Southern Nebraska Register
After Judy Weston was made president-elect of the Lincoln Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (LDCCW) in 2022, she started asking the Holy Spirit for guidance regarding the project she should choose for her president’s project.
When a new president is installed for the LDCCW, she is given the opportunity to choose a project supporting a specific need in the Catholic Church.
Weston happened to visit Wellspring Pregnancy + Health Center in Hastings and heard the Holy Spirit’s promptings. She said her eyes were opened to the incredible work that pregnancy-help organizations across the diocese do to support women considering abortion and helping moms with under-supported pregnancies get the resources and support they need.
The overturning of Roe vs Wade that year made the decision easy.
“I realized the needs of the pregnancy centers were on the high-priority list,” Weston said. She worked with Wellspring Director Mary Hall – both Hall and Weston are members of St. Michael Parish in Hastings – and got a list of nine pregnancy-help organizations in the diocese to learn about their needs. These were then communicated to Parish Councils of Catholic Women PCCWs throughout the diocese.
The goal was well timed with an initiative launched by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to help parishes better support and accompany pregnant and parenting women. The bishops introduced “Walking with Moms in Need” with the belief that “everyone should know how to help moms in difficult circumstances.”
Weston set an ambitious goal of giving $15,000 to pregnancy-help organizations throughout the diocese over her two-year term, which ends in 2026. She estimates that so far, approximately $5,000 has been raised for the pregnancy-help organizations in the diocese.
Weston said she has seen much joy in supporting pregnancy-help organizations in their pro-life mission. Many pregnancy-help organizations provide many resources for free to clients with limited funds, so donations have allowed many centers to be able to check off items on wish lists. PCCWs have also provided spiritual bouquets for many centers to cover them in prayer.
Each PCCW has added its own flavor to the giving of the listed centers. St. Patrick Parish in Manley, with a small PCCW of 40 women, set to the task of purchasing five sets of apartment needs for St. Gianna’s Women’s Homes. By capitalizing on Black Friday deals and bargain shopping, the women purchased $670 worth of items for the apartment, spending only $470.
“It is with this dedication and use of talents where the women excelled for the glory of God,” Weston said.
St. Michael Parish in Hastings, Weston’s home parish, also set to be creative in how to best serve the President’s Project. A dollar amount was chosen, but a new idea of using the funds from the local salad luncheon was suggested. This resulted in more than 58 hours of volunteer service for the salad luncheon, and the event hit a goal of $1,400. And Wellspring Pregnancy Center was not the only organization to reap the benefit of the salad luncheon. The St. Michael preschool also received funds, from a raffled quilt made by the Hastings Catholic Quilt Guild.
Wellspring used its funds to buy furniture for its new facility, which opened in early April.
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Courtesy photos
“It was a huge blessing to have this money to buy new furniture for the new space,” Hall said.
Weston was overjoyed to see the final touches on the center.
“A welcoming atmosphere can help women who are in need of love and support,” she said. “It is a huge blessing to be a small part in such a loving venture when walking with moms in need.”
