EVANSVILLE, Ind. – A top leader of the Christian Family Movement in the United States called an initiative by the U.S. bishops to strengthen marriage “good for couples and good for society.”
“It’s very exciting to see the Catholic Church encouraging people to treasure their own marriages,” said Lauri Przybysz, who shares the CFM presidency with her husband, John. The national office of CFM is in Evansville.
Przybysz, coordinator of family and marriage enrichment for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, was participating in the conference of the National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers in Denver, where on behalf of the U.S. bishops Denver Archbishop Charles J. Chaput June 27 launched public service announcements for the marriage initiative.
The announcements, for television and radio, feature couples from around the country candidly talking about what they did that day for their marriage.
They end with a message, “Small changes can make a world of difference,” and urge viewers or listeners to go to the Web site www.foryourmarriage.org for suggestions on little things couples could do to help strengthen their marriage.
Funded by the U.S. bishops’ Catholic Communication Campaign, the ads are just one part of the multiyear National Pastoral Initiative for Marriage approved by the bishops in November 2004 and directed by the bishops’ Committee on Marriage and Family Life.
“It’s refreshingly positive to hear people say something loving about a spouse and about how important marriage is to them,” Przybysz told The Message, newspaper of the Evansville Diocese.
The national Web site provides local links to help people find local resources for strengthening their relationship.
“It goes right along with what the Christian Family Movement does to encourage and support marriage,” Przybysz said. “It will give us (as leaders and members of CFM) some good ideas about what we can do to support the marriages of our friends and neighbors as well as our own marriages.”
CFM connects couples and families through small groups that give support to their members in their efforts to lead active Christian lives.
Przybysz said she was impressed with the scope and the variety of the bishops’ new campaign.
“Many people contributed from around the country to the Web site, providing lots of different voices among the resources there,” she said. “It’s not just for Catholics or ‘religious people,’ but it manages to give the message of hope that comes from the Gospel.”