Mass schedule:
* Saturday at 5:00 p.m
* Sunday at 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
* Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday – 9:00 a.m.
* Confessions on Saturdays at 3:30 pm

Home > Serve > Social Action Ministries > Respect Life

Respect Life

“We proclaim that human life is a precious gift from God; that each person who receives this gift has responsibilities toward God, self and others; and that society, through its laws and social institutions, must protect and nurture human life at every stage of its existence.”

U.S. Catholic Bishops, Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities, November 2001

Our Respect Life Ministry works to promote respect for human life from conception to natural death and to bring a conversion of mind and heart for all to be open to God’s special gift of life.

Our Respect Life Ministry pursues the promotion of life in four major areas:

  • Public Information and Education to deepen understanding of the sanctity of human life and the humanity of unborn children, the moral evil of intentionally killing innocent human beings—whether at the beginning of life or at its end—and the mission of the Church to witness to and serve all human life.
  • Pastoral Care for women with problems related to pregnancy; for all who have been involved in abortion; for those who are disabled, sick, and dying, and their families and caregivers; for those who have lost loved ones to violent crime; and for those in prison sentenced to death.
  • Public Policy efforts directed to restoring legal protection to the lives of unborn children and those vulnerable to pressures to end their lives by assisted suicide, and to providing morally acceptable alternatives to abortion and assisted suicide.
  • Prayer and Worship directed to participation in the sacramental life of the Church and in programs of communal and individual prayer, that the culture of death that surrounds us today will be replaced by a culture of life and love.

“Even the weakest and most vulnerable, the sick, the old, the unborn and the poor are masterpieces of God’s creation.”

Pope Francis
Current Events & Opportunities

40 Days for Life During Lent
Our Lenten vigil campaign calendar gives each of us the opportunity to make an appointment with God where we can devote at least one entire hour a week just to Him! Please sign up right now here to make an appointment with Our Lord at Drake Circle so together we can bring an end to the ongoing injustice of abortion here in Raleigh.

Upcoming Respect Life Meetings

If you wish to be notified with details about the meetings, please contact Michelle. Members also are notified by email about local and national pro life events so they can participate as individuals.

A group of parishioners pray the rosary every Wednesday at 7pm in the Chapel.  On the 4th Wednesday of the month it is a pro life rosary.

Contact

Michelle LaFave, email:

Opportunities for Involvement:

Education

  • Baby Bottle Campaign: Our ministry sponsors the Baby Bottle Campaign, an annual fundraising event to benefit Birthchoice usually in July. This is an opportunity to education folks about the great work of Birthchoice while raising funds for their valuable work.
  • Run for Life: The Run for Life event was established in 1994 in Raleigh, NC. Runners raise money to help different pro-life organizations. A family fun event, the race starts with a one mile fun run for children of all ages and ends with a 5K run for more serious runners.
  • Natural Family Planning Resources
    * Diocese of Raleigh Resources
    * Catholic Couple NFP
    * Witness to Love Fertility Awareness Resources
    * The Marriage Group Video Series
    * Couple to Couple League
  • Death Penalty Information:
    * Catholics for Abolition in North Carolina, which goes by the acronym CANC, is a group of dedicated members committed to abolishing the death penalty in our state through education and formation by deepening understanding of the sanctity of human life, advocating for new legislation intended for acceptable alternatives to the death penalty and envisioning a culture of life for all. Learn more here.
  • Students for Life of America (SFLA) West Cary Chapter invites you to join us! West Cary SFLA is open to all pro-life 8th-12th graders who are pro-life and want to make an impact in the Pro-Life movement! We meet multiple times a month for business meetings, social events, volunteer projects, protests, and much more! If you are interested in joining us or learning more about our club you can visit our website. If you would like to join us please fill out the 2023-2024 Interest Form or email Charlotte Swannack, President of the West Cary Chapter, at charlotteswannack@gmail.com.  

Pastoral Care

  • Volunteers for the local Crisis Pregnancy Center: Birthchoice offers help and hope to any pregnant woman. Several parishioners volunteer at Birthchoice. Volunteers are needed in a variety of capacities. Training is provided by Birthchoice 781-5423
  • Walking with Moms: Walking with Moms in Need is a type of service in which Catholic parishes and communities “walk in the shoes” of local pregnant and parenting women in need. Everyone should know how to help moms in difficult circumstances.

    While not trying to turn Catholic parishes into pregnancy centers, we can support local pregnancy centers where they exist, and we can also find and share other resources with pregnant and parenting women. Click here to learn more.

