GREENSBORO — St. Pius X Church’s Purple Hat Ministry hosted a Celebration of Life event Jan. 28 featuring Room At The Inn and Cone Health Women’s Hospital.
The event was timed to coincide with the National Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children in January, and the U.S. bishops’ new initiative “Walking with Moms in Need: A Year of Service” that marks the 25th anniversary of “Evangelium vitae.”
“At St. Pius X, respecting life is a way of life and we are overjoyed to witness the efforts for life within this parish,” said parishioner Tita Wofford.
“It’s a spectacular initiative, this is what we do,” said Krisan Walker, the parish’s community life chair. “We are thrilled to line up with this effort to ensure our parishioners are equipped to guide families in need to our local community partners.”
The event featured a talk by Dr. Sue Pedaline, parishioner and CNO of Cone Health Women’s Hospital (soon to be Cone Health Women’s and Children’s Center), about the impacts of “Period of PURPLE Crying,” an evidence-based educational program designed to educate parents about the dangers of Shaken Baby Syndrome. Parents learn healthy ways to respond to their new babies during these times of inconsolable crying. St. Pius X parishioners are enthusiastic supporters of the program, donating knitted and crocheted hats – close to 10,000 purple hats since 2010 – that are then distributed during Period of PURPLE Crying parenting classes at the hospital.
“Infant abuse from head trauma from shaking is one form of abuse we can prevent,” said Walker.
“What stood out for me is the difference one person can make,” Pedaline said, referring to the love each knitter pours into each handmade purple hat. She thanked Walker, who along with ministry leader Lupina Doyle helped start the purple hat ministry 10 years ago during a Living Your Strengths class at St. Pius X.
Walker, who has worked in foster care and mental health for years, knows the devastation that can occur from shaking. Out of the babies admitted to a hospital with Shaken Baby Syndrome, 30 percent die and 35 percent have lifelong disabilities. The Period of PURPLE Crying program has been implemented in more than 2,000 organizations in the U.S., Canada, Japan, Israel, Australia, North Korea and the Cayman Islands. Studies show a 35 percent decline in children being admitted to the emergency room for shaking-related injuries in hospitals that implement this program.
At Cone Health, Pedaline notes, “it is required…because of the impact on patient safety.”
This life-saving program is directly in line with the U.S. bishops’ new “Walking with Moms in Need: A Year of Service” initiative because “if a baby is shaken and something horrible happens, DSS is called,” Walker points out. “And if there’s other children in the family, they might be given to another relative to raise or they might come in to foster care. So the reach goes beyond the infant who is getting this hat – it is for an entire family.”
Marianne Donadio, Room At The Inn’s vice president of development, thanked St. Pius X Church for “walking with” the mothers Room At the Inn has assisted over the years.
Some mothers have a background of extreme poverty, Donadio said, and “many of them have been chronically homeless themselves.” There is often a history of domestic violence, substance abuse or mental illness, as well. “It’s really quite terrifying, so to choose life in that situation, you have to be quite heroic,” she said.
Pro-life work, she noted, is “most effective when we provide support while mothers are pregnant, when they’re trying to choose life and then for years afterwards. It’s a matter of helping them succeed long-term.”
— Georgianna Penn, Correspondent
Learn more
Pregnant and parenting moms in need are in our parishes and our neighborhoods. As Pope Francis reminds us, our parishes need to be “islands of mercy in the midst of a sea of indifference.” Everyone in the parish community should know where to refer a pregnant woman in need.
The 25th anniversary year of “Evangelium vitae” is an opportunity to assess, expand and communicate resources to pregnant moms and families in need. Parishes are invited to join the nationwide effort from March 25, 2020, to March 25, 2021, entitled: “Walking with Moms in Need: A Year of Service.”
Go to www.usccb.org/about/pro-life-activities/walking-with-moms-in-need.cfm to learn more.