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NEWS AND MESSAGES LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT COUPLE, MAY 2008 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT COUPLE, MARCH 2008 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT COUPLE, DECEMBER 2007 LETTER FROM THE PAST PRESIDENT COUPLE, SEPTEMBER 2007 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT COUPLE, AUGUST 2007 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT COUPLE, MARCH 2007 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT COUPLE, DECEMBER 2006 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT COUPLE, SEPTEMBER 2006 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT COUPLE, MAY 2006 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT COUPLE, APRIL 2006 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT COUPLE, DECEMBER 2005 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT COUPLE, NOVEMBER 2005 CFM USA DONATIONS HELP REBUILD THAI SCHOOL LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT COUPLE, MARCH 2005 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT COUPLE, JANUARY 2005
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT COUPLE, MAY 2008 May 11, 2008
Friends:
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT COUPLE, MARCH 2008 March 14, 2008 In the world we are living in this 21st century, nothing is easy, especially for us as Church and as Christian Family Movement. The Media, the social problems specially the family ones, the everyday routine and the tiredness, keep us from being bearers of good news, from being evangelizers, this give us a sense of anguish when we cannot carry on our commitment as Christians. But...HALLELUIAH…In the mist of this situation, the risen Jesus appears and says to us: "Peace be with you". He shows his wounded hands and side from which blood and water sprung, and standing in the middle repeats, "Peace be with you!" Yes it is "Peace" that we need. Specifically our heart’s peace first, and then peace with our brethren from whom we feel distant. In order to help us achieve that Peace we so much long for, He shows us his wounds, his pierced side, for He "died for us" in order to bring and gather the distant ones. Jesus also appears to us with the might of the Resurrection, He has a Spirit of encouragement, Spirit of communication. The Spirit recreates the community, unifies it, and gives it a sense of brotherhood. How well it is expressed in The Acts of the Apostles where it mentions the Resurrection’s Community: "The community of believers was of one hearth and one mind" "they had everything in common" and "great favor was accorded them all". Can the experience of the resurrection take our family, our Movement, our communities, to a brotherhood like that, so utopic? Let's not forget that PASSOVER means to pass, it is the passing of God among us and that we are living that so special Paschal Mystery. It is God himself whom is passing here and now through our life, our marriage, our family, our Christian Family Movement...our Holy Church. His passing leaves us the aroma of his Spirit, which is a breath of life, compassionate Joy and sanctifying Grace for our Homes. May the Risen Lord bless you and let you be true testimonies of his Love and Peace.
William and Esilda Cheng, ICCFM Presidents
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT COUPLE, DECEMBER 2007 December 1, 2007 “Blessed is that servant, whom his lord finds doing so when he comes” Matthew 24:46
Dear Friends, Brothers and Sisters in the Lord: And how do the members of our Movement prepare for this great event? Do we realize that Jesus always and continuously comes to our life in our family, in the persons we meet, at work, in the community, and most of all in our interior being, to illuminate with His light and fill us with hope, inviting us to be unselfish and solidary with the needy? Or on the other hand, do we allow ourselves to be convinced by the massive propaganda of expenditures, purchases, festivities, forgetting the real meaning of Christmas? When we read the newspaper, see the news on the television, hear about real life cases, about poverty, unemployment, injustice, delinquency, violence and so many sad cases that occur actually in the whole world, the question arises: What am I doing? What are we doing to help what Jesus started to conclude in the Kingdom of God, here and now? Friends, we have to make the difference and preach with our example. Live Advent, reflecting on the beautiful scriptures of this time with our family. Remember that the God who is coming is the one we yearn for, in whom we trust, who loves. receives and pardons us. Is the God with us Let us each day do what the Lord inspires us, reflecting on His Word so that when Christmas comes it will find us prepared, vigilant and we may repeat with happiness and joy as the first shepherds who visited the Baby Jesus in the manger: “Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men”.
