CHARLOTTE — A ministry devoted to caring for parents who have received a “poor prenatal diagnosis” needs help to keep its mission alive.
Be Not Afraid began as a parish ministry in the Diocese of Charlotte in 2009 and has grown into a private non-profit organization that has assisted parents in 25 states. BNA has welcomed 142 babies, delivered despite challenging circumstances. They provide hospice support before and after a birth as well as comprehensive accompaniment to the parents, who have often been told by doctors to abort their unborn children rather than carry them to term because of the severe medical or genetic defects they have.
“All life is sacred and every child is a blessing,” says BNA co-founder Tracy Winsor, who with co-founder Sandy Buck developed a model of care for parents that respects the dignity of the unborn child and the needs and wishes of parents. “We offer parents an option other than abortion – to carry to term with comprehensive support that prepares them to welcome the baby God is sending.”
Volunteers themselves have experienced what these parents are going through – a diagnosis that their child probably will not survive once they are born.
Recognized by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Catholic Bioethics Center, BNA’s model has been replicated in several other dioceses and BNA has supported parents in numerous states. In the past two years, they have also received calls for help from parents in other countries.
“This year we have supported parents not only in North Carolina, but also in Indiana, Iowa, California, Texas, Arizona, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Massachusetts, Wisconsin and Idaho,” Winsor notes. “This month we may be supporting six families carrying to term. We are also providing outreach for our families who have experienced a loss over the last 12 months, as well as those who have surviving babies. There are more than 20 of those families month to month.”
The ministry has been funded by parish baby bottle drives, in which people fill up new, empty baby bottles with loose change, as well as by the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus and memorial donations. But funding has not been steady, Winsor says, not enough to meet the needs of the families they serve. BNA’s only ongoing parish support comes Our Lady of Grace Church in the Diocese of Charleston, S.C., which includes BNA in its weekly tithing collections.
“Our biggest challenge is that we do not have a source of annual ongoing funding upon which we can build the rest of our budget. We need about $25,000 annually to ensure that the ministry can continue to operate,” she explains.
While the ministry is grounded in Catholic teaching, it serves families of any faith background.
“If it was not for Be Not Afraid, I wouldn’t have gotten through such an experience,” says April McLean, mom to Amari, who was prenatally diagnosed with Trisomy 18. Trisomy 18, also known as Edwards syndrome, causes severe developmental delays due to an extra chromosome. There is no treatment for the condition, and most babies are either stillborn or die within the first year of life.
BNA “made sure I was comfortable, and didn’t let me go through anything alone, and was there for me anytime I had questions or felt down,” McLean says.
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
For more
At www.benotafraid.net: Learn more about Be Not Afraid and how to donate to the ministry
CHARLOTTE — The Catholic Pro-Life Action Network (C-PLAN) is expanding beyond Charlotte, forming a chapter in the Triad region to coordinate pro-life efforts among parishes.
C-PLAN was established in 2015 by parish Respect Life coordinators and pro-life leaders from around Charlotte to organize pro-life activities in the area. It has arranged a prayer rally in front of Charlotte’s Planned Parenthood facility, led numerous pro-life marches and prayer vigils in front of the city’s abortion mills, sponsored pro-life lectures, and launched the Vigil of the Two Hearts, a First Friday/Saturday devotion held at St. Patrick Cathedral.
Guided by the Charlotte C-PLAN group, Respect Life leaders in the Triad area, which covers Winston-Salem, Greensboro, High Point and surrounding areas, have been meeting since last summer to mobilize Triad Catholics and, through collaboration among parishes, boost local pro-life efforts. Triad Catholics already have pitched in on a major effort: hosting the Diocese of Charlotte’s Respect Life Conference Sept. 29 in Kernersville.
“I am very excited about helping to establish a strong pro-life group in the Triad,” said Samantha Hogan, a member of St. Leo the Great Parish in Winston-Salem. “We are just in the baby steps, but I feel confident that with enough people, advertising and activities, C-PLAN of the Triad could create momentum that helps us increase the number of Catholics participating in pro-life work here.”
Sue Perez, Respect Life coordinator at St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Greensboro, is one of the collaborators in this effort. “One goal of forming this regional pro-life group in the Triad is to be a support for one another already active in building a culture of life,” she said. “Another goal is to encourage through education and activities the expansion of awareness and opportunities to participate in building a culture of life.”
“John Paul II called for the full mobilization of all Catholic resources toward the cause of protecting the unborn, and I’m excited to see this beginning to happen in the Triad,” said Jessica Grabowski, Respect Life program director for Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte. “There is a lot of interest and enthusiasm among the parish Respect Life leaders in the Triad area, so I’m hopeful this will blossom.”
The Triad C-PLAN group meets at Bishop McGuinness High School on the second Monday of each month. For more information, email Sue Perez at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
— Mike FitzGerald, correspondent. Editor’s note: Mike FitzGerald is a correspondent for the Catholic News Herald and one of the leaders of C-PLAN Charlotte.