Archdiocese parishes respond to bishops’ initiative to connect new mothers, resources

An unplanned pregnancy hasn’t been the only difficulty Diane faced this year. Putting food on the table and connecting with loved ones also were challenges.

But, the 18-year-old single mother found help. While caring for her two older children and looking for housing, she received a pro-life organization’s help with needs big and small, from assistance in finding rides around Minneapolis to a trip to Kansas City to stay with loved ones.

That support helped Diane, who asked that her real name not be used, choose life for her baby, said Nancy Kiolbasa, 59, founder and director of the Stillwater-based outreach Marriage Material, which accompanies and provides aid to women during pregnancy and encourages them to consider marriage after their baby’s birth.

Women in crisis pregnancies “feel very loved just by someone calling Lyft and getting them a ride someplace — it’s a tiny little thing that doesn’t cost much money,” Kiolbasa said.

Kiolbasa, a parishioner at St. Michael in Stillwater, also helped Diane this winter by buying groceries and bus tickets for her, her children and the baby’s father to return to Kansas City, Missouri, where Diane’s mother could assist them before the baby’s birth.

Parishes can play an important role in connecting mothers and families in need like Diane with organizations such Marriage Material, that can help them, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. As part of an initiative launched March 25 called “Walking with Moms in Need,” Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, set up a website, walkingwithmoms.com, that includes resources, outreach tools and models to help parishes make, maintain and expand those connections. Bishops around the country are encouraged to invite parishes in their dioceses to participate.

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Office of Marriage and Family Life will present the “Walking with Moms” initiative at its spring Respect Life Liaison Workshop scheduled for June 12 at Annunciation in Minneapolis. Parish liaisons and others who would like additional information or resources can contact the Respect Life Office at 651-291-4489. People also are encouraged to visit the USCCB’s Walking with Mom’s website, join daily in its “Prayer for Pregnant Mothers” and take advantage of the parish resources on the site, said Nancy Schulte Palacheck, family and laity outreach coordinator.

The initiative was inspired by Pope St. John Paul II’s encyclical, “The Gospel of Life,” which was released 25 years ago, also on March 25. The quarter-century anniversary also fell on the feast of the Annunciation.

As local parishes consider how they’re providing links to pro-life organizations that accompany women and families, Kiolbasa and leaders of several other organizations welcomed the initiative as a way for them to provide more assistance.

This winter, Kiolbasa presented 13 parishes in her deanery in the northeastern area of the archdiocese with a plan for implementing the bishops’ initiative. She encouraged them to make their websites more noticeable to expectant mothers and designate pro-life parishioners who can return women’s calls to their parish. These parishioners can help women connect with local organizations to find needed resources.

Even during the statewide stay-at-home order to help curb the spread of COVID-19, Marriage Material is helping pregnant women who reach them through their website, mostly providing services remotely, Kiolbasa said.

Kiolbasa said she hopes Marriage Material will be able to assist more women as a result of the initiative. Since 2014, the organization has worked with women who respond to their website and has helped them overcome obstacles during pregnancy and afterward. Kiolbasa is also a board member of Philomena House, a St. Paul home providing lodging, food and support to pregnant women in need.

Another organization that could benefit from Walking with Moms is the Baby Blanket, operated by St. Bridget of Sweden in Lindstrom on its parish grounds. Founded in 1997, its boutique offering new and used infant and toddler and maternity clothing, as well as other programs, draws hundreds of women and families each year from Chisago Lakes and the surrounding area, said program coordinator Jayne Taylor, 65.

Parents who attend a monthly enrichment program called Hannah’s Arms, which consists of a craft, talk and lunch, qualify to receive a new crib or portable play yard and if they return, a car seat.

The challenges many mothers in need face can be compounded by a lack of family support, Taylor said. The Baby Blanket, she said, is “trying to give them some material support, some emotional support and just that someone cares for them out there.”

Under stay-at-home restrictions, the Baby Blanket’s boutique is open by appointment, Taylor said, and Hannah’s Arms is suspended. Families can call 651-304-0432 for an appointment or other assistance.

The organization’s mission fits with the Walking with Moms initiative, Taylor said. “It feels like a reaffirmation that we’re on the right track in being that safety net in the community,” she said.

Founded in 2014, the Nest walks with moms by providing a structured, supportive home for them in Rockford until they establish a more stable situation, said co-founder Cristal McClain, 31.

A crisis pregnancy also can involve broken family relationships, debt, lack of education and low paying jobs, she said. Walking with Moms is a way of bringing attention and support to the complex problems of some mothers in need, McClain said.

Assisting two women and their children at a time in a family home setting, Nest staff help them figure out their needs while serving as a safety net, and that assistance continues under stay-at-home restrictions, she said.

Pro-life organizations walk with moms in different ways but can’t always solve all of their problems, she said. “We see ourselves not as solving all those things but more on the journey along the way” with them, McClain said. “Like a little oasis with a spring of water where they can rest and can get what they need to be able to continue their journey.”