New Life News Fall 2024

Elizabeth's New Life Center's Fall Newsletter 2024

NEW LIFE NEWS FALL 2024 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the babe in her womb leaped for joy. - Luke 1:41

WALKING IN THE NEWNESS OF LIFE

As we transition into fall, a season of change, I am reminded of the message found in Romans 6:4: “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Walking in the newness of life is a daily journey of faith and hope. It is about letting go in order to make room for new growth, allowing the transformative power of Christ’s love to renew our hearts and minds. As the leaves change color and the air grows crisp, we are reminded of the ever-present opportunity for renewal and growth in our own lives and in our community. With your help, we are able to encourage growth and new life in the individuals and families we serve. We protect the lives of the unborn children by loving and supporting their moms and dads as we show them the inherent value of the life within their mother’s womb. We welcome the babies of the next generation through Holy Family Prenatal Care. We witness remarkable transformations in the lives of the teens we serve in our local junior high and high schools, who leave our classes with a new perspective and hope for the future. We strengthen couples and families as they create a beautiful life and learn to grow together. As we continue walking together with you, may we all be inspired to better live out the message of Romans 6:4, allowing God’s transformative power to work through us, bringing hope and light to those we serve. Our work would not be possible without you, our partners. Thank you for your continued support and dedication. Together, we are making a difference, saving babies and changing lives. Blessings, Mike McGraw

GIVE LOVE, GIVE LIFE

BREATHING NEW LIFE

On August 5, 2021 my mother-in-law passed away after a long illness caused by undiagnosed and untreated Lyme disease. On the same day that she took her last breath, her first great granddaughter was born, taking her first breath. The birth of my granddaughter was very healing for our family as she not only softened the pain of a terrible loss, but her birth breathed new life into our family in many ways. Breathing new life is defined as giving new energy, vitality, or hope, which is exactly what we felt. God’s perfect tim- ing gave an experience of new energy, life, and hope to our family. As we are celebrating 35 years of ENLC’s ministry, I have been reflecting on some of the changes we have experienced that have breathed new life into the organization. In 1989, ENLC’s founder and former Executive Director, Vivian Koob, was inspired by the Holy Spirit to take action. How wonderful it is to see how the Lord has guided and strengthened this ministry, as Vivian’s vision grew to include an incredible network of programs and services. More recently, God has blessed us with new leadership, some new staff, volunteers, and partners, who are bringing new energy to

our work of saving babies and changing lives. The mission of Elizabeth’s New Life Center continues to produce reasons to celebrate new life in the lives of students, couples, individual men and women, and of course babies! Our desire is to continue to breathe new life into those we serve and into our organization as a whole. Oftentimes, we are not fully aware of the struggles faced by those around us, and sharing our organization with another might translate to a new client receiving services or a new partner to support our mission. We challenge each of you to breathe new life into our ministry by introducing a friend to our life-saving work! We continue to serve with a heart of thanksgiving for the new life that God gives us each day and the new life your partnership brings to our ministry. -With gratitude, Renee Wisser

SING A NEW SONG There is a beautiful new pro-life country song, “I Was Gonna Be”, that was released right before the anniversary of Dobbs v. Jackson, the court case that overturned Roe v. Wade. “I Was Gonna Be” was written by Chris Wallin, a famous song writer who has written songs for country stars Garth Brooks, Montgomery Gentry, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, and Trace Adkins. Chris wrote this song several years ago from the perspective of an unborn child. He never expected it to be released, and in an interview shared, “When I first started writing this song I didn’t think anyone would ever actually sing it. I wrote it because I thought something had to be said.” Rachel Holt, a young lady raised in southern Indiana, volunteered to sing this song. She wanted to sing about real life and what really matters. What an incredible way to share her God-given talent to sing and change the hearts of those who listen. We think this song is amazing, but don’t take our word for it, listen for yourself now!

PROTECTING NEW LIFE Many women come to our Women’s Centers at the first suspicion of pregnancy, others come having taken five or six pregnancy tests at home already. Often, they have not shared their news with a single other soul and come with heads spinning and nerves frazzled. Countless times, we hear the word “afraid.” Our free pregnancy test and ultrasound help to reduce the financial stress of the moment and can give a peek at the new life within. But for a lot of women, their thoughts are racing and the newness can cause a state of panic. “How can I afford this? The timing is all wrong. I’m all alone in this.”

