The Birthmothers phone rang on Wednesday. “A birth mom in Prince William County, VA, is on bed rest and has four children at home,” said one of our partners, a representative of the Arlington (VA) Diocese Gabriel Network. “Does Birthmothers have volunteer Friends in that area?”
Not yet … but the coming Saturday, just three days away, the new church team at Christ Chapel in Woodbridge (VA) was scheduled to have its first Friends Certification Training. That’s how Mary Hankins, newly certified Birthmothers Friend and church team coordinator, was matched with birth mom Tara Sawyer* on the same day she completed training.
Mary visited Tara immediately – three times in the next five days – to help with laundry, simple housekeeping, meals, child care and to take Tara to her doctor’s appointment. Mary’s husband even repaired Tara’s clothes dryer. The Church Team asked their congregation to donate furniture, food and clothing for Tara and her family.
Mary, who’d been a single parent for fifteen years, knows the value of an extra set of loving hands in the home. She assured Tara that she’ll stay with her children when the birth mom went into labor.
While the timing for the Christ Chapel Church Team launch couldn’t have been more perfect, team members have a big heart for their Birthmothers ministry to multiply. “Our congregation wants to reach out to the community and assist people in need,” said one member. “Birthmothers provides us an avenue to accomplish this goal. We were able to begin serving women right away and give them hope.”
*named changed for confidentiality