BOMA Community Outreach

By Craig Turczynski

We had the opportunity to display and market our services at the FACTS (Fertility Appreciation Collaborative to Teach the Science) and AAPLOG (American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians & Gynecologists) meetings, which took place on April 5-7 in Indianapolis.

Without getting into the details of the logistics of travel, reminiscent of the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles, we wanted to make you aware of this activity. Connecting with healthcare professionals was our primary goal. Being there not only reinforced our mission to people who are aware of BOMA, but there were numerous individuals who now know about us who had no idea previously. The conferences were inter-faith, and it is encouraging to see both Catholic and Protestant brethren involved in the pro-life mission. Faith aside, the most important factor is the solid science that continues to reinforce the healthier alternatives to conventional medicine’s promotion of birth control, assisted reproductive technology, and abortion. Legislative issues were also discussed along the lines of healthcare professional’s right to practice medicine according to their conscience. The federal update presentation given by Roger Severino from the HHS office was enlightening, and the HHS department’s recent efforts to protect religious freedom and the right of conscience in healthcare was encouraging. The full agenda of AAPLOG can be viewed here: https://conference.aaplog.org/.

There were many like-minded organizations who also exhibited at the conferences and opportunities for key strategic partnerships were explored.

Craig Turczynski, Ph.D.
Director of Development and Strategic Planning. BOMA

Attending the 19th Annual Catholic Men’s Conference in Worcester, MA

by Jennifer McManus

What a blessing to participate in the 19th Annual Catholic Men's Conference in Worcester, MA. During the vendor hall time between speakers, my husband and I spoke to men both younger and older, who looked at our printed materials and signed up for the BOMA newsletter so as to be more informed on NFP and BOM in particular. Some were happy to pass along the Preachable Message CD to their pastors and/or listen to it themselves. We also heard great things about the book The Estrogeneration. We were told it is a must-read book but to get ready to not put it down once you start.

We discussed the use of NFP for women with irregular cycles and that Creighton or sympto-thermal methods are not the only methods. We hope that the sharing of our message will encourage men at this conference, as well as bring hope for infertility with other couples in their lives. During the speaker sessions, vendors were asked to leave the hall, at which time, we were able to connect with other vendors. One woman is involved with the Catholic Medical Center in NH. There may be a possibility to be interviewed for a Catholic radio show called "This is the Day."
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The nurses who work at a crisis pregnancy center were interested in the medical webinar series in May. There were also present representatives from three seminaries. One already had the Preachable Message book in their library and said how good it is. The other two were happy to have it and expressed great appreciation for the gift of both book and CD. I personally was asked to give a presentation to my diocesan deaconate program. We hugged some friends, were happily approached by strangers, and may never know how far our efforts or information may go.