministry, an Apostolate of Willwoods Community.  Established in the Archdiocese of New Orleans in 1978 by a group of married couples desiring to support the Catholic Church and the community through prayer and service, Willwoods Communmity's Faith and Marriage Ministry has a number of spiritually rich and uplifting resources for marriage enrichment (faithandmarriage.org) including podcasts hosted by Mario Sacasa, PhD, LMFT. Among the podcasts is an engaging conversation on Humanae vitae and more with Theresa Notare, PhD, Assistant Director of the USCCB's NFP Program and podcast host, Dr. Sacasa. Listen at https://faithandmarriage.org/.../059-what-happened-with.../
   

• Dr. Thomas W. Higers' book Blinders: The Destructive Downstream Impact of Contraception, Abortion, and IVF (2018), is available on Amazon. This book reviews the evidence on the destructive effects of these practices in the lives of many people.
   
• The Archdiocese of St. Louis has available a template for a brochure that can easily be adapted for your NFP ministry. Entitled "What Can NFP Do for You?," the St. Louis NFP staff also offer an option to work with their printer so that you can order hard copies directly. Contact Melissa Barnason, Office Assistant, Office of NFP, tel. 1-314-997-7576; melissabarnason@archstl.org.
   
• Minnesota Catholic Conference has available free videos on Catholic teaching on the person and human sexuality from the one-day symposium “Revisit the Catholic Vision of the Human Person.”  View the talks at https://www.mncatholic.org (select the link in the scrolling images); or, go to their YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiXvsyO7_90YpY4imuBqCbg.
   
• Ruah Woods has terrific Theology of the Body curriculum for K-12. Visit the website today!
   
• Archived Resources