William & Esilda Cheng
LETTER FROM THE PAST PRESIDENT COUPLE, SEPTEMBER 2007 September 19, 2007
Dear ICCFM Members, We thank our dear Chaplain Monsignor Charles Vella, our ICCFM mentor since 1974, for the six years of monthly Masses offered for ICCFM intentions. The sacrament’s infinite blessings have definitely sustained the ICCFM through difficult times. We thank the ICCFM Executive Secretariat for accomplishing their specific functions to the extent that they possibly could. We thank Past Presidents Jose and Margarita Pich for training us and for encouraging us with their presence in distant Continental Conventions, and we thank Presidents William and Esilda Cheng for carrying on the work. Most importantly, because they were essential to our presidential function, we thank Webmaster Andy Pozdol, whose indefatigable pursuit of ICCFM website data impelled us to action; and Translator Emilio Wong, whose unconditional faith in us gave us confidence to rise to our presidential role and whose precise Spanish translation makes us sound more eloquent than we are. We could always count on them; their support never failed nor faltered even at the busiest times. Please accept our deepest gratitude, too, Judy Pozdol and Yolanda Wong! Click here for photos of the outgoing ICCFM Secretariat, 2004-2007 We are proud to have been Presidents of the ICCFM, a Confederation built on prayer and action, gifted with compassion and a prophetic voice. The themes of our World Assemblies in the past 20 years prove that we are visionaries and trailblazers on issues affecting families. We are fortunate to have had as our “think tanks” Fr. Ken Weare and Sue Hamilton (Past President Couple with husband Wayne), among others, who hold advance degrees in theology and who believe that the noblest use of learning is to protect family integrity against an increasingly hostile world. Firstly, ICCFM champions the rights of the poor:
Secondly, ICCFM thinks ahead of the times:
Thirdly, ICCFM recognizes that stewardship of the earth is in the hands of families:
Definitely our history is a source of great pride in being ICCFM, an encouragement for us to persevere in attaining our vision for the families God has placed in our care. In performing our task, we take heart in knowing that we are destined for perfection. “Be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48), Jesus charges us. Giving our Heavenly Father as the ideal shows that Jesus calls us to the highest form of perfection. Our mandate to strive for highest perfection is a destination that is being realized day by day. Loving God and neighbor through service to families, with ICCFM as the instrument, is our chosen path, and we are on our way. As Past Presidents looking back on our cherished experience of the last six years, we feel our hearts overflowing with gratitude to all of you, ICCFM members, for your total commitment, selfless dedication and persistent effort in the service of families. You have been a source of joy and an inspiration. We have been privileged to meet many of you in person, to witness and admire the benevolent work you are doing for families, especially the disadvantaged. Through the years we have learned to love each other more dearly as members of God’s family, united for a common cause. To acknowledge what you have meant to us, to describe with absolute honesty how you have enriched and exalted six years of our lives, we echo the sentiments of St. Paul in a letter to his beloved Thessalonians: “It was your faith that encouraged us. . . How can we thank God enough for you, for the joy we have in His presence because of you?” (1 Thessalonians 3:7-9) The immense happiness and the real blessing have been truly ours.
