A Week in
the Life of the American TFP
Everyone likes to hear about big events.
However, few measure the full importance of the small
ones. Little by little, brick by brick, one builds the
foundations and walls of a building. So also an organization
builds its networks and makes its impact over public opinion.
Such small but important events so often
go unnoticed. This report will focus on the many small events
crowded into the slightly longer than one week of September
16-24. Thus, one can get an idea of how members and supporters
of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family
and Property (TFP) were active all over the country promoting
the values of Christian civilization.
Many TFP events involve families. On
September 16, over 200 supporters and friends attended
an annual family program and picnic near Topeka, Kans.
In addition to local supporters from Kansas, guests traveled
from Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri,
Nebraska, South Dakota, and Pennsylvania.
The all day event began with a presentation
by TFP director Luiz Antonio Fragelli. The program also
included the always popular puppet theater, an abundant
buffet, wholesome games for children of all ages, a hayride
filling three wagons, a Chinese shadow show and an outdoor
candlelit Rosary procession. The puppet show this year was
titled, “The Siege of Czestochowa,” an incredible
story of heroism and confidence in seventeenth century Poland.
The Chinese shadow show told the story of the conversion
of Alphonse Ratisbonne through the Miraculous Medal. *
The next day in Topeka, TFP member Byron
Whitcraft gave a presentation on the role of temporal
society in the lives of Catholics. Mr. Whitcraft frequently
visits the area and gives talks to groups in Topeka and
Wichita.
On the East Coast, nearly 30 TFP friends
and families came together for a similar all-day event taking
place near Hartford, Conn. TFP director Gary Isbell gave
the talk. The event included a barbecue dinner in an outdoor
tent and wholesome activities for family members.
Also on September 16, a group of six TFP
members served as an honor guard for a statue of Our Lady
of Fatima during a special pilgrimage at the National Shrine
of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown, Penn.
Monday, September 22, members of TFP
Student Action went to Millersville University of Pennsylvania
to campaign in defense of the unborn. They spent the day
handing out flyers and taking surveys. They met with sympathetic
students and encouraged them in their struggle.
Later, during the week, Student Action
members met with conservative students and leaders at
Penn State at State College. They also were part of the
regular Saturday morning anti-abortion protest attended
by students at the area’s abortion clinic.
American TFP Washington Bureau chief
Mario Navarro da Costa hosts a regular Friday night program
for young conservatives and university students at the
bureau residence.
Finally, Student Action also joined with
high school students of St. Louis de Montfort Academy
on September 24 for a youth hike at the Grand Canyon of
Pennsylvania. Such hikes and field trips provide wholesome,
character-building activities for youth.
On September 22-23, Preston Noell of the
American TFP’s Chicago Bureau joined 250 pro-life
Americans at the Contraception is Not the Answer Conference
at the Crown Plaza Hotel outside Chicago. Sponsored by the
Pro-life Action League, the conference united pro-life leaders
from all over the United States, Canada and Mexico.
America Needs Fatima director Robert
Ritchie spent the weekend of September 23-24 in Miami
where he spoke to numerous friends and supporters. His
talk was titled “Toward the Reign of Mary.”
He also met with Cuban-American leaders.
Before leaving for Miami, Mr. Ritchie
watched the America Needs Fatima 2007 Calendar go in the
mail on September 18. Over 110,000 Americans will soon
be receiving these inspiring calendars.
TFP member Michael Drake arranged for
the priestly blessing of tens of thousands of Sacred Heart
badges. The badges which identify the wearer as a Catholic
in case of an accident will soon be sent all over the
country and also to soldiers in Iraq.
In St. Louis, American TFP Vice President
John Horvat gave two talks to friends and supporters.
One was on the apparitions of Our Lady of Good Success
in Quito, Ecuador in the sixteenth century. The other
was the launching of the book, Meet the Witnesses
by John Haffert that was recently republished by the TFP’s
America Needs Fatima campaign.
All the while, America Needs Fatima teams
give daily Fatima presentations to hundreds of Americans
at homes all over the country. This past week there were
team members in Pennsylvania, California, Maryland, South
Dakota, North Carolina, Kansas, New Jersey, and other states.
For others, there are normal office
duties, classes, and studies. Throughout the activities,
the powerhouse of prayer, the greatest of all activities,
sustains all. Devotion to the Blessed Mother and her Rosary
is especially dear to TFP members and supporters.
Such are some of the little events that make up the “normal”
week in the life of the American TFP.
