How big was your nfp class?

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My husband and I are attending an NFP class on the sympto-thermal method, in fact, our second meeting is tonight. I was surprised though to find out that we are the ONLY couple for this class. There’s a large Catholic population where I live, my church alone has 2,000 members. Did anyone else take the class by themselves or have a really small class or something? I was hoping to meet some other Catholic couples from my area but I guess no such luck.
 
I am not taking STM, I am studying Creighton. In Creighton you have one-on-one instruction. I know they offer a lot of STM classes all over our city, but I don’t know how many couples attend each class.

The low attendance at NFP classes is a sad commentary on the poor catechesis that has taken place and the many Catholics who do not understand the Church’s teaching regarding contraception.
 
23 years ago there weren’t any NFP classes around my little hometown.

My mother said 'Binney, you know the church doesn’t approve of ‘the pill’.

My older sis said ‘Binney, don’t listen to mom.’

Never mind what my future husband said.

The point is we weren’t informed.

That was the extent of my education. Sex wasn’t a big topic in my family home.

Never mind how few people there are in class. Just be thankful that you have a NFP class. Learn the why and how. Pray. You won’t live to regret the choice.
 
Our first NFP class had about 18 couples. By our next and subsequent classes, only four of us were left!
 
Our class at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh had only one other couple. They took it because their OBGYN suggested it after she had some bad reactions to the pill, not for any religious reason.

Our class was only one session long though, but you can mail your charts in for feedback whenever.
 
There were 5 couples in our class and everyone stayed with course all the way 'til the end. Although my finacee had to go to a different class for the last 3 due to our living in different areas (it was a bit odd being a single guy in this situation ;))
 
The class we went to was at least 12 years ago. I think there was something like 5 or 6 other couples there. I think it was a one time class, I don’t remember there being more that we missed. But we got a book and a charting booklet and a thermometer, so we were set to go.
 
Well guys, I guess I spoke too soon. Another couple joined our class tonight. I don’t know if we’ll become buddies or anything but hey it’s nice to know that at least someone else in the area is taking advantage of the classes.
That’s cool that some people only had to take one class. We have 4 2-hr classes, once a month for four months…so two more to go. We have learned a lot so far and are getting pretty good at charting. I was very suspicious of NFP at the start but I’m starting to see it’s value.
And yes, I’m very grateful that I have a class to go to. There hadn’t been in my area for years, the couple doing my class just decided to start teaching again. I thought I was going to have to do the home study course off of the website but we lucked out. 🙂
 
We are the only couple at ours. Our third class is next week. In fact, we meet at the teaching couple’s home since no one else signed up.

We met the couple at our “Marriage Preparation” day when they taught a session on family planning. There were probably 50 couples there and NONE appeared to have any interest in NFP. They were a lot fo mumblings of, “Gross!” among this obviously very mature crowd.

Praise God for my amazing fiance!

This couple teaches the class twice a year (once in the fall, once in spring) and it was my feeling that they usually have at least one couple. They’ve been teaching it for about 20 years, and are WONDERFUL! We are so blessed to have such a great teaching couple that is always available for follow-up and questions. In fact, I went to school with one ot their kids. Gotta love a small town!

It’s been a great experience for us. Frankly, I was surprised to learn there were any classes available in my little town/area.
 
We took it 21 years ago w/ 5 or 6 other couples. The sad thing was, while they taught the ‘how’ they never talked about the ‘why’. As a result, we made some regretable decisions later on. —KCT
 
I have no idea how many couples are taking the class now because when I took the class it was 27 years ago. My husband and I were not married yet and we were the only not yet married couple in the class. I don’t remember quite how many were there but I would say at least 8 couples (besides us) and like someone else, I regret to say that they only taught us the how and not the why as well and it took us three babies (all planned btw) and 17 or so years of barrier methods to come back to NFP only.

In the last 27 years though there is a lot more readily available information out there (JP2’s Theology of the Body was being written at the time as his Wednesday Sermons). The internet has helped tremendously in being able to diseminate information.

Sad to hear that not that many couples are taking the classes. I hope the one young couple I know who are getting married soon are taking it - I know I suggested to the girl (my daughter’s best friend and a convert at that) to at the very least do the homestudy course starting soon!

Brenda V.
 
There were about 10 couples when we took the class two years ago. We had a terrific opportunity to take it on campus as we were engaged when we were seniors in college. Everyone else we took the class with were fellow students or engaged to a student at our school, so it was a very awesome experience. I appreciate it much more now that I’m in the “real world” and see how few couples appreciate the gift of nfp or are courageous in seeking it.
 
It took some work to dredge up the NFP info or someone to teach us, but we found a couple in a city not too far away to teach it to us for, oh, I don’t remember $50? It was part of the couple to couple league, and there were only the two of us, for one evening. I really learned it from the book they gave us.

I had expected it to be a routine part of marriage preparation, but it wasn’t (part of pre-cana). I understand why if it is a second marriage, but we had both never been married.

I think it really would have helped to get to know other couples who used it, instead of feeling like the only Catholics in the universe who used it, save the one couple in that other city.:o
 
I think NFP classes should be a required part of pre-cana. I mean, if you want to get married in a Catholic church, let’s do it the Catholic way, shall we? Unless of course the couple has already taken the classes & stuff, or wishes to take whatever God gives 'em and not use any sort of birth spacing. My husband and I are having our marriage convalidated, and on our initial meeting with my priest I wondered if he would say anything about nfp. I was so proud of him when he began gently telling us about the rules of the church regarding contraception. When we told him we were attending classes, he was delighted. NFP couples have a divorce rate of what, 4 percent? Think of the marriages it would save.

Alot of my Catholic friends didn’t even know what nfp was, or that the church was (still!) against artificial birth control. (and oh yes, we all went to Catholic school together…our catechism education was sadly lacking…) I hope when they get married their priests recommend it to them.

🙂
 
Taking the introductory class on NFP is a required for my Parish’s Pre-Cana. I am not sure what is gone over in the class but I don know that it is there. I also know when I did my pre-cana Engaged Encounter (required in my Diocese and in the one in the State just across the river from me) an NFP teaching couple gave a talk on the Sympto-Thermal method from the CCL. So there are places where the couples are being given the information but what information I don’t know (I know that on top of the talk, we were still of the mind that we should follow our “consciences” but no one said “well formed conscience”!)

Brenda V.
 
NFP classes are required for the Archdiocese of Denver. I teach about more than six classes per year and there are 3 to 16 couples in class.

It is a good opportunity to help catechize couples who don’t even know why they are getting married in the Church. Apparently it’s just habit. I think there are many couples who rediscover their faith during the preparation.
 
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