For mother and daughter Maria and Rebecca Pimentel, promoting the sanctity of human life at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish has led to a new ministry and focus – Walking with Moms in Need.
In October, the Catholic Church in the United States celebrates Respect Life Month, a time when the faithful are called to consider more deeply why every human life is valuable and reflect on how to build a culture that protects life - from conception to natural death.
In efforts to increase support of the protection of life, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in 2020 launched Walking with Moms in Need (WWMIN), a nationwide, parish-based initiative that helps and accompanies pregnant and parenting mothers. Maria and Rebecca Pimentel, already involved in Respect Life ministry at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, launched a WWMIN sub-ministry under the parish’s Right to Life Ministry that has not only grown quickly but has also proven to help women in the community.
The Pimentel’s journey to starting a WWMIN at their parish began when Maria Valadez, the Diocesan Director of Respect Life and Pastoral Care Programs, invited Maria Pimentel, the parish’s Right to Life Ministry Coordinator, and Rebecca to watch a WWMIN webinar.
“My Mom and I watched the webinar together, and we determined that incorporating WWMIN into our Right to Life Ministry would be a good next step in helping those we encountered in our ministry and parish,” Rebecca said.
The St. Elizabeth Ann Seton WWMIN ministry had its first meeting in May 2023, and members spent time developing and researching an inventory of local and online resources helpful to pregnant and/or parenting mothers.
“This past summer, things really began to pick up for the ministry,” Rebecca said. “Two nurses joined the ministry, saying that they wished to help in specific ways, like postnatal care of a newborn while the mother sleeps, and lactation education, respectively.”
This gave Rebecca the idea of creating a branch of their ministry called the Parish Network, a network of individuals willing to personally help pregnant and/or parenting mothers in a specific way or in their area of expertise. Volunteers would not need to be part of the formal WWMIN Ministry, but simply be “on call” to help a mother who requires their specific gift in service.
Then, Maria and Rebecca received something in the mail that would stretch their ministry outside the parish. At the end of July, the Pimentels received a notice about an upcoming Women’s Health Fair in their city.
“I showed it to my mom, and we were ready to throw the notice away, when we both strongly felt that the Lord was calling our WWMIN ministry to get a booth at the fair,” Rebecca said. “Our presence at the fair was really well-received by the organizers, those who stopped by our booth, and the other organizations that had booths there.
“One woman who stopped by, looking at our literature, said that she wished our organization had been around when she was 16 and pregnant. Another woman asked one of our members for information on abortion pill reversal. These experiences at the fair made my mom and I realize that another branch was growing within our WWMIN ministry: an Outreach ministry to bring our support to those in our greater community, beyond the parish.”
In September, the ministry had an informational booth after every Mass, attended a local Town Hall Meeting and the Ontario Community Resource Fair. The ministry gained eight new volunteers to participate in the Parish Network, two of which have been instrumental in helping a new single mother. They are currently working on translating their website to make it more accessible for Spanish speakers and connecting with leaders from other local parishes who want to join forces.
“The Lord is truly doing a lot with this ministry, and my hope is that other parishes in our diocese will incorporate WWMIN into their parishes to create a Catholic blanket of love and support for women, their children, and their families,” Rebecca said. “When the world asks, ‘If a mother is pregnant or parenting in a difficult situation, will you help her?’ let our answer be a resounding ‘Yes!’”