    Walking with Moms Local Pregnancy Resource List

Prayer

  • First Friday Adoration: St. Andrew Chapel
  • Pro-Life Rosary at 7:00 p.m. St. Andrews on the 4th Wednesday of each month in the Chapel
  • Our ministry sponsors the Blessing of the Child in the Womb twice each year.  This ceremony during Mass not only provides the opportunity for God’s blessing for expectant parents and their child in the womb, but also for effective witness to the sanctity of human life from the first moment of conception.
  • Our ministry hosts the statue of pregnant Mary “Our Lady of Hope” in the chapel during Advent.
  • Praying at an abortion clinic: We continue to pray across the street from “A Woman’s Choice” clinic. Typically this happens in an organized manner on Saturday mornings from 8:00 – 10:00 a.m. Come and join us in prayer on any Saturday for as little as 20 minutes, but we especially encourage the last Saturday of the month. This abortion facility is open 6 days a week and performs many abortions each day.
  • Praying at an abortion clinic: Preferred Women’s Health Center, 1604 Jones Franklin Rd., Raleigh (Contact Saints Cyril & Methodius Byzantine Catholic Church if you would like to join them as they pray at this clinic, e-mail: sscyrilmethodius@gmail.com.)
  • Praying at an abortion clinic: Planned Parenthood, 1765 Dobbins Dr., Chapel Hill
  • St. Joseph, Raleigh: Pro-Life Mass on First Saturdays, 8:00 a.m.
  • Our Lady of Lourdes, Raleigh: Pro-Life Rosary on Tuesday 6:00 p.m. and Sunday at 8:30 a.m. in Adoration Chapel and 11:00 am in the Church.
  • Our Lady of Lourdes, Raleigh: Perpetual Adoration Chapel
  • 40 Days for Life is a National campaign, held in the spring and the fall, that is community-based and draws attention to the consequences of abortion through three components: prayer and fasting, constant vigil, and community outreach. Bishop Zarama as well as other local and national leaders endorse this campaign. We also recommend that you sign up to receive the updates about the National campaign results and daily devotionals from the National website. Click on “Send me updates!” on the upper right hand column of the national webpage.

Social Policy

  • March For Life in Washington, DC: We support and attend the annual pro-life rally and march in Washington, D.C. Details will be available in late fall each year about this opportunity.
  • Raleigh March for Life Rally and Breakfast: We promote and attend this yearly event in January in downtown Raleigh.

Our parish proudly supports both Birthchoice and Room at the Inn as a part of our charitable giving program.

Community Resources for Help with Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Centers in Wake County:
    * Fuquay-Varina: Hand of Hope Pregnancy Center
    * Raleigh: Hand of Hope Pregnancy Center
    Hand of Hope Pregnancy Center offers the following servies: pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, STD testing, lifeskills education, support groups, referrals (adoption, counseling), post abortion support, community referrals
    Raleigh: Birth Choice
    * Birthchoice offers help and hope to any pregnant woman. “We believe it is the right of every pregnant woman to give birth and the right of every child to be born.” Not ready to be pregnant? Birthchoice provides confidential services and a 24 hour helpline, 919-781-5433.
  • Walking with Moms Local Pregnancy Resource List identifies the local pregnancy help resources in our community that are currently available to a woman facing a difficult pregnancy. The needs of pregnant and parenting moms can be overwhelming, and the sources for help may not be apparent to those most needing support.
  • Room At The Inn is an unique, comprehensive program helping homeless single pregnant women with or without previous children. Room at the Inn helps not only during pregnancies but also after the birth of their babies. 
  • Be Not Afraid (BNA) is a private non-profit organization which provides comprehensive case management to parents carrying to term following a prenatal diagnosis. 
Community Resource for Help with Healing from an Abortion
  • Project Rachel assists women and men who have been wounded by abortion and seek truth and healing. For more information call 919-852-1021, or e-mail projectrachel@nc.rr.com. All contacts are strictly confidential.
Respect Life Resources & Topical Links
A Pro-Life Prayer

God of all life,
Help us to appreciate the great gift that is human life
formed in your image, a reflection of your holiness.


Help us to recognize you
in all whom you have created:
children not yet born,
families affected by poverty and war,
people of different abilities,
 people from other lands, and
all who are victims of hatred and racism.


Help us to bear witness to the dignity of all whom you have created,
regardless of stage of life,
or wealth,
or ability,
or color, or creed,
for every person is fully equal in your loving eyes.


Share with us your holy knowledge
that we are all your children,
each bestowed with inherent dignity.

May your justice reign forever!

Amen.