2017-18 USCCB Respect Life Program Materials Have Been Sent to Parishes!

Cardinal Dolan Launches 2017-18 Program With Respect Life Month Statement


​Each year, a new set of materials is produced by the USCCB Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities to help Catholics understand, value, and become engaged with supporting the dignity of every person and the gift of every human life.  

These materials are developed for use in parishes, schools, and faith-based ministries but are suitable for individual use.  The program begins anew  each October (Respect Life Month).  This year's theme is "Be Not Afraid". 
Need more program materials?  Pick up the additional tools you need to help build a culture of life, today!
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​Our diocesan Respect Life Office is responsible for supporting our parish Respect Life ministries, for hosting diocesan-level pro-life activities and events, and for providing guidance to all of our faithful on beginning-of-life and end-of-life issues.
To learn more...
  • USCCB Respect Life Program, please click here
  • Diocese of KC-St. Joseph Respect Life Office programs, please click here
  • Sign up to be a Parish Respect Life Coordinator, or to start a pro-life ministry in your parish, please click here or simply contact the Respect Life Office at francis@diocesekcsj.org or 816.714.2367.

Role of Parish Respect Life Coordinator


​The actual responsibilities of the Parish Respect Life Coordinator depend on the interests of the committee members, the needs of the pastor and the parishioners and the opportunities for volunteers in and around the parish.  The responsibilities of the Respect Life Coordinator for a parish with a large youth ministry and within walking distance of a pregnancy resource center may be different than those for a parish with a large population of older adults and an active Knights of Columbus council.  Each parish Respect Life Committee must decide what it is that will provide the most benefit to its parishioners and will provide the most opportunities for its members.  

However, by working with the Respect Life Office and with other parishes in the deanery, members of a particular parish Respect Life Committee may have the opportunity to not only participate in additional programs, activities and events, but to also share their own gifts with even more of our faithful.   For instance, one parish may have someone who enjoys organizing and planning events and a nearby parish may have someone who likes making posters and flyers.  By working together, both Respect Life Committees benefit from the contribution of each and both parishes have the opportunity to share in a single larger event.  

​To sign-up to be a Parish Respect Life Coordinator, please click here.

Additional materials that can be shared with your parish pastor:

Getting Started

  1. What are the current areas of interest for you and for your fellow parishioners?  
  2. What unique skills, knowledge or talents do your committee members or your parishioners have that they would like to share?
  3. What other ministries exist within your parish and what needs within your parish are currently not being met?  
  4. You will want to provide volunteer and donation opportunities for your committee members and for your parishioners.  What existing pro-life organizations or activities are near your parish?  
  5. Working closely with Respect Life committees from neighboring parishes can provide additional opportunities and resources.  What other parish Respect Life committees exist within your area?

Parish Toolkits

In addition to providing on-line educational resources and referrals to local community partners and to other pro-life organizations, the Respect Life Office manages a set of pastoral care programs, each with a dedicated "program manager" that coordinates the program and the relationship between the diocese and the parishes for that particular program.   For these pastoral care programs, "tool kits" have been created to assist with the development of parish ministries. 

The benefits: 
  • New Parish Respect Life Ministries -- Provides the necessary materials for small parish Respect Life Committees, or even a single individual who may not yet have the interest and support of others, to establish a viable parish Respect Life ministry from which to grow.
  • Existing Parish Respect Life Ministries -- Provides a quick and easy way to kick-start additional programs by simply utilizing the diocesan resources that are already available.  
  • Experienced Parish Respect Life Committee Members -- Provides the opportunity to participate directly in the design, development and implementation of diocesan programs by serving on leadership committees or as a diocesan resource when another parish contacts the Respect Life Office with a requests for program assistance. 

Below are the diocesan  "tool kits" that are currently available to assist with the development of your own parish Respect Life ministry.   To learn more, please contact the manager listed for each program.
ComPassio is the diocesan program of education and documentation assistance for end-of-life issues.    

