CHARLOTTE — “It’s a marvelous gift.” That’s how Jeannie Wray describes the past 10 years she’s spent as executive director of MiraVia, a ministry devoted to helping women in crisis pregnancies.
Wray joined MiraVia (then called Room at the Inn) in 2006 at the invitation of former director Cindy Brown. The ministry needed a fundraiser and Wray, who was working at a museum at the time, was intrigued by the opportunity.
“I just happened to run into Cindy at a restaurant in Rock Hill. I happened to mention to Cindy that I was retiring in a year and if she knew of anyone who needed a good fundraiser to let me know. She said, ‘Well, I do! At least, we will in a year.’ So that’s where it started.”
Wray succeeded Brown as executive director in 2007.
In 2007, Wray led a capital campaign to build the first maternity home for college student mothers, a particularly vulnerable population that often feels they have to choose between their college educations or their unborn children.
The Benedictine monks of Belmont Abbey agreed to lease MiraVia four acres needed for the ambitious project to help college-aged pregnant women to choose life and build independent, healthy lives for themselves and their children, without having to drop out of college.
“We could not have done that project without that gift,” Wray said.
Opened in 2012, the 10,000-square-foot maternity home next to Belmont Abbey College can house up to 15 young women with an unplanned pregnancy who want to complete their college education and care for their babies. To date, MiraVia has housed 13 mothers and 10 children on the campus of Belmont Abbey College, free of charge. And since its founding in 1994, MiraVia has helped nearly 7,000 women and their children.
Wray recalls some of her greatest challenges with MiraVia came during the fundraising, development and building of the MiraVia home.
“Navigating state requirements and working with architects was a huge undertaking,” she said. “We raised $2.3 million in basically a recession. We reached out to our supporters, who were wonderfully generous. There were a couple of donors who passed away and left us a gift in their wills.”
She is thankful for the community support, especially the Knights of Columbus, who raised $500,000, and the parishes across the diocese who made gifts to MiraVia.
“The Lord provided!” she exclaimed.
One of her fondest memories is of a Mass celebrated on the first Lent they were in the maternity home, in the small chapel at MiraVia. Benedictine Abbot Placid Solari, chancellor of Belmont Abbey College, and some of MiraVia’s donors joined Wray, MiraVia staff and the young women and their babies to thank God for His blessing of the new facility.
“It was incredibly moving,” Wray recalled. “That was a wonderful experience. I will never forget that.”
Wray also remembers fondly the milestones the babies have achieved during their time in her care.
“I remember when each of the babies came home, their first steps…and the first time they called me by name,” she said with emotion welling up in her voice.
“I’m really proud of every one of our young women who completed their degrees,” she said. “They work hard to be good mothers. In the face of all of their difficulties, they understood the gift (of MiraVia) and worked hard to achieve their goals.”
She says she is a much stronger Catholic thanks to her work with the pro-life ministry. “I am much more prayerful. There is so much power in prayer! Every turn, every difficulty – our prayers have been answered. I know the Lord has an enormous army of angels watching over MiraVia. I feel so protected by the Divine here.”
Wray said she wants MiraVia’s success to inspire others.
“I hope it is a standard that others hope to achieve. I think it’s a ground-breaking program. I hope MiraVia inspires other places to find the resources to duplicate the program. I would like to see one next to every Catholic college in the country.”
People from more than six states have inquired about the program, she noted, and there has also been international interest.
Her plan is to remain with MiraVia through March, to help guide the next executive director and assist with the state re-licensing review that will take place in early 2017.
After she retires, Wray said, she plans to spend time with her family and do some gardening. “I’m going to sleep and go to daily Mass,” she laughed.
“I know people talk about ‘once in a lifetime experiences,’” Wray said. “I know with every step (in my life) that the Lord was preparing me to work with MiraVia to develop this program. It has been an honor to give back to the community.”
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
Estate gift is largest in the history of the Catholic Church in North Carolina
ARDEN — An unexpected windfall has come to St. Barnabas Church through the generosity of a couple that quietly left the parish $3.6 million after their deaths. It is the single largest estate gift in the history of the Catholic Church in North Carolina.
Dennis Kushler passed away last October at the age of 84. He and his wife Mary had been members of the Arden parish since retiring to the area in 2003. Mary Kushler died in 2014, and after Dennis Kushler’s death, the parish learned that the Kushlers had made arrangements in their will to leave an endowment of more than $3.6 million to the church they called home.
It is the largest estate gift in either the Diocese of Charlotte or the Diocese of Raleigh, according to diocesan officials – including any gifts to the dioceses or any diocesan entity.
The Kushlers’ endowment will provide the parish with an estimated $175,000 annual income initially, and it will grow over time.
It is a general purpose endowment, so the money can be used to help in whatever way the parish decides.
Not much is known about the Kushlers, as they came to St. Barnabas Church in their retirement years after having been registered members of Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville. They had no children and had been married for 20 years.
Father Adrian Porras, pastor of St. Barnabas Church, celebrated both Kushlers’ funeral Masses at St. Barnabas Church.
“We at St. Barnabas are so fortunate to receive such a significant endowment from the Kushlers,” Father Porras said. “Dennis and his wife Mary were members of St. Barnabas for some time. Unfortunately, because of health reasons they were not very active in the parish when I arrived in 2008. Nevertheless, their amazing generosity to our parish is deeply appreciated.”
Jim Kelley, director of development for the Charlotte diocese, is grateful for the Kushlers’ unexpected gift to the parish of nearly 1,000 registered households in the Asheville metro area.
“We’ve known since 1998 that the Kushlers were going to do something for the Church with their estate, but we didn’t know exactly what they were going to do,” Kelley said. “We are so grateful for this transformative gift.”
The endowment will be administered through the Diocese of Charlotte Foundation. Established in 1994, the foundation has grown to encompass 243 endowments and more than $39 million in total assets.
To date, more than 900 people have indicated that they are making gifts to the Church in their estates, anywhere from the thousands to the millions of dollars, Kelley said.
“We are finding more and more people in the diocese are remembering the Church and the diocese in their estates,” he said. “They want to leave a legacy to their faith.”
Endowments, he noted, provide an ongoing source of support, as the principal funds remain intact and the recipient entity receives funds from the income.
“What Mr. and Mrs. Kushler did will have an impact on that parish forever,” he said.
“We encourage people to commit to stewardship as a way of life. It involves people giving their time, their talents and their treasure in service to the Church. An estate gift enables people to give of their treasure after their death,” Kelley said.
For more information about establishing an endowment or providing an estate gift, contact Ray-Eric Correia, diocesan director of planned giving, at 704-370-3364 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter