On November 7 at 6:30 p.m., the Natural Family Planning (NFP) Task Force hosted an evening at Hops at the Paddock in Allentown for people of the Diocese to learn more about fertility awareness and NFP. The evening included free light refreshments and a drink ticket, plus three passionate speakers.
College students from multiple campuses, engaged couples, and adults of both married and single status all gathered in the Private Room at Hops for an evening of community-building and fertility awareness. Married couple Jessy and Karina Severino were the MCs for the evening.
Andrew Rall, a FEMM-certified Nurse Practitioner, spoke first. He explained that fertility awareness is about monitoring a women’s cycle and health using a variety of bodily signs and methods, so it is beneficial to anyone of any faith. The Catholic concept of Natural Family Planning is fertility awareness utilized to honor and respect God’s plan for human life and sexuality. If a woman learns to track her cycle and recognize when she is fertile, she and her spouse can use that information to abstain from or engage in intercourse depending on whether they are seeking to achieve or avoid pregnancy.
Rall walked through the basics of fertility awareness, describing the women’s cycle and arguing that “we really should call it the ovulatory cycle, not the menstrual cycle. Everything happens around ovulation!”
After Rall finished, Sarah Dearment, the vice chair of the NFP task force and a licensed professional counselor, shared her testimony and insights into the mental health benefits of fertility awareness. She noted how hormones have a huge impact on women’s brains, and so “it’s such valuable information for us to learn about our bodies and cycles, since they impact our relationships and our mental health.”
The third and final talk dove into the Catholic spirituality of NFP. Kathleen Chovanes, a Fertility Awareness Educator, explained that NFP respects the love-giving and life-giving aspects of sex as God intended.
“Marital love is the means by which God’s children come into existence,” said Chovanes. “So, He has a major stake in it!”
Chovanes argued that NFP is fertility awareness plus discernment, since NFP acknowledges that parents are co-creators with God. Yes, there are challenges to fertility tracking, abstinence, and conceding to God’s timing, but practicing NFP is “an invitation to all couples to lean into God.”
All three speakers showed vulnerability and openness to the audience, advocating for the fruit that NFP has born in their own lives. Attendee Marina Starcic from Bethlehem, PA said “It was heartening to hear how NFP draws couples together even though it is hard to do.”
When asked why she is so passionate about her work with the NFP Task Force, Dearment answered: “The Church has such a beautiful hidden gem in NFP that our group wants to share with as many people as possible.”
The task force plans to host a similar event in Berks county at Building 24 Kitchen and Bar on February 6th. For more information about the task force and NFP, visit https://www.allentowndiocese.org/nfp.
By Diocesan Staff
