Natural Family Planning (NFP) Awareness Week (July 23-30, 2023) is a national educational campaign promoted each year around the anniversary of the papal encyclical Humanae Vitae (July 25), which articulates Catholic beliefs about human sexuality, conjugal love, and responsible parenthood.
This year for NFP Awareness Week, the Diocese of Tyler’s Department of Family Life collaborated with Christina Valenzuela from Pearl & Thistle to host several events in the Tyler area for a week-long series.
Deanna Johnston, the Director of Family Life for the St. Philip Institute in the Diocese of Tyler, stated, “The best part of NFP Week 2023 was that we were able to intentionally expand the conversation around Natural Family Planning to include Fertility Awareness and Body Literacy formation for a wider audience.”
Over four days, Christian Valenzuela, owner and founder of Pearl & Thistle, gave five different presentations catered to various audiences in Tyler, Flint and Whitehouse.
“Christina Valenzuela’s presentations were incredible, not only because of the education she was providing but also because this information highlighted the genius of God’s design for the human person,” Johnston stated.
Through Pearl & Thistle, Valenzuela provides training and resources on body literacy, fertility awareness and NFP for parents, single women, and couples. The sessions she brought to the Diocese of Tyler included Cycle Prep, a workshop for mothers and daughters, Body Literacy for single women, and training sessions for Parish Leaders and NPF Ambassadors throughout the diocese.
Amanda, who attended one of the events said, “Christina presented the information in an engaging way which highlighted the beauty of how God created us as women. Through learning more about God’s creation (including our own bodies in all their complexity), we can come to a greater understanding of ourselves and of the God who made us.”
“The talk also included practical advice and mentioned several benefits of body literacy including early detection of health issues,” she continued. “I had several ‘ah-ha!’ moments where the dots started to connect for me, and it was a nice surprise that each attendee was gifted a workbook to take home. So glad I came!”
For those who were unable to attend the live presentations , the coupon code TYLER10 can be used for 10% off resources and products from Pearl & Thistle. You can learn more about Christina Valenzuela and the resources she offers at https://pearlandthistle.com/