Toolkit:
  • Contact the Respect Life Office to schedule a parish presentation.
  • Provide copies of a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care to the members of your parish

Contact:  Bill Francis 

For more information on the complete program, please visit the ComPassio webpage.
The March for Life Pilgrimage is a diocesan-hosted bus trip to Washington DC to participate in the Vigil for Life Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and the March for Life.   

Toolkit:
  • Host a testimonial or presentation by a past pilgrim from your parish or from a nearby parish
  • Sponsor a pilgrim or family from your parish for this years trip
  • Schedule a Mass or prayer rally at your parish to show your support for the pilgrims traveling to Washington DC

Contact:  Bill Francis 


For more information on the complete program, please visit the March for Life Pilgrimage webpage.
Pro 24 is the diocesan program to provide spiritual, emotional and financial support to parents considering an abortion and material support to our local Kansas City Coalition for Life (KCCFL) organization.  

Toolkit:
  • Contact the Respect Life Office to schedule a parish presentation.
  • Organize a team at your parish to pray for families at risk of losing a child to abortion.  Pastoral care leaders will periodically email or text updates and requests for prays to all parish prayer group leader(s) which can then be sent out to individual parish email/text list or shared at regularly-scheduled parish prayer group meetings.   
  • Schedule a team of volunteers from your parish to participate in a 40 Days for Life Campaign in the spring and fall.

Contact:  Julia Pickert 

For more information on the complete program, please visit the Pro24 webpage.
Project Rachel is the diocesan program to support and to provide healing to women and men who are suffering the emotional, psychological and spiritual pain of the decision to have an abortion.

 Toolkit:
  • Contact the Respect Life Office to schedule a parish presentation.
  • Organize a team at your parish to pray for women and men who are suffering from abortion.  Pastoral care leaders will periodically email or text updates and requests for prayers to all parish prayer group leader(s) which can then be sent out to individual parish email/text list or shared at regularly-scheduled parish prayer group meetings.

Contact:  Teresa Hoeppner 

For more information on the complete program, please visit the Project Rachel webpage.
Spiritual Adoption is an age-appropriate family-friendly program in which participants pray for an unborn child, learn about fetal development, and celebrate with either a "baby shower" or a "birthday party".  

 Toolkit:
  • Sponsor a 9-month Spiritual Adoption program at your parish either during the school year (September - May) or between the Feast of the Annunciation (March 25) and Christmas.
  • Partner with a local parish that is sponsoring a Spiritual Adoption program to donate gifts for a local pregnancy resource center.

Contact:  Teresa Hoeppner 

For more information on the complete program, please visit the Spiritual Adoption webpage.