With love and prayers always,
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CHAPLAIN, AUGUST 2007 August 23, 2007
Our dearest friends and brethren in Christ: Today in our first message to those who conform our work team, we place in the hands of the Lord, our Shepherd and Guide and of His Holy Mother, the Madonna of Fatima, our work of the coming three years as President Couple and Advisors of the ICCFM. In this same spirit, we would appreciate the following:
A warm embrace to all of you,
William & Esilda Cheng, President Couple, ICCFM
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT COUPLE, MARCH 2007 March 25, 2007
Dear CFM Members, As spring bears new life to earth, so does the Youth bear new life to mankind. Mary and Joseph were mere youths when Jesus was born, and though they were young parents, they fittingly brought up the Child destined to be the Savior of the World. Jesus Himself, Son of God and Redeemer of Mankind, was only 33 years old at his death on the Cross, also a mere youth especially in terms of our modern times, but He is our very Way, our Truth, and our Life. Youth has a greater capacity than we can ever comprehend or appreciate—Youth is God’s gift to us, and it is our role to bring up our young people fittingly, to develop their full potential according to God’s plan. We are honored this year that ICCFM Vice-Presidents William and Esilda Cheng of Panama are sharing their Easter Message with us. William and Esilda will lead the Panel on Youth at the Tenth ICCFM World Assembly of Families in Fatima, and they would like us to reflect on issues affecting the Youth, our most valuable asset. Let us pray to the Holy Spirit that their words will bring us new insights to share at the World Assembly. Thank you very much, William and Esilda.
With great love and prayerful Easter wishes to each one of you,
EASTER MESSAGE - “The Lord is risen!” Mt. 28: 6 Friends and Brothers in the faith, Members of the International Confederation of Christian Family Movements: “The Lord is risen!” beautiful Easter proclamation that fills our hearts with great joy; the promise becomes a reality and it is this event that gives us the strength and happiness to keep working together for a common dream: justice and peace. It is an appropriate occasion to send everyone our special Easter greetings with hopes that many families are getting prepared to participate in the X World Meeting of Families and the XIV ICCFM General Assembly to take place in Fatima, Portugal from the 25th to the 29th of July of the present year: There will be very important subjects: Prayer as God’s Presence in the Family, Marriage as a Total Self-Giving, Sin as the Root of Social Evil, and for the first time, youth will have representation in the panel, Value of the Youth to Family, Church and Society. We would like to emphasize that in the month of February, the Second Meeting of Latin America MFC Youth took place in Panama, in which 200 youngsters from eleven countries, after three days of work, meditation, prayer and fraternal living, articulated the following resolution addressed to all youth: “We, the youth of the Christian Family Movement, have experienced the vocation of love. We, who from different Latin American countries came to Panama thinking of amusements, of what we were going to see, believing that as usual we were going to hear the same things . . . you know what? . . . we discovered something so “cool” that we would like to share with you:
“Therefore, Youth, spread your thought to others, make everyone listen to your heartbeat; let the hands of Christ Who is the Light, the Truth and the Life guide you. Free yourself from the chains of sins, return to Him who is filled with mercy and Who wants to have you as a disciple; just listen to His call. He is touching your life; your past does not matter, only the present, so you can become a Missionary of Love today and always.” In a world full of tensions at all levels, where pleasure, sex and lack of values want to drag down youngsters with false advertisement and promises, to know that our Youth courageously prepared that resolution, fills our hearts with joy and makes us want to exclaim: not all is lost!—there is hope, above all, if in each continent we propose to motivate the youth to become part of the MFC. Friends and brothers, let us all get ready to participate and contribute to this great Assembly which reunites families from all continents, from different cultures, with different anxieties, but all united together with great hope to collaborate with God in the construction of the Kingdom here and know. One way to do it is by questioning ourselves:
The Panel on the “Value of the Youth to Family, Church and Society” will be followed by an Open Form during the World Assembly. Please discuss the above questions among your CFM groups and your friends and communicate your ideas to your National and Continental Presidents, to be shared at the World Assembly in Fatima. As the youth is the future of the world and the future of the MFC, we would like to make sure that a truly fruitful exchange of ideas about this most important subject, THE YOUTH, will follow the Panel D presentation. Easter is a time of love, a time to thank God for the wonder of life. May He keep us together as the central axis of our families, of our Movement and of the World.
