What a year this has been!
I was humbled and gratified how many attendees of the HV50 Celebration shared being deeply impacted and encouraged! The comments on this website are just a glimpse of the feedback we received. Thanks be to God!
One question I was asked often at the event, was the logical question…what next? and…When are you doing this again?
(As an aside, my apologies to the first person who asked me that, if my response included an involuntary roll of the eyes, or worse….but it is a bit like asking a mom when she wants another child—-WHILE she is in labor!)
But now that the “delivery” was four months ago, I have had much time to ponder the “what next” question, and continue to explore the answers with the CANFP Board.
Our immediate task (meaning yours AND mine) is to make the recordings of the event accessible to as many people as possible! While admittedly not the same as “being there”, since interacting and sharing the experience is a big part of the feeling of encouragement so many reported, the recordings are, as one facebook user commented, a “treasure trove”! The FREE availability online of these 41 video recordings by such amazing speakers, is truly a gift, and we are grateful to these speakers for allowing us to share them freely, and for the Catholic Communication Campaign for the support that makes it possible. In addition to our websites, they are out there on YouTube and on ITunes—so please, put them to use, so the transformation of hearts and minds that began with their initial presentation continues to grow, person by person, family by family, permeating our culture with these life-changing principles!
The MY HV HERO film which was so enthusiastically received at the HV50 Banquet Gala, is available on the home page of CelebrateHV50.com. If all the cheering and clapping prevented you from hearing the audio that night, you will enjoy viewing again, along with the longer version that will be available there soon.
We continue to accept your HV Hero nominations and HV STORY video testimony for inclusion on the website as well.
The final two editions of Faithful to God’s Design will be posted soon at CelebrateHV50 .com in both English and Spanish.
It was a great opportunity to share what we are doing here in California on EWTN as an invited guest of the At Home with Jim and Joy Show. You are welcome to use those videos as a tool in sharing this topic with friends, family, and colleagues, and they can be found on both our websites and You Tube Channel.
Those are the highlights of what we have been up to since the HV50 gala, along with plotting the coming year.
One thing is clear from the activities of the past year, there is much interest in what we have to offer! The momentum of this year, propels us ALL to redouble our efforts! CANFP will be doing just that, and some changes are in the works. We are sad to report the retirement of Dr. Keenan as President, which she graciously delayed until the completion of this year’s events, and we will be introducing our incoming President in our next edition.
We are poised to expand our scope, and to do that, we need to expand the CANFP Board, and the number of those implementing the mission, both as volunteers and staff. Some specific needs of the Board and day to day operations are listed in the margin to the left, as a starter, but we are open to your ideas and gifts as well!
Please consider your role going forward, whether it be to financially support this expansion, or actively contribute your talents, or both!
Sheila St. John is the Executive Director of the California Association of Natural Family Planning. Initially attracted to NFP as a healthy, effective method for planning families, drug, device and surgery free, her passion for NFP has grown over the last four decades as she has journeyed with the over 800 couples she has personally instructed in its use, and been privileged to witness its role in overcoming infertility, women’s health, and the transformation that occurs in lives of men, women, and families, when we embrace God’s design for love and life.