Additional Ideas
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Here are some additional suggestions based on what other parishes have done...
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  • Develop, coordinate, and facilitate presentations for parishioners on the Church's teachings on the sanctity of life, the parish Respect Life ministry, and discussions on current pro-life topics in the news.  
  • Bring in local and regional pro-life speakers.
  • Ask your parish Knights of Columbus council if you can speak at their next meeting.
  • Link pro-life content into parish website or create a pro-life webpage.
  • Participate in other parish educational and ministry events.
  • ​Join or partner with other parish committees to host an event.
  • Create a parish Respect Life logo or mascot that is fun.
  • Implement a Spiritual Adoption program in your school or parish.
  • Create podcasts or recordings on parish website for all parishioners to listen to and for fellow parish coordinators to use in their respective parish activities. 
  • Develop a library of books, CDs, and DVDs that can be made available to parishioners and fellow Respect Life coordinators and committee members. Include topics on abortion, adoption, stem cell research and cloning, mental illness, euthanasia, Church doctrine, papal encyclicals, saints, eugenics, pro-choice publications and the history of Planned Parenthood.
  • Keep the narthex/vestibules stocked with pamphlets and brochures from the diocese or from USCCB.  
  • Have a booth at your annual Parish Ministry Fair.  
  • Work with your local radio and newspaper to advertise events and to support local merchants who are pro-life.
  • Raise funds and sponsor pro-life billboards around town.
  • Work with Newman Center and other student Christian organizations like the Student Baptist Center and Student Lutheran Organization to provide external speakers and support to pro-life activities on campus.   
  • Facilitate presentations on abstinence and other Theology of the Body topics for teens at the local high school.
  • Sponsor guest speakers who can speak from firsthand knowledge about the physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual scars of abortion.  Also, experts who can speak authoritatively about the impact on society, the healthcare system, the government, the school system, and the criminal justice system.
  • Create a section in your weekly parish bulletin to promote pro-life events and activities.
  • Get a parish pro-life bulletin board and include information about current events (local, national, and international), pro-life pictures, statistics, parish Respect Life committee contact and meeting info, diocese Respect Life Office volunteer opportunities, donation information, Knights of Columbus events, information on local pregnancy resource clinics, Missouri Right to Life and other pro-life organization events, either your parish or the diocese Respect Life websites, Bible verses and pro-life reflections on today's readings, parish mens/womens group events, and pro-life (or popular but subtle pro-choice) book/movie reviews.
  • Sponsor a Missouri Right to Life Mother's Day carnation fundraiser. 
  • Provide cards and other information on post-abortion counseling and healing via Project Rachel or Rachel's Vineyard.  
             NOTE:  These are most effective if provided to your pastor for distribution during the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
  • Organize/promote/participate in a local Life Chain event on Respect Life Sunday, the the first Sunday in October.      
  • Attend the annual Missouri Catholic Conference meeting in Jefferson City in the Fall.
  • Work with the local organizations like Missouri Right to Life to co-sponsor pro-life posters, billboards, and signs for local pregnancy centers.
  • Enter pro-life floats in local parades.
  • Travel to Washington D.C. to participate in the annual March for Life and the National Right to Life Conference. 
  • Participate in local January 22 pro-life rallies.
  • Sponsor a March for Life Pilgrim from your parish.
  • Create a parish prayer team to support one of the Respect Life Office pastoral care programs.
  • Attend the annual Missouri Right to Life Pro-Life Lobby Day in Jefferson City in the Spring.
  • If you are a health care professional, join the local Sts. Cosmas & Damian Guild of the Catholic Medical Association.   
  • Host a table at your local annual Pregnancy Resource Clinic fundraiser banquet. 
  • Volunteer at local hospitals and adult healthcare facilities and make regular patient visits, participate in social and athletic activities, provide adult education, and help with events like an annual garage sale.
  • Coordinate outreach activities with parish mens/womens groups (e.g. That Man is You, She Shall Be Called Woman, etc.).
  • Participate in the Legion of Mary, a Catholic organization of prayer and service that visits parishioners, provides religious education, and organizes community services such as prison ministry.
  • Facilitate a clothing drive for poor and/or abandoned pregnant mothers.
  • Organize a gift bag program for new parish couples and for current parish couples who are newly married or expecting a new baby. 
  • Hold a bake sale to raise money for groups of parishioners in need, other parish ministries, and for external not-for-profit organizations like Birthright or Alexandra's House.
  • Coordinate with Knights of Columbus or other organization to donate a trip to Washington DC for the March for Life as an item in your annual parish or high school fund-raiser auction.  This will not only raise money for a great cause but also send someone to Washington DC, raise awareness for your parish Respect Life ministry, and  build your relationship with Knights and other organizations
  • Volunteer at a hospice home.
  • Volunteer with Special Olympics
  • Participate in liturgical ministries (lector, extraordinary minister, cantor, etc).  It's not a sin to volunteer for these ministries knowing people will say, "Hey that's a member of our Respect Life team!"
  • Lead a weekly pro-life rosary or hour of perpetual adoration for the unborn.
  • Do a presentation on the Church's teaching on Catholics being involved in public policy along with instructions on how to write effective letters to legislators and to local newspaper editors.