Megan Bell is the newest certified teacher of the Billings Ovulation Method of natural family planning in the Diocese of Owensboro. COURTESY OF MEGAN BELL
Megan Bell newly certified to teach Billings method of natural family planning
BY OFFICE OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LIFE STAFF
On July 20, 2023, the Office of Marriage and Family Life for the Diocese of Owensboro announced Megan Bell of Murray, Ky., as the newest certified teacher of the Billings Ovulation Method of natural family planning.
Bell and her husband, Adam, are active members at St. Leo Parish in Murray, where Bell also serves on the parish staff as pastoral associate. Bell recently completed her training and practicum requirements through BOMA (Billings Ovulation Method Association) to become a certified teacher for the Billings Ovulation Method of natural family planning and can now take clients.
“We are excited to announce that Megan is ready to start teaching clients, especially for couples going through marriage preparation who are ready to learn the method,” said Danny May, diocesan director of marriage and family life. “But also, for anyone who is interested in learning a healthy, scientific way to achieve or postpone pregnancy in a way that supports Church teaching. Megan is a wonderful person with such an approachable personality. I think couples will find her very easy to work with.”
Couples who come through marriage preparation in the Diocese of Owensboro hear about the gift of fertility and the beauty of natural family planning through Unveiled Online PreCana, Engaged Encounter retreats, or sponsor couple sessions.
After hearing that introductory information, they can then be trained for free in whichever method they prefer: the Billings method, the Creighton method, or the Marquette method. The diocese offers free introductory sessions for the Creighton and Marquette methods through a partnership with the Holy Family Center for Life based out of Evansville.
For the Billings method, we are blessed to have several Billings instructors here in the diocese in addition to Megan Bell, who can meet with couples to teach them the Billings method and accompany them through follow-ups.
Scholarships are available for couples with financial difficulties to receive instruction in any method for free or at a reduced rate.
Martha Winn, education chair for BOMA-USA and a member of Holy Spirit Parish in Bowling Green, said she is “thrilled to have Megan working in the NFP ministry in the Diocese of Owensboro. She is knowledgeable, experienced in parish life, and has excellent teaching skills.”
“I love teaching NFP because as a couple you are not only following God’s beautiful design for the human body, but also as a married couple my husband and I are committing ourselves wholly to one another and respecting one another for the person that God made each one of us to be,” said Bell.
“NFP does require a certain stage of learning and certainly requires attention and following rules,” she said. “Again, God created us perfectly and NFP supports his plan for the human body. Once a couple becomes comfortable with the rules of the NFP method, the beauty of why the Church supports NFP and the bonds that are strengthened between a husband and wife make the NFP method easy. Not only easy, but you may begin to question why you would ever try anything different!
For more information about natural family planning, visit owensborodiocese.org/nfp-about.
