Volunteers from several parishes who accompany pregnant women in need shared the blessings and challenges they face in their ministry during a gathering on Oct. 18.
A baby born to a grateful mother who had considered abortion, a struggling mother seeking baptism for her baby, a mother who called her baby “it” throughout pregnancy but rejoiced in her child’s birth.
These were among the blessings shared by those who serve in the Walking with Moms in Need initiative. The parish-based ministry is run by a group of volunteers at their parishes. They provide emotional, prayerful and personal support to mothers in difficult circumstances.
Among the challenges they shared were encounters with moms interested only in financial help and experiences with clients who stopped responding without explanation.
Stuart Hamilton, the pro-life activities coordinator for the Archdiocese of Louisville, said these challenges are common.
“If you’re involved in this ministry, you have to understand your part to play,” he said, asking the volunteers to acknowledge for themselves, “ ‘I’m not responsible for saving everyone. I did what I could in my ministry.’ ”
Success comes down to one thing, he told them: “Did we show them the face of Christ in walking with them in our ministry?”
The gathering at St. Francis of Assisi Church in the Highlands also included a talk by Danna Dandurand, who helps run programs for moms through the Little Way Pregnancy Resource Center.
Dandurand shared the mission of her ministry, called The Rose, which helps moms “to the next phase, to help them break the cycle” of poverty and trauma.
The Rose takes critical clients, she said, those who are leaning toward abortion, who may have an unstable home life.
One mom, she explained, was already a mother of five in an unstable marriage. And she was 16 weeks pregnant with twins.
“We tried to offer our support; she went back and forth,” Dandurand said. “We started to pray a novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe.
“Then she called to say she was on her way to get an abortion,” said Dandurand, noting that women often stay in touch, even if they choose abortion.
But then something changed.
“They had started the procedure, and she felt strongly prompted to leave. She said she audibly heard, ‘Don’t do it; I’ve got your back.’ It was so evident the Lord was in this,” said Dandurand.
The mother continued her pregnancy. Volunteers delivered meals and sat with her as she spoke to them about her past trauma.
“Those babies were born on the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe,” Dandurand said, telling her listeners to pray for the intercession of Our Lady when they receive a new client. “We can be the hands, the feet and the face of the Lord to them.”
Dandurand said the goal of The Rose “is to help them come up with a plan of action — we’re not doing it for them, we’re doing it with them.”
The ministry also offers peer support groups for pregnant and post-partum moms and one for fathers. One group helps connect women to therapy to help them address their trauma.
Attendees receive childcare during the meetings along with a meal, so they get a short break and the opportunity to form friendships, she said.
“We don’t have to be everything to everybody,” she added. “They help each other.”
Dandurand offered the volunteers encouragement, adding, “What you all do is what Mary did at the Visitation.”
“No one takes the time to listen to these girls,” she said. “Most of them don’t have friends; they don’t have trusting relationships.
“They need someone to listen without judgment and meet them where they are,” she said. “It’s about being present, encouraging, being a cheerleader — letting her know someone is there for her.
”For more information about Walking with Moms in Need, email staff in the Archdiocese of Louisville’s Office of Family and Life Ministry: Hamilton is available at shamilton@archlou.org and Morgann Lucas can be reached at mlucas@archlou.org.