To all a fraternal hug,
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT COUPLE, DECEMBER 2006 December 19, 2006
Dear CFM Members, “Glory to God in the heavens and peace on earth to men of goodwill!” (Luke 2:14) While the chorus of angels sings “Glory to God in the heavens,” let our Christmas message be “Peace on earth to men of good will”—both peace of heart and peace in the world. Because our family is God’s precious gift to us and thus our utmost concern, family members can be the greatest challenge to our peace of heart. For example, we CFM members commit ourselves to family evangelization and apostolic service, and yet our CFM children have gone their varied ways, not always according to our best hopes. Some CFM children have become CFM leaders in their own right, while others have disregarded the CFM or have even gone “astray.” Why? Only God knows the answer, but let us keep our peace of heart. As people of “good will,” we can place our complete trust in God, that He will never abandon us and our families in our prayers. This Christmas we should also consider how best each of our families can foster peace in the world. Conflicts result from selfishness, which seeks personal benefits without regard for the welfare of others. Let us commemorate our Savior’s birth by being generous and bringing hope and comfort to the poor and the sick—to those who are needy in any way. Christmas is the time to be benevolent, the time to foster peace. Sunday, December 31, 2006, is the Feast of the Holy Family, the ICCFM Universal Day of Prayer. When we think of each other with fraternal love and pray in unity for the intentions of our International Confederation on this very important feast, let us repeat the invocation of our Holy Father Pope John Paul II: "May the Holy Family, who had to overcome many painful trials, watch over all the families in the world, especially those who are experiencing difficult situations. May the Holy Family also help men and women of culture and political leaders so that they may defend the institution of the family, based on marriage, and so that they may sustain the family as it confronts the grave challenges of the modern age!” We end with fervent prayers for God’s blessings upon all of us. May the rich flow of our praises to God’s glory and the Christmas blessings of peace and goodwill remain with us all our lives.
Affectionately,
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT COUPLE, SEPTEMBER 2006 September 15, 2006
Dear CFM Members, In National and Continental conferences throughout the world, the CFM has reiterated this theme of renovation, to insure its relevance when the family as a fundamental human institution is gravely threatened. We see signs of a resurgent and transformed CFM
Below is an account of our CFM travels the past four months, to share with you CFM happenings throughout the world. The articles serve as a supplementary Newsletter, now that LINK-LAZO has become an Annual Review. On the other hand, we have not received enough news and pictures to complete our Annual Review which should cover Summer 2006 – Summer 2007, a record to keep in our archives. Last year’s LINK-LAZO Annual Review came out in October. We target the same date for this year, but we can only make our target if you send your contribution, especially news and pictures of national, regional and international conferences. We are attaching the registration form and the updated schedule of the 2007 ICCFM World Assembly in Fatima. They will also be posted on the website—in fact, they will already be on the website even before you start reading this letter because ICCFM Webmaster Andy Pozdol is a man of instant action! We really hope to see all of you in Fatima. We pray daily to our Lady of Fatima that she will intercede for us, that we will have the time and the money, so that we can also make this occasion a pilgrimage to her shrine. There will be ICCFM presidential elections at this Assembly, so please consider potential nominees. The ICCFM Constitutions states that nominations should be made at least six months before the World Assembly, but you can nominate now. We will also send another reminder. Please join us in congratulating CFM Philippines and CFM India on their Golden Jubilee Celebration which will be held simultaneously on October 21-23, 2006! Lastly, allow us to share a concluding thought. Sometimes we get discouraged when we feel that our prayers and efforts for family evangelization seem to bear little fruit, but be assured that God knows what is in our hearts and answers all our prayers in His time. Let us keep moving forward in our CFM work for families, starting with our own. Let us persevere in prayer and action, and, in instances when we are powerless to act, then let us pray more!
