Tell us about yourself!
I am 23 and just had my third baby in April. I came into Orthodoxy with my husband, Christopher, in 2021. We were baptized Holy Saturday 2022, so this past Pascha was our one-year anniversary of being Orthodox.

Have you always been pro-life?
I grew up being pro-life, but I was never really active in any way other than believing that abortion was wrong. So, becoming more involved with the movement through OCLife has been very new to me, but I thank God I fell into the role.

Why is the pro-life cause important to you?
As a young person, I find that life, especially for the unborn, has been very devalued. The traditional roles that used to bring meaning and purpose to people have become downplayed in our society. As a young mom, I want to be able to support the pro-life movement and try to show the beauty and purpose motherhood can hold.

What are some big accomplishments of your group so far?
We just finished the OCLife baby shower and were able to collect diapers for our local pregnancy resource center. The center just recently opened up a maternity home for homeless pregnant women and I am hoping this year to become a church partner, which would allow us to sponsor one of the young women coming into the home. One unique project our ministry has also done, last Christmas, [was] a fundraiser for Project Mexico through their “Santa’s Helpers” program. We were able to raise money and send gifts to help support their mission of life. We were also able to coordinate a bus with two other parishes near us to attend the DC March for Life this past January.

How is your parish workign to involve the youth in OCLife?
We try to lead by example. Everyone in our parish has been so supportive and very open to any OCLife events we have done. Because of that, we are all able to participate together is something very special and the youth see that.

How have you connected with the local pro-life community?
I am in the process of getting certified to become a volunteer at our local pregnancy resource center. Even though I am leading our group, I am still learning as I go, but I have decided that starting is just the most important part. There’s no pressure to have it all together before you start an OCLife group and it is because of our involvement in OCLife that I am becoming more involved in the community.

Do you have any words of encouragement for other parishes that might be thinking about starting an OCLife group?
It is often really intimidating, especially for someone who has not been a part of pro-life activism before. Despite that, because of how OCLife lays everything out, I feel like anyone could take it upon themselves and start an OCLife ministry at their parish. You give so much information, event ideas, and so much more. What we are doing is changing lives, thank God. All we can do is start small and begin to serve these people who are in need.