Pregnant women in crisis look to Gabriel Project

The members of the St. Andrew’s Catholic Church Sanctity of Life Committee are hoping for a sign.

To be more accurate, they are hoping for more evidence that the message they are running on the southwest Fort Worth parish’s digital sign is making an impact.

For several months, in addition to Mass schedules and updates on church activities, the electronic sign on St. Andrew’s property has displayed this message: Pregnant? Need help? Call Gabriel Project, 800-545-5935.

It’s a simple offer of assistance, one many women in the Fort Worth area who have found themselves in a crisis pregnancy are longing to receive. “We don’t define a crisis pregnancy,” says Angela Walters, Gabriel Project coordinator for the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth. “That definition depends upon the woman.”

Some women are already single mothers who fear that taking time off work to have another baby will get them fired. Some are teenagers whose parents and friends do not support their decision to keep their child. On occasion, a married couple finds the strain of a pregnancy on their marriage too great. Perhaps the husband lost his job. Perhaps there are already too many mouths to feed. In most cases, though, the mother is alone, unmarried, abandoned by the father of her unborn child, and she is frightened, distressed and vulnerable. In most circumstances, the mother has decided to keep her child, says Walters.

Whatever the case, these women come to the Gabriel Project — now active in 19 parishes in the diocese —in need of help that the “angels” of the program are only too willing to provide.

The project is unlike any other service available to women in times of crisis pregnancy “It’s a mentoring program for spiritual and emotional support,” says Walters, who has been running the program since 2004. “We are walking with them through their pregnancy and beyond.”

After a rigorous training run by the diocese, Gabriel Project “angels” may be assigned an expectant mother. Their charge for the duration of her pregnancy, and in the days, weeks, months and even years after, is to provide the one-on-one assistance the mother has been unable to find anywhere else in her life.

Often that means directing her to state and local agencies where she can apply for and receive financial support. It might mean connecting her with organizations that will help provide child care or job training. Sometimes angels drive their moms to doctor appointments or serve as their labor coach.

But the most important and most prominent role the angels play is to be a friend and a sister to a woman who is struggling. Too many of these mothers have no one around or can’t talk to family and friends about their situation.

“We pray with them,” says Walters, but she was clear there is no faith or religious requirement for those seeking help. “We like to say yes to every woman,” she says. Walters says the project has helped Muslim and Buddhist women, as well as those with no religious practice at all. “It’s about our faith, not theirs.”

The local parish provides the material goods mothering demands — diapers, bottles, pacifiers, etc. — but the mother remains anonymous to everyone except the angel. With more than 200 trained angels, including about 100 who are actively mentoring mothers, the project has been able to assist hundreds if not thousands of women and families over the last decade. And because of the program’s nature, angels frequently stay in touch with their mothers and continue providing assistance for years after the birth of the child that first brought them into the program.

Some members of the pro-abortion movement claim that those who are pro-life are guilty of detachment, judgment and a lack of empathy for women dealing with an unexpected or
unwanted pregnancy. Nothing could be further from the truth, and the Gabriel Project is proof. Women in crisis pregnancies deserve the kind of care and support the Gabriel Project angels provide. They just need to ask. “We love helping moms,” says Walters.

Cynthia M. Allen: 817-390-7166, cmallen@star-telegram.com, @cjmallen12