Faith & Action Circles to Shape the Future of Marriage

Bring Stand with Children Faith & Action Circles
To your Parish or Community

Parish-based Faith & Action Circles are a foundational part of the Stand with Children movement to rebuild a marriage culture. The circles can be organized by individuals or as part of a parish-wide project.

The program is specifically designed to:

1. Forge community and fellowship for learning, action, and mutual support that will alleviate the sense of isolation so many lay Catholics feel and enable positive coordinated action for evangelization and civic participation.
2. Provide an opportunity for personal formation in the thought and method of John Paul II and Catholic Social Teaching. The emphasis is on learning new positive techniques for discussing issues related to marriage, family, and human sexuality with family members and friends in secular terms that they can repeat without fear of retribution or intimidation. 
3. Build a prepared and committed team of people conversant in positive messages and techniques who can mobilize and quickly activate others to effectively promote or oppose policies related to marriage and family with school boards and government officials at all levels.

The circles are led by a moderator who requires no training or experience to start. They are similar to programs like Renew, self-guided Bible studies, or models used by Legion of Mary and other Catholic movements. Circles can be started within parishes, or with people in parish organizations like the Knights of Columbus, Catholic Daughters, Cursillo, and prayer groups, or among friends across parish boundaries.

The meetings involve reading a designated text, offering personal reflections, and discussing and committing to a simple action such as sharing an insight with a friend or family member or writing a letter to the editor using an insight from the circle. This is faith in action.

The study content begins with original CCG readings describing how to use reality to battle the influences of cultural relativism.  The readings offer insights into new ways of communicating the indisputable reality of marriage that unites a man and a woman with each other and any children who come from their union. It will then launch into a unit on the true meaning of love and human sexuality from the works of Karol Wojtywa (JPII) as summerized and explained by the preeminent moral theologian and CCG adviser, William E. May(1) in his book, Theology of the Body in Context.  The first three weeks' readings, as well as Dr. May's book, are available for purchase from CCG at discounted price.

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⁽¹⁾ Dr. William E. May is emeritus Michael J. McGiveny Professor of Moral Theology at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family. He is no relation to William B. May, chairman of Catholics for the Common Good.