Hey, I’m all for freelance writing. You may know I’m also for NFP.
However, I’m not for learning NFP from an article, let alone an article that’s 600 words.
While I admire this writer’s courage and innovation in writing about NFP in a secular venue (we need all the promotion we can get), I’m don’t think it’s a great idea to give a drive-by instruction (especially one that’s very incomplete!) in an article about NFP. It gives people who are new to NFP the impression that *this* is NFP, it’s that simple, and you’re ready to rock with fertility awareness.
Yikes! This certainly begs another post on learning through a book vs. learning from an instructor, but as you can see from the article, her description of NFP, while well intentioned, is really incomplete at best, and misleading at worst. There’s a lot of people looking for information on NFP on the web, and if this article was among the first things they found, they may have the impression they’re ready to go, which–depending on their intention and outlook–could be quite a negative experience.
So, would you jump on over to Suite101, and (kindly, charitably) invite this well-intentioned writer to THINK AGAIN on her approach to promoting NFP? Be sure to affirm and support her pro-NFP outlook, including your thoughts on a better way to begin.
(Please Note: if you want your comment to be posted, you need to register with Suite101. I didn’t join, and my comment, which is being moderated, still hasn’t been posted.)
This summary introduced something I didn’t know about birth control pills: they can contribute to developments of chronic yeast infections. More on this here, also. Natural methods are looking better all the time…
Melchior Broederlam (1381-1409) Presentation in the Temple & Flight to Egypt Tempera on wood, 1393-1399
I feel sorry for Simeon, Anna, the Holy Family and the turtledoves. They get overlooked for a groundhog. In their humility, they might rejoice at the humor of this, but I for one think it’s a shame.
Today is the feast of the Presentation, called The Encounter in the east. It’s an amazing feast day in the Catholic/ Orthodox Churches (both east and west tend to celebrate it on the same day), but way underrated and under celebrated. It is also the foundation feast day of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in England, founded on vespers of the Presentation by Fr. John Henry Newman (later to become Cardinal, and whose Beatification will be May 2, 2010).
The mystery of the Presentation can be meditated upon without exhausting it. This drama in the temple has much to teach us about waiting for the Lord, God’s will in our life, prophecy, death, vocation, sacrifice, family, poverty, consecrated life , the Cross and much more.
For me, it is a fusion of meditation on the two main vocations of the Church: that of married life, and that of consecrated life or priesthood. Here we see the relationship between the two, the image of a holy marriage which gives rise to the earliest of vocational dedication. Not only is Christ, the Anointed, dedicated in the temple, but we see very prominently the consecrated and prophetic Simeon & Anna. (See my blog entry on holy families & holy vocations here.)
It is also one of the handful of times that we see (but never hear) St. Joseph. His actions are worth much more than a thousand words, and for this reason and many others I’ve come to love St. Joseph dearly. He found me first, and I’ve come to love my spiritual father greatly. This is why when invited to speak on NFP to a men’s group, I didn’t choose Humanae Vitae or Casti Conuubi, but rather St. Joseph.
In October 2008, I gave a talk to the Knights of Divine Mercy, a men’s fraternal group and apostolate in the Madison Diocese, called “Surge, accipe puerum: reflections on St. Joseph.” It’s not strictly about NFP, but its message is related. I used a number of sources, from books to encyclicals, but it was a friend’s apostolic motto and article on St. Joseph that sparked the Josephine theme. In the end, it became a meditation on Fatherhood (spiritual and biological), and discernment about God’s will for your family, vocation and apostolate. Where is the Lord leading you?
Fast forward to the second track for the reflection on the Presentation.
Related links/ articles:
- Feast of the Presentation overview (and suggestions for ways to celebrate) at Catholic Culture
- The Chivalry of St. Joseph by Stratford Caldecott
- Cardinal Newman’s Sermon on the Feast of the Presentation, foundation day of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in England
- John Paul II’s 1998 Homily on the feast of the Presentation
If you’re an NFP fan (as opposed to FAM–fertility awareness method), you probably get this question from your skeptical friends:
What’s the difference between NFP & Contraception? They can achieve the same end–postponing pregnancy–so what’s the difference? Isn’t NFP just “Catholic Birth Control”?
Although Providentialists & reactionary Catholics will tell you different, the answer is that they are different in their essence. Though it’s possible to have the same end, the means are different . Jason Evert explains the difference here quite well.
Great video of Jason Evert talking about Dating & Birth Control. To get to the part on BC, forward to about halfway through this clip.
The surprising part of this article isn’t that it gets that the Pill isn’t a panacea. Nope, it’s a frank article that questions the health benefits and one size fits all approach to women’s wellness that currently passes as health care. The surprising thing is that after admitting the side effects, the possible (probable) cancer risks, and the un-natural, fertility suppressing approach to it all, the only alternative they really suggest is the non-hormonal IUD’s.
Huh.
Can anyone out there think of an alternative to the Pill that’s *not* an IUD , an abortafacient? Something that’s marriage building, mutually used, can be used to help diagnose the causes of infertility? Something that people use for religious as well as non-religious reasons?
Exactly. The funny thing is that most of the people commenting (Yay, Canada!) on the article are NFP/FAM fans, and at least one person comments on the interesting fact that the author completely misses the other half of her point, failing to mention natural methods of family planning. We’ll consider it an act of accidental ignorance, rather than a prejudicial act (far too common, unfortunately).