Love and prayers, May 26-28, Hungary FIRES-CFM Hungary celebrated its Tenth Jubilee with over 250 participants, including some from Ukraine, under the dynamic yet unassuming leadership of Balazs and Krisztina Menesi. Tony and Lily Gauci, ICCFM Representatives to the UN and the Vatican, attended as special visitors, but another important guest, FIRES Chaplain Fr. Donnon Murray, was in the USA for the Golden Anniversary of his ordination. The Jubilee program was developed very effectively, with theme speakers followed by personal testimonies, so participants not only gained ideas but also saw how they were put into practice. Themes were derived from the Bible, and Msgr. Laszlo Biro’s interpretation of “You are the salt of the earth,” was very inspiring to the CFM members. Finally, deserving special mention, the excellence of Hungarian musicians and artists was clearly demonstrated in the nightly entertainment programs. June 13-15, Malaysia We went to Johor, Malaysia with CFM Chaplain Father Bunsong Hongthong and other Thai CFM members, to participate in Johor’s Basic Ecclesial Communities experience, as BEC and CFM Thailand comprise the same group of Catholics. To our surprise, there was a big picture of about 50 people attending a CFM meeting, taken several decades ago, at the Johor Conference Center. Thus we learned that Johor used to have a very strong CFM. The BEC has four core functions: Formation, Integrated Human Development and Inter-religious Dialogue—identical to CFM’s prayer and action! We attended BEC meetings in different homes, basically the same as CFM meetings. The BEC is administered by religious sisters, who are happy to affiliate BEC with the ICCFM and participate in international meetings. We do not have the present resources to actively promote the CFM in Johor, but its family mission is alive in the BEC, and the BEC will attend CFM Asia’s next Continental Conference as affiliate members. June 15-18, Singapore The 7th Asian Continental Conference of Christian Family Movements on the theme “The Challenge of Being Family in Asia is a Joyful Mission” was attended by nine countries from two continents, Asia and Oceania. Past CFM Singapore leaders Dennis and Fanny Chua and Mark and Theresa Tan combined efforts with present National Presidents Francis and Julia Mane and their corresponding teams, working together with singing Chaplain Father Andre Christophe, organized one of most-widely attended CFM Asian Conferences in recent times. Among the special guests were CFM Asia Presidents Mel and Emma Ricafrente and CFM Australia Presidents Les and Carmeline Sammut. The conference workshops were a remarkable success, thanks to well prepared, stimulating discussion questions. In past international conferences, language had been a problem for Thai participants, but putting the Thais together in their own workshop groups was an effective strategy which led to enthusiastic discussions. Furthermore, taking the participants to a parish church for the Closing Liturgy was a fitting end to the Conference, especially for foreign delegates who appreciated the opportunity to attend a regular Sunday Mass among Singaporean Catholics. We strongly believe that this Conference will bring about a renewal to the Asian family movements because of the shared experience and the new contacts made with many countries. Recently CFM Asia has been undergoing a decline, but with all the members inspiring and encouraging each other during this Conference, there has grown a will to work harder and to trust that the time has come for a CFM Asia renewal—in God’s most holy will! June 29-July 2, Colombia Because of its numbers and distances, CFM Latin America holds not only National and Continental meetings but also zonal meetings of six countries. These zonal meetings (Encuentro Zonal or EZO) are initiated by the Continental Presidents, using a participatory process to define and communicate plans, policies and objectives for the next two years. We attended the EZO in Colombia, led by Latin America Presidents Jorge and Rosalinda Carrillo, with the support of Zonal Presidents Luis and Martha Pinilla and host country Presidents Rafael and Marlene Rodriguez, and Bucaramanga leaders Carlos and Yolanda Jurado, who were also our host couple and who showered us unstintingly love and hospitality all during our stay. Presidents Jorge and Rosie conducted a very dynamic encounter on the theme, “The CFM Confronting Family Disintegration,” which provoked serious thought but also offered hope in the power of vision, enhanced by impressive power-point presentations. It was an intense process that made the encounter a real growth experience rather than just a meeting, with a very clear goal of a desired structural change for CFM Latin America. There was active involvement of the youth with delegates from all parts of Colombia and other Zone 2 countries. Facilitating the meetings from morning till night was arduous work for Jorge and Rosie, and they were assisted by Continental Vice-Presidents Raul and Cecilia Ortega. ICCFM Vice-Presidents William and Esilda Cheng and Continental Chaplain Father Juan Marcos Granados provided moral support with their constant presence. Although getting a visa to Colombia was very difficult, the problems we had became insignificant when compared to the joy and fruitfulness of our