LAURINBURG — St. Mary Catholic Church was one of 17 organizations recently awarded grant money from the Diocese of Raleigh to begin local initiatives related to pro-life and human dignity efforts.

The grants were among the last initiatives begun by Father JaVan Saxon, who reposed in the Lord in July after 14 years of faithful service at St. Mary Catholic Church. Parishioners are continuing his good efforts with the help of their new priest, Fr. Cyriac John, from Kerala, India, who also is devoted to his service of those in need. Fr. Cyriac is known to frequently extol Mary’s service to her elderly relative, Elizabeth, (Luke 1:39-45) and the teaching of Christ in Matthew 25:31-40 as models for the Christian life.

The two grants received by St. Mary from the Raleigh Diocese were:

— The first grant award was $2,000 towards the opening of a crisis pregnancy center in Scotland County. These funds were from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Respect Life Campaign, which “supports and upholds the sacredness of human life of all persons from conception to natural death, linking life issues in a consistent ethic of life,” explained Deacon Josh Klickman, Respect-Life Coordinator for the Raleigh Diocese.

— The second grant St. Mary received was $3,000 to assist Scotland County residents in poverty, to help them to overcome obstacles to the dignity that comes from personal responsibility and self-reliance. These funds came from the “Catholic Campaign for Human Dignity,” which is the US Catholic Bishops’ effort to fight poverty as part of their mission in serving Christ.

Both initiatives funded by these grants are to take place within the context of serving Christ’s mission to care for those in need and to evangelize — not in far away places, but right in our own homes and community.

“Americans often think of mission work in terms of traveling abroad, to third world countries, but the mission field is right here—in Scotland County,” said Mary Carmichael, pro-life coordinator for St. Mary. “Our neighbors, our own families, and always our own hearts, where we are stingy with God—these are the places where we don’t want to look, and these are the places where we find the most profound need. In fact, there is so much need right here in Scotland County that it’s hard to know where to begin, but we are going to start!”

As a first step, the pro-life team at St. Mary will gathering volunteers who are willing to counsel women in crisis pregnancies and organize appropriate training for them. After that, they will seek a physical office space appropriate for a crisis pregnancy center.

“We want to focus in on the pro-life issue because it impacts everything else. If we aren’t sensitive to the most vulnerable members of our community, we become hardened to all the other needs too,” said Carmichael. “Our abortion rate in Scotland County is high. As you might expect, it’s always hard to get accurate numbers, but the estimates are that between 13-19% of local pregnancies end in abortions,” said Carmichael. “Even so, there is no local center where women can go for support. We’d like to change that.”

“It’s easy to participate in a march against abortion. It’s a lot harder to walk with a woman in a crisis pregnancy and say, ‘what do you need? How can I help you?’, but that’s what we’re called to do,” said Joyce Fuchs, a member of the pro-life team.

“After we complete training, we’re going to need a physical office location for the pregnancy center,” said John Clinton, a Knights of Columbus and Pro-Life team member. “We will also need volunteers from all over our community to meet the needs of these mothers, and we hope to eventually be able to offer ultrasounds, after obtaining an ultrasound machine and volunteer technician.”

If you are interested in contributing resources to or in volunteering with the crisis pregnancy efforts, or if you are struggling in a crisis pregnancy and considering an abortion, Mary Carmichael can be reached through St. Mary Catholic Church at 910-276-4468.