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The Christian Family Movement (also known as CFM) is a national movement of parish (neighborhood) small groups of families that meet in one another’s homes to reinforce Christian values and actively encourage other fellow Christian parents through active involvement with others. CFM groups contain five to seven families and the adults meet two nights each month in each others houses.

At meetings the members of CFM use many different programs provided by CFM USA Offices. Parents talk about what they have seen in their family or neighborhood and discuss these opinions on what they have seen through the life and teachings of Jesus. After these discussions they make plans on how they can act out the changes they talked about that will positively affect families in their community. The method used by CFM members is called the Observe/Judge/Act technique. Members say this method helps in such areas as “foster-parenting, prison ministry, refugee sponsorship, religious education and couple counseling.”^[1]

Joseph Cardijn, the founder of the Young Christian Worker Movement in Belgium, was the first person to bring about the observe/judge/act technique (also known as the Jocist Method).^[2]

History

The first CFM groups began in the early 1940s in South Bend, Indiana and Chicago, Illinois. Burnie Bauer and his wife Helene formed a Young Christian Students group in 1940. They began to include couples into their group where they used the Jocist Method (observe/judge/act) to help young married couples with their problems trying to focus on having a Christ-centered marriage. Pat Crowley and six other men began to meet in a law office in Chicago in February of 1942 to discuss the laymen’s role in the church community. Using the Jocist Method they began to focus their discussions on the relationship of husband and wife in relation to the church. The group hosted a day of husband and wife recollection in 1943 that marks the start of the Cana Conference. The wives of these men began to form a group that birthed the Pre-Cana Conference (the Catholic Church’s conference for engaged couples). The Christian Family Movement was born when Burnie and Helene Bauer and Pat and Patty Crowley met each other at the Cana Conference in August of 1948.

The Christian Family Movement had its first national seminar in June of 1949 where it was represented by 59 delegates from 11 different cities. Pat and Patty Crowley were first elected to be the Executive Secretary Couple where they lead the movement for the next 20 years. CFM had become a nation-wide movement. This was shown through their first publication (ACT), its official recognition by the church, and the way that CFM groups from other cities were able to communicate with each other. The first CFM program was called For Happier Families and was dispersed to over 2,500 groups within the span of a year.

The CFM moved through the country at a fast pace in the 1950s. In the 1960s CFM even caused the formation of such new organizations as the Foundation for International Cooperation (FIC) and the Christian Family Mission Vacation. The next big move of CFM was the formation of the International Confederation of Christian Family Movements (ICCFM) in 1966 which placed CFM in over 50 nations.

CFM members in 1975 wrote and tested a family centered drug awareness campaign that was published by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. They also worked together on the U.S. Bishop’s Call the Action manuscript about the “Family”. Members became joined in with the White House Conference on Families and were able to present eight position papers in 1979 and 1980. CFM and ICCFM contributed to Pope John Paul II’s council on issues dealing with the family. Due to the fact that the U.S. Catholic Bishops named the 1980’s the Decade of the Family CFM began to publish programs for the needs of families including publications for teens, widows, family crisis, and divorce/separation within the family. CFM added their input with the U.S. Bishops in their preparing for the council in Rome on the Vocation and Mission of the Laity in the Church and in the World in 1987.

In 1993, they again supplied the U.S. Bishops’ pastoral Follow the Way of Love. They were also given special recognition by the National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers (NACFLM) for their work with families. In 1994 CFM began to put out a column called “Taking the Time to Make a Difference.” Families Against Violence Advocacy Network (FAVAN) was formed in 1996 through the help of CFM. In 1999 CFM celebrated its 50 year anniversary and was awarded the Salt and Light Award by the Hillenbrand Institute.^[3]

Benefits

The CFM website lists benefits of being a member of CFM. These benefits include lasting friendships, couples staying married, supporting family life, helping members grow in faith, helping members get involved in their community, and making members aware of the issues facing their community.^[4]

Leadership

The first national presidents were Pat and Patty Crowley from 1949 to 1968. Other presidents have been Ray and Dorothy Maldoon (1968-1977), Bob and Irene Tomonto (1977-1981), Gary and Kay Aitchison (1981-1985), Wayne and Sue Hamilton (1985-1989), Peter and Carolyn Broeren (1989-1993), Paul and Jane Leingang (1993-1997), Chuck and Jan Rogers (1997-2001), and Peter and Jane Buchbauer (2001-2005). From 2005 to present John and Lauri Przybysz have been the national presidents.^[5]

Mission Statement

The Mission Statement of CFM is taken directly from their website and was adopted by their Board of Directors on March 10, 2002. “The mission of the Christian Family Movement is to promote Christ-centered marriage and family life; to help individuals and their families to live the Christian faith in everyday life; and to improve society through actions of love, service, education and example.” CFM also uses the Bible verse James 1:22 (Be doers of the word, and not merely hearers.) to help portray their mission to their fellow Christians.^[6]

Anthony M. Pilla, Bishop of Cleveland, explained the mission of CFM best when he addressed the Christian Family Movement on August 5, 1995.

The Church speaks clearly of the duties of family members to one another that build a radiant faith. . . . But the Church doesn't stop there; it also speaks of the relationship between families and the larger culture, the duty of service, working for the common good, welcoming strangers, and giving voice to the Christian conscience. That is the message; you are the messenger. - Anthony M. Pilla

Goals

The Christian Family Movement website has 6 recorded goals for their members to strive to accomplish. The first goal is to develop a consciousness (both a family and a social consciousness) based on Christian principles and examples. The second goal is to develop responsible, concerned and happy families that are part of a supportive and affirming network of families within every community who will individually and collectively reach out to others in need. The third goal is to offer opportunities for families to grow in their personal relationships with one another as well as with their friends, neighbors and co-workers. The fourth goal is to develop a caring society that not only recognizes, but actively supports family life. The fifth goal is to initiate and encourage research that impacts on the actual needs of families. The sixth goal is to continue to foster the international spirit of the Christian Family Movement.^[7]

The Symbol

frame|right|Christian Family Movement Symbol The movement has a symbol that is made up of four different parts. They are the ancient signs for man, woman, and child joined together with the Christian symbol for Christ. The symbol is supposed to form a single unit that shows the most basic characteristics of the Christian Family.

Christ – covering the top of the whole symbol is the symbol for Christ; this is the "Chi Rho", which is said to hold the family together and supposed to be the center of family life. Man – shown lifting his arms to God, it represents a strong tower, being the total embodiment of the head of the family. Woman – shown reaching toward the earth, which enhances her similarity to the earth in her ability to give birth. the place she holds in the divine plan of creation, fulfilled in the family unit. Child - the circle, as a sign of life, represents the child, showing the closeness of the power of man and woman to God's supreme power of creation.^[8]