experience in seeing CFM Latin America in the best of its activities! July 5-9, Spain The 5th CFM European Congress on the theme, “25 Years of Familiaris Consortio” held at Cheste, Spain, under the leadership of National Presidents Enrique and Teresa Alonso, stimulated serious discussions on the European family situation, especially with the alarming facts provided by ICCFM Chaplain Monsignor Charles Vella. The participants examined the discouraging realities about the family in Europe and pondered on how they can make things better. Special participants at the meeting were Past ICCFM Presidents Jose and Margarita Pich, CFM Europe Presidents George and M’Louise Sammut, CFM Europe Chaplain Father Joseph Mizzi, ICCFM Representatives to the UN and the Vatican Tony and Lily Gauci, 2007 ICCFM World Assembly Chair Couple Antonio and Maria Celeste Moniz of Portugal, and CFM Philippines Presidents Roger and Leonora Panlasigui, who represented CFM Asia Presidents Mel and Emma Ricafrente. Although we were not able to convene a full ICCFM Executive Secretariat Meeting, we made progress in finalizing most of the schedule of the 2007 World Assembly in Fatima. On another aspect, this European Congress was unique because its participants also attended the V World Meeting of Families (WMF) in Valencia. A year ago the Vatican announced that the WMF would be held in Valencia, at the same time that the CFM European Congress was scheduled in Granada, creating a problem for MFC Spain. However, Presidents Enrique and Teresa Alonso decided to place their trust in God and planned the European Congress around the WMF, and they decided correctly, indeed! Praying with His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI together with two million people is a rare opportunity that not everyone can experience in a lifetime. We ourselves could not be at the European Congress all the time as we were invited to make a presentation at the Pastoral-Theological Congress of the WMF as Presidents of the ICCFM. However, at the times that we did attend, we could feel the renewed fervor of the European Congress participants, especially the MFC Spain members, who were naturally the majority, in the way they responded to the speakers and actively participated in the workshops. Conclusion We thank God that through our participation in these Summer 2006 CFM Conferences and the V World Meeting of Families, He has answered our prayers to help us lead a more dedicated and a more effective CFM, a renewed CFM that will promote family spirituality and social justice with greater vigor in these secular modern times when the institution of the family must be protected with vigilance because it is in grave danger.
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT COUPLE, MAY 2006 Dear Members of the ICCFM Executive Secretariat, We hope things are going well with you. We thank God that CFM prayer and action are always part of our daily lives and that we are privileged to serve as God’s CFM leaders. We happily inform you that ICCFM has been invited to make a presentation at the Fifth World Assembly of Families in Valencia. A letter from His Eminence Alfonso Cardinal Lopez Trujillo states: “It is my pleasure to invite you to take part in a panel during the Theological-Pastoral Congress on a theme of special importance to the family and to life in the different continents. For this reason we have invited you to make a 15-minute presentation about your experiences on Friday, July 7th 2006.” This invitation to share CFM activities in different continents serves as our direction for the ICCFM Executive Secretariat reports. Could you please send us a one or two-page report on specific activities of CFM in your continent and your member countries since July 2004? Although we attended some of the Continental and National assemblies, please write a brief continental report for us again, incorporating significant or impressive activities of PRAYER and ACTION (San Jose World Assembly Resolutions) undertaken by CFM members. These concrete reports on CFM action, which align perfectly with the New Evangelization as defined by Pope John Paul II, will be very interesting to share with other organizations and gives us an opportunity to make known CFM’s great service to families in modern times. We hope you could send it to us by June 2 because we have been given a deadline: “”We would like to have your text along with a curriculum vitae in electronic format for translation by the second week of June.” Because of Europe’s central location, ICCFM has traditionally convened its mid-World Assembly Executive Secretariat meeting at the CFM European Congress. This year the European Congress delegates will also be attending the Fifth World Assembly of Families, so the schedule will be tight. Thus the ICCFM Executive Secretariat Meeting will focus mainly on the progress report on preparations for the 2007 ICCFM World Assembly in Fatima, chaired by Tony and Lily Gauci and Antonio and Maria Moniz. We pray daily for all the coming CFM meetings because they bring CFM members together, and praying together is most effective with the Father as Jesus Himself has said. May the organizers be blessed with miracles in their preparation and may the delegates receive all resources to arrive safely and participate fruitfully. God’s blessings on our CFM mission!