Prologue: I’ve updated the Think Again Thursdays Update with my comments on Rachel Bereit’s letter to NFPers.
The organization that got its name from family planning has at least one franchise exec who’s actually aware of planning *and* families. Laura Wershler is evidently progressive and gutsy enough not only to promote NFP as a real family planning option, but to lament its constant sidelining by prejudicial, unprogressive and unscientific foes,
The continued popularity of the pill doesn’t indicate it is the best form of birth control for women, said Laura Wershler, executive director of Sexual Health Access Alberta in Calgary. Instead, she said, it indicates women don’t know enough about their options.
“What I see in our communities is an absolute failure to move beyond the idea that hormonal birth control is the be-all and end-all,” Wershler said. “What’s happening is we’re not developing support programs and advocacy for women looking for non-hormonal methods.”
Natural family-planning methods, or fertility-awareness methods, whereby a woman determines the fertile and non-fertile times of her monthly cycle, aren’t often taken seriously by physicians, she added.
“There’s this lack of knowledge and understanding within my own field,” Wershler said. “Women are going to sexual health clinics and being laughed off by the doctors and clinics for looking for alternatives.”
Alison Cross, of Canwest, a sort of Canadian Associated Press, wrote this fantastic article, “Women Look Behind the Pill,” which told the wider world what NFPers have known all along: the Pill, the Patch & Shot are not panaceas, and even can do a lot of harm. Women and families want something else, something better.
I was excited to see a FAM advocate I’d previously featured in a post, but couldn’t believe it when Wershler, whom I later found out is the Exec Director of what is apparently a Planned Parenthood franchise, said so many sane, sensible, scientific and frankly pro-woman things about NFP/FAM She wasn’t exactly signing off on Humanae Vitae, but that fact that she was so intelligent, well spoken and that she frankly advocated NFP/ FAM and chastised medical professionals, rocked one big Boo-ya for NFP/ FAM advocates.
I wonder if Rachel Bereit would be interested in applying to Wershler’s clinic? Better yet, what would Weshler’s response be?
No, it’s *not* actually a surprise to NFP fans the that Pill isn’t a panacea. Modern NFP has been around since the 60’s, and more widely known since the 70’s and 80’s. But to those outside the NFP-world-niche, the fact that “Women Look Beyond the Pill” is news.
A Red Tent Sister, an object of my recent post on FAM/ecosex entrepreneurs, gets quoted in this recent article out of The Montreal Gazzette, a Canadian publication.
A Highlight of my favorite part of the article:
The continued popularity of the pill doesn’t indicate it is the best form of birth control for women, said Laura Wershler, executive director of Sexual Health Access Alberta in Calgary.Instead, she said, it indicates women don’t know enough about their options.
“What I see in our communities is an absolute failure to move beyond the idea that hormonal birth control is the be-all and end-all,” Wershler said. “What’s happening is we’re not developing support programs and advocacy for women looking for non-hormonal methods.”
Natural family-planning methods, or fertility-awareness methods, whereby a woman determines the fertile and non-fertile times of her monthly cycle, aren’t often taken seriously by physicians, she added.
“There’s this lack of knowledge and understanding within my own field,” Wershler said. “Women are going to sexual health clinics and being laughed off by the doctors and clinics for looking for alternatives.”
For a related message inviting women to “look beyond the Pill” , listen to my talk, “Think Outside the Pill.” (Trademark phrase of mine–some day I’ll actually trademark it!)
Have you seen the movie UP? It looked cute, and my Dad recommended it, so we thought we’d give it a go.
“Cute” is no longer an adequate word to describe this film for me because what could have been a schmaltzy animated film ended up being a dramatic commentary on life, love and fatherhood. Of course, it’s very funny in parts, and quite action-packed, but it for me was a sort of animated “Last Lecture,” complete with adventure, dreams, joy, loss, suffering and triumph. Thinking I’m reading too much into a computer cartoon movie?
Check out the above pictures, two separate but back-to-back scenes in the first fifteen minutes of the film. The story of Ellie & Carl Frederickson begins with their meeting as children, both in love with fantastic adventures. They grow up, fall in love, marry, renovate their first home together, and do what married couples do: they decide to fill it with children. [Spoiler alert: don't read the rest if you don't want to know about the plot!]
Kathleen, a Wordpress blogger at So Much to Say, So Little Time, is writing an article about NFP for CCL’s Family Foundations, and is wondering if you can answer a question or two or four. (Btw, don’t put your reply in the comments. Please email Kathleen.)
Three cheers for George & Eileen Finnin, Directors of the Philadelphia Area Natural Family Planning Network. Along with Wichita’s rock star NFP Coordinator, CCL Chicago Chapter and a handful of other fervent NFP advocates, they’re harnessing the power of the press release and letters to the editor! They published this Op-Ed piece in the November 28 edition of the Philadelphia Bulletin, which isn’t exactly the NY Times, but is a good example of using the media to get out the word. I challenge the Finnins and others to take the next step, using their ingenuity to take the op-ed/ letter to the editor to the next level, and sumbit it to a more secular newspaper or women’s mag.
- Have you seen any other inventive press releases or letters to the editor?
- What’s the best NFP-related writing you’ve seen out there, something that made you smile, think, or clap your hands?
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