Parish's baby shower benefits pro-life organizations

Courtesy photo/St. John the Baptist Parish

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The Baby Shower 4 Life brought in hundreds of items.

SALT LAKE CITY — As part of the annual drives that parishes around the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City do, Saint John the Baptist Catholic Parish in Draper recently completed its Baby Shower 4 Life.

“This is an annual drive that the parish does around the Feast of the Annunciation,” said Sherri Bickley, the parish Culture of Life ministry coordinator, who organized the drive.

On the Feast of the Annunciation, which this year was March 25, “we remember a young girl facing an unplanned pregnancy that said ‘YES’ to Life. In honor of our Blessed Mother, we seek to help those facing difficult and unplanned pregnancies in our community,” reads the announcement for the drive.

As part of the drive, people gave diapers, food, clothes, and monetary donations as well as baby layettes.

While the number of donated items was not tallied, they filled a Pack ’n Play and 12 large bags, Bickley said. “There were also several boxes of diapers donated and around $180 in cash donations.”

The diapers and new baby clothes were donated to the St. Martha’s Baby Project, while the used baby clothes and baby items were donated to the Pregnancy Resource Center of Salt Lake City.

“These are local agencies that work with women and families making the decision to choose life for their babies. Their goal is to ensure moms have what they need for their babies when they arrive,” Bickley said. “They are perfect recipients for our drive and fundraising efforts.”

Having these types of drives reflects the Catholic teachings on supporting and honoring the culture of life, she said.

“We, as a church, should be huge proponents of the Culture of Life. When we insist the only acceptable option is life, in spite of challenges that may bring, helping to ensure a child is cared for when women actually make the courageous decision to choose life for their babies is the only acceptable option we have as a church,” she said.

In this way people can be witnesses of the conviction of proclaiming the sanctity of life from conception to natural death, she said, adding that we are all “called to support those who make the courageous decision to choose life for their babies. That is exactly what people did during our Baby Shower for Life to benefit St. Martha’s Baby Project.”