Much love and prayers,
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT COUPLE, APRIL 2006 Dear CFM Members, Let us reflect on the grandeur of Easter at which we are invested with our noble mandate to prayer and action as CFM members. Let us consider as an individual commission, a personal authorization, from our resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, each charge, clearly expounded by all the four Gospels: Because we have freely made the choice to a higher commitment to evangelization through the CFM, we are therefore specially ordained and particularly entrusted with the mandate. On this happiest of holydays, when God’s Love triumphs above all, let us rejoice with God’s Love and strive continuously to make ourselves worthy of our task. Jesus lives! He lives to love us, to comfort us, to glorify us, to conduct us to our own Easter. May Easter renew our love for God, for each other, for all the families we serve in the CFM and for all mankind!
Much love,
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT COUPLE, DECEMBER 2005 Dear CFM Members, Our thoughts are with you all this Christmas season, in grateful prayer to God that He has brought us together in our lives. As Presidents of the International Confederation, we thank God for the year 2005 when we were able to meet many of you, that together we have been blessed with gift of time to inspire and encourage each other. In two days we commemorate the formation of the Holy Family of Nazareth--when Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph. It is a beautiful time to reflect that we all belong to families and to thank God for our special vocation in the CFM to be His disciples for families—for our families and for other families, especially those in need. Friday, December 30, 2005, is the most important day we celebrate this year as an International Confederation. Whether we are able devote much time or little time to pray, whether we offer the Holy Mass or we pray at home, please let us not let the Feast of the Holy Family go by without thanking Jesus, Mary and Joseph for our families, imperfect though our families are. Let us ask for special blessings according to our needs, and finally, let us say a prayer for our CFM work and for the International Confederation of Christian Family Movements. Like the blind man in the Gospel, let us pray, “Lord, that I may see.” Let us ask for discernment to know what He wants us to do for the CFM in the New Year and for the resources to do it. Thank you for all your Christmas wishes. Our hearts wish to thank each and every one of you in a special letter, but our time does not allow it yet. As CFM members, let us be confident that our prayers to “see” will be granted, and let us face 2006 with a greater courage and a stronger determination to succeed in our family mission. God bless us all!
Love,
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT COUPLE, NOVEMBER 2005 Dear Brothers and Sisters in the CFM, We are saddened to announce the death of Patty Crowley on Wednesday, November 23, 2005 at her home in Chicago, Illinois, at the age of 92. Patty Crowley, with her husband Pat Crowley, was one of the founders of the Christian Family Movement in the United States. The Crowleys traveled extensively in the 1950's and 1960's spreading the Christian Family Movement. They were presidents of International CFM at the time of Pat's death in 1974. The creation of CFM was a unique moment in the history of the Church in America. It was the first Church movement to be started by the laity. It recognized marriage as a special gift to the Church and the world in a time when single sex organizations were the norm. Patty was no longer active in the movement after Pat's death, although she was involved in the 50th anniversary celebration of the movement at Notre Dame in 1999. She received many letters in recent years from those who wrote to say how important CFM was to their spiritual formation. She treasured these. She continued to respond to Christ's call in her life. In recent years she was particularly devoted to Deborah's Place, a shelter for homeless women in Chicago that was founded by her daughter. We thank God for the gift of Patty's life. May the Eternal Light shine upon her and may she rest in peace. Nop and Elma Muangkroot
CFM USA DONATIONS HELP REBUILD THAI SCHOOL Dear Brothers and Sisters in the CFM USA, Thank you very much for the donation of $2,500 to the ISB Tsunami Relief Fund. Attached is a picture of Nop and me presenting the check on behalf of CFM USA to Dr. William Gerritz, Head of the International School of Bangkok, leader of the project. Attached, too, are some pictures (in PDF format) of the project.
