CLP, CFC

My husband and I just joined a church group. CFC.

Yeah, I know. Sounded like I just dropped a very big bomb. Ask anyone we know, they would laugh if they heard that. It all started last month. We just barely started going to church again for a couple of weeks. The last time I went to church, I almost fainted because there were too many people and the church was poorly ventilated and to top it all off, I was 4 months pregnant with our now 9-year-old son (see? how long ago was that!?). So, as we were coming out of the church after a mass one Sunday, a couple approached us and asked us if we would like to attend a CFC seminar. What the heck is CFC, right? (I wasn't familiar with the term then, either). They told us it would be a great way to meet new people and new friends and be a part of a community. Also, it aims to bring the family closer together and that it is free and there are no obligations to join. Just attend the orientation and if we want to continue the program, we can finish the whole course and if not, we can stop attending anytime we want.

My husband and I then had a "seminar" of our own near the couple's booth at the back of the church (they both looked genuinely friendly to me, btw). He asked me if it was OK if we went. I told him, if he wants to then, go ahead, it's fine by me. Besides, the reason why we started going to church again was so our family would be closer knit. You know what they say, "A family that prays together,... and all that." So, he signed our names. The couple shook our hands enthusiastically, and with the promise to see each other again, we went home.

The orientation was held on a Saturday, 7-10 pm at a room in the church. Being the early birds as we are (ahem!), we were the first couple to arrive. We were then asked to sign a form for their files. Just the basics: name, age, nickname, the usual. Then, we took our seats up front (I have this compulsion to always sit up front, I think because the school system here in the Philippines required students to be seated alphabetically and sadly, I've never sat up front because of my surname). Anyway,.. The first part of the orientation was singing praises. We were given copies of lyrics and they sang the songs and asked us to sing along if we already knew the tunes. Then, of course, the opening prayer. After that, the talk started.

Turned out, CFC is short for Couples For Christ and CLP is for Christian Life Program. These are seminars for people to get to know who or what God is. Couples For Christ is, as the name indicates, for couples to get to know each other better and how you two can serve God together with your family. There are a series of seminars (12 in all, one each week... well, 13, if you include the orientation) where there are speakers (one for each night) talking about being better Christians, telling stories about themselves, about what they have been through like having affairs, having problems like gambling, smoking, drinking, etc and how they were able to overcome those trials. They told us that they talk about those problems to other people so that other people won't make any of the mistakes they've made or won't have such a hard time going through them. It's like marriage counseling, only "religion-oriented". After the speaker's lecture, we are asked to form groups of 4 and discuss our expectations (or lack of them). After that, we pray and talk about anything we want, like old friends who haven't seen each other in years. Then, we pray and are given snacks while talking some more.

We've just finished talk number 3 and this coming Saturday will be #4. We just take the talks one at a time,... just one step at a time. And, as expected, we were laughed at by our families. Still, it's not so bad. It's nice to listen and learn something.