St. Pius X parishioners raised nearly $4,000 this spring for The Pregnancy Network’s annual GSO Walk for Life. Georgianna Penn | Catholic News HeraldGREENSBORO — A national initiative to help expectant and new mothers in need is getting a renewed focus at St. Pius X Church, now that pandemic restrictions are lifting and people are returning to Mass.
The pro-life pastoral effort, “Walking with Moms in Need,” was launched by the U.S. bishops in March 2020, just as the pandemic emerged and churches were closed.
“Walking with Moms in Need” is a time of service in which Catholic parishes and communities “walk in the shoes” of local pregnant and parenting women in need. It kicked off last year in some parishes, including churches in Charlotte and Greensboro, but larger public outreach efforts were difficult. Now, St. Pius X Church is among local parishes re-energizing the campaign in tandem with its existing pro-life ministries.
The month of May – a time when Catholics honor in a special way the Blessed Virgin Mary – “turned out to be a perfect time to re-launch this initiative,” said Carolyn Painley, Community Life Pastoral Associate at St. Pius X.
As part of their re-engagement efforts, parishioners Martha Harvey and Kathy Martinek, who mentor young mothers at The Pregnancy Network (formerly called the Greensboro Pregnancy Care Center) organized a walk team of a dozen St. Pius X parishioners for The Pregnancy Network’s annual Walk for Life. The “Work of His Hands” walk team raised close to $4,000 for the pregnancy center.
Pro-life volunteers also distributed “A Prayer for Pregnant Mothers” prayer cards to Mass-goers after each Mother’s Day Mass.
Painley and fellow leader Krisan Walker note that St. Pius X members have been supporting families in need for decades through community partners who provide food, housing, pregnancy services, mental health and substance abuse support.
“This is what we’ve always done,” Walker said.
During the pandemic, Painley noted, “we had to be really creative and not allow COVID to give us an excuse not to serve. We try to help provide our parish community with ongoing opportunities to increase awareness of the needs of others.”
St. Pius X hosted two of its largest “drive-thru” food drives ever to benefit Greensboro Urban Ministry. Parish groups also provided ongoing support to Room At The Inn: the Ancient Order of Hibernians provided weekly food deliveries, and the Knights of Columbus, Knights of Malta, Purple Hat Ministry and St. Pius X School provided gift cards, gift bags and more.
“There’s nothing greater than providing food and shelter to homeless, pregnant, abortion vulnerable mothers,” said Walker. Added Painley, “Partnerships allow us to expand our reach and do more with our resources.”
The goal of the new “Walking with Moms in Need” campaign is meant to give every parishioner a way to help mothers in difficult circumstances, whether that’s connecting them to local social services, providing food and baby supplies, or praying for and accompanying the women in solidarity. According to its website, “While not trying to turn Catholic parishes into pregnancy centers, we can support local pregnancy centers where they exist, and we can also find and share other resources with pregnant and parenting women. And where there are few local resources, we can create our own, based on the gifts of the parish community!”
“The goal is to provide a few niche options,” Walker explained, because referring someone to an established agency who can make a professional assessment is really best.
“The parish network is a huge resource since the U.S. bishops announced Walking with Moms in Need,” said Marianne Donadio, development director for Room At The Inn.
Recently, Room At The Inn met with a deacon from a local parish who was trying to help a pregnant mother who was living in her car. She had an upcoming job interview and a housing voucher, so the local parish paid for her to stay in a hotel room for a few weeks to give her more time to arrange a permanent place to live.
“Every situation is different,” Donadio said. “It’s just a matter of getting to the root of what the need is, the most urgent need, and then pairing the person with the right agency.”
“If a mother contacts us who does not need shelter, but needs a mentor or material assistance, we can then funnel her to The Pregnancy Network or Birthright,” she continued.
“We refer back and forth to one another quite regularly.”
The goal of the “Walking with Moms in Need” campaign is to engage parishioners and connect with community resources to enable everyone to lend a hand, in whatever ways they are called. Already at St. Pius X Church, they are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for them to expand their long-standing pro-life efforts, Painley and Walker said.
— Georgianna Penn, Correspondent
Learn more
At www.walkingwithmoms.com: Get more information about how you can help mothers in need, including prayers, resources for parish ministries and more