With much love and prayers,
Nop and Elma Muangkroot, ICCFM President Couple, presenting the $2500 check on behalf of CFM USA to Dr. William Gerritz, Head of the International School of Bangkok, leader of the project. May 12, 2005. Bang Sak School on January 17, 2005 (212kb)
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT COUPLE, MARCH 2005 Dear Brothers and Sisters in the CFM, Happy Easter! Thank you very much for your Easter greetings and prayers that we have received with great joy. For this Easter Season, we would just like to reaffirm passages from our Holy Father´s Easter Sunday 2005 message ¨Urbi et Orbe¨ to use as our guiding principle as we work on implementing the goals of the 2005 ICCFM World Assembly of Families: prayer and apostolic action. His Holiness echoes the words of the disciples at Emmaus who asked the Risen Christ:
“Stay with us, Lord! (cf. Lk 24:29)”
Stay with us, faithful friend and sure support
Stay with us, Living Word of the Father,
Stay with us, Bread of eternal life, We hope you are all well and may God always be close to us and to the families we serve.
With much love and prayers,
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT COUPLE, JANUARY 2005 Dear Everyone, Thank you for your letters of concern regarding our safety in Thailand during the tsunami disaster. Please forgive us for not having responded earlierbecause we were in the Philippines and had no e-mail access in my (Elma) mother's house. Thus we rarely read our mail or read it in a hurry during thebusy Christmas season. We returned January 9, and since my school opened January 10, I have just been doing schoolwork the past two weeks. Bangkok was spared the catastrophe, but almost everyone in this city has been personally affected by the tragedy. One Dutch colleague, his wife and her parents, are seriously injured and will be in the hospital for months. Their six-year-old twins, students in our school, are lost. An American colleague whose Thai wife comes from the disaster area lost his father-in-law and 30 close neighbors, though he and his wife ran to the hills just on time. Twenty family members of one of our bus drivers are dead. There are many more sad stories. This letter is a grateful endorsement of the CFM USA-led fundraising projectto help tsunami victim families. Attached is the inspiring appeal of CFM USA Presidents Peter and Jane Buchbauer, published in their newsletter ACT. Nobody could have expressed the call for CFM solidarity in human suffering more effectively. Donations are always timely because rehabilitation is a long process. Thus, our gift to suffering families will not be less useful because it is late; time will only make it more necessary. As the donation is solicited by mail, a bank draft sent to ICCFM Treasurers Peter and Carolyn Broeren, with a shortnote indicating that it is for Tsunami Relief, would be the easiest way. Direct personal donations or donations channeled through countries or continents are all good ways to do it.
Peter and Carolyn Broeren As intended by CFM USA, the contribution will be managed by the ICCFM Secretariat, with input welcome from all of you. We can stipulate where and how to spend the money--for example, to rebuild a school, to support orphans, to buy medical supplies, to contribute to low-cost housing projects, etc. There will be a lot of choices to assure that our money is put to good use. Please heed the call for Tsunami Relief funds. As CFM'ers, we value the human family, and our personal sharing with suffering humanity, at some cost to ourselves, is our commitment to this value. Let this personal giftgiving be an important international project for the ICCFM. May God move us to be generous and to act now.
Love,
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