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Elena Cambio
Catholic Courier
October 1, 2025
"Bringing 'hope and help to pregnant and parenting moms' is the purpose of the Walking with Moms in Need program at Peace of Christ Parish in Irondequoit, according to ministry coordinator Jane Way.
Peace of Christ is one of several diocesan parishes that
have taken up Bishop Salvatore R. Matano’s call to participate in the
USCCB pro-life initiative to help pregnant women say yes to life.
The
ministry aims to provide 'a way of helping women who are saying ‘We
can’t do this alone,’' according to Elizabeth Johnston, coordinator of
life issues and cultural ministries in the Diocese of Rochester’s
Department of Pastoral Services.
“Our ministry has grown in ways we could only imagine”
Johnston
said Walking with Moms in Need helps parishes to inventory resources
available in their areas that can help pregnant women choose life...
Peace
of Christ Parish established its Walking with Moms ministry in the fall
of 2022, and since then, 'Our ministry has grown in ways we could only
imagine,' Way said.
Organizers’ first step was to identify pregnancy centers near the Winton-Culver neighborhood...
'We
wanted to be able to connect our moms facing unplanned pregnancies with
these wonderful pregnancy resource centers,' Way said. She added that
these centers provide an abundance of information and referrals to
outside agencies, '…in an atmosphere of compassion, respect, active
listening and no judgment.'
Choosing life through corporal, spiritual works of mercy
...Dozens
of Peace of Christ parishioners also have committed to cooking meals,
organizing baby showers and diaper drives, collecting and distributing
baby item donations, and providing other services to pregnant mothers in
need, she added.
With
the growth of the ministry at Peace of Christ, Kristine Burgio,
pastoral associate at St. Mark’s Church in Greece, invited Way and
Johnston to share their successful strategies with her parish. Since St.
Mark’s ministry began in September of 2024, the parish response to
Walking with Moms in Need has been extremely positive, Burgio said.
'The generosity for a baby shower held in January 2025 was overwhelming,' she noted in particular.
Burgio
said St. Mark’s Walking with Moms in Need ministry incorporates the
corporal and spiritual works of mercy. For example, parishioners make
hand-made baby blankets and other donations to support Focus Pregnancy
Center and engage in community outreach.
They also organize holy hours and have Masses said for the mothers, their children and for an end to abortion, Burgio stated...
Hopes more parishes will take up call to accompany mothers
Johnston
said she hopes more parishes will take up the bishop’s call to minister
to struggling pregnant women in their communities.
St.
Mary’s of the Lake and St. Benedict’s Church in Watkins Glen, for
example, have offered a Walking with Moms in Need program in their
community since 2021, even adding such home-grown spin-offs as Walking
with Dads in Need and Walking with Families in Need...
'It
is our baptismal call to get involved and lovingly walk with people in
their time of need. Walking with Moms in Need is the perfect initiative
to do just that,' Burgio stated.
This
message of accompaniment is essential to the effort, Johnston said,
adding that mothers need to hear, 'You’re not alone; we’re here.'"
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