Respect Life Ministry

 

CHRIST THE KING PARISH

Respect Life Ministry

 

Mission Statement

To promote and encourage respect for life from conception to natural death through prayer, education and pro-active support of all life issues.


Meetings are held at Christ the King following the 8:30AM Mass the first Monday of each month.  Education of life issues from conception to natural death and the dissemination of that information describe the monthly agendas.


PRAYER FOR THE REVERENCE OF LIFE


Almighty God, giver of all that is good, we thank You for the precious gift of human life.  For life in the womb, coming from Your creative power.  For the life of children, making us glad with their freshness and promise.  For the life of young people, hoping for a better world.  For the life of the handicapped and disabled, teaching us humility.  For the life of the elderly, witnessing the ageless values of patience and wisdom.  Like Blessed Mary, may we always say yes to Your gift.  May we defend it and promote it from conception to its natural end and bring us at last, oh Father, to eternal life, in Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen

END OF LIFE ISSUES

WEEK 7

When discussing a "Living Will" (which documents your right to accept or refuse certain medical treatments) or "Durable Power of Attorney" (which grants authority to a person you designate to act as proxy if you are unable to speak yourself), the expression "quality of life" should be avoided.  This term is used by advocates of euthanasia and assisted suicide to justify these methods of ending life presuming that they are merciful as the pain of terminal illness is too much to bear.  "While illness and other circumstances can make life difficult, they cannot diminish the inestimable worth of each human life
created by God.  Life is always a good and is a quality that can never be lost.”
                                                                                                 (National Catholic Bioethics Center)

                                               I have set before you life and death,
                                        blessings and curses.  Now choose life, so that
                                                    you and your children may live. 
                                                                   Deut. 30:19

 

Choose Life License Plate

The Choose Life license plate will be available in the Spring of 2010.  What a nice Mother’s Day gift!  For more information, see www.choose-life.org.


Upcoming events ~

The Respect Life and Parish Nurse Ministries invite you to a Lenten Program on END OF LIFE ISSUES,  Friday, March 5, 2010, at 11:30 AM in the Parish Hall.

Come and learn how it is possible to live fully, even at the end of life.

Brief talks by Father Michael Fitzpatrick, Chaplain at St. Luke’s Hospital and UMass- Dartmouth, and Melody Collis, RN, BSN, Manager Hospice & Palliative Care at VNA of Cape Cod, will be followed by a “Poor Man’s Lunch”.  Free will offering basket will be available.

Please call Pam at 508-759-2737 so the number of lunches may be estimated. 

On Going Events ~

“Rose for Life” placed weekly at the tabernacle by parish family members; a weekly bulletin announcement inviting all to pray that all life, from conception to natural death, will be respected and protected.


Bi-annual baby shower to support the local pregnancy centers (A Woman’s Concern in Hyannis and Birthright of Falmouth).


The Elizabeth Ministry extends itself to grieving parents and the entire extended family of a baby who has died before birth or shortly thereafter.

First Friday “Prayers of the Faithful” includes pro-life intentions.

Pro-life literature available at the church entrances, the church library and at the church gift shop.

Create awareness of and encourage participation in the Walk for Life in Boston in October and the March for Life in Washington , D.C. in January.

Represent CTK at the monthly Cape Cod Family Life Alliance meetings – a consortium of  the pro-life ministries from Catholic churches on the Cape .

Manage the annual “Baby Bottle/Bank” campaign which benefits A Woman’s Concern.

When scheduled, host the “coffee and” after the 8:30AM and 10:30AM Masses on Sunday.

Make available for sale, religious Christmas cards, pro-life bumper stickers and pins, etc.


A cordial invitation is extended to anyone who wishes to attend a meeting and/or join this ministry.  For further information, please contact  Claire Twitchell, Chairperson; Caroline O’Connor, Secretary;  or Betty Kelley, Treasurer;  through the Parish Office.

 

For more in-depth information on various pro life issues, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) offers the following sites: 

Abortion
Assisted Suicide
Capital Punishment
Cloning, Human
Contraception
Disabilities
Embryo/Fetal Research
End of Life Issues/Euthanasia
In Vitro Fertilization/Reproductive Technology

International Issues
Morning After Pill
Partial- Birth Abortion
Post Abortion Healing- Project Rachel
Roe vs. Wade
RU-486
Stem Cell Research
Unborn Victims of Violence Act
Women and the Culture of Life

Additional information can be found by clicking “USCCB Pro-Life Activites"