“From what you’ve described, you’ve been through a lot and you’ve made it! You have strength.” If they indicate that they are women of faith, we can PAUSE again to pray and invite Jesus to come alongside as well. Quite often their thoughts are so loud that they appreciate reminders of His Divine whisper. If an ultrasound is performed very early on, we have the opportunity to invite these women back for a repeat scan to confirm the viability of the baby, 1, 2, or 3 weeks out. So many lives have been saved in this PAUSE. Here the Lord can soften hearts, calm fears, and reveal a path forward. Many times these women begin to share their news and allow others to process with them. We invite them to bring supportive friends or family to the follow-up scan. The panic subsides, and the tender words of those they’ve encountered at the Women’s Center can keep them buoyant. So whether they know God or not, because of their visit, they have been wrapped in prayer. They’ve been gifted seeds of love that, in the PAUSE, can begin to grow, along with the new life growing inside of them.

What we often witness is the beauty of the Holy Spirit working in the PAUSE. Our Consultants allow the women to breathe, to gather and share their thoughts; their stories, to understand resources that are available to them, and to share without judgment all of their feelings about being pregnant. During the health history, a scanner offers a centering presence for each woman as she walks alongside her. She communicates that she’ll go step by step with her and explain absolutely everything. Emotions tend to spill out, and a scanner can reflect back to the mother, “I hear your caring heart.”

WELCOMING NEW LIFE New Life is something we see quite literally through the work we do at Holy Family Prenatal Care. We are blessed, usually weekly, to be a part of welcoming babies into the world. Fridays are exciting days, when the 3rd trimester ladies come to meet the midwives and complete the last minute checklists about birth plans, car seats, baby supplies and the most common, “How much longer???” We adore these Friday appointments, these are the moms we have spent the most time with and know the best. They walk in and say, “I am ready to deliver!” Most moms send us pictures of their newborns right after delivery so that we are able to praise God for them and ooh and ahh over those precious little cheeks and beautiful faces. We are very diligent in keeping track of when our moms deliver and we keep communication open during this time so they know they are supported and not alone. We at Holy Family are most grateful for the new lives we are able to help serve and assist with becoming a part of God’s creation here on earth. What a great job!!! PRAISE REPORT GET INVOLVED

Thank you to the Knights of Columbus for raising funds to support the purchase of two new state-of-the-art ultrasound machines for Elizabeth’s New Life Center. With their support, along with additional grant support, we now have new machines at our Women’s Center - Kettering and at Holy Family Prenatal Care. Ultrasounds truly provide a window to the womb. We praise God for this amazing technology which allows moms and dads to see and bond with the new life God has blessed them with.

Looking for a fun way that you can help support these new mothers? Host a baby shower for Elizabeth’s New Life Center. Plan and organize a gathering with your friends and family or anyone you feel called to invite. Include our wishlist on your invitation, and then donate the items that your guests bring to our boutiques. These items will be available to our clients through the Earn While You Learn educational program. Details can be found at enlc.life/support-us.

“I switched over to this establishment mid pregnancy, and it was definitely one of the best decisions of my life. The doctor, nurses, midwives, and entire clinical (and non clinical) staff are extremely professional, helpful, supportive, kind, knowledgeable, caring, and simply amaz- ing. I have been telling everyone about this establishment because it was such a beautiful experience for me. This was my first baby and I will love to be under their care for all of my pregnancies.” -Google Review

GIVING TEENS A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE

Our perspective on life can be compared to the weaving of a tapestry. It is formed by the many threads that are woven together through our experiences, backgrounds and interactions with the world. Each thread that is added to our tapestry offers a new way to think about our world and the culture in which we live. The information and truth we share through our in-school programs serve as “threads” that are woven into the minds and hearts of young people and help them to form new outlooks about the relationships in their lives and the future. Many of the young people we encounter in our local schools have primarily been exposed to the culture through social media, gaming, music, and online

streaming platforms. Most of these experiences offer a feel-good perspective to life or an escape from reality. The danger in this is oftentimes, our young people are not given enough opportunities that expose them to reality over fantasy. This could be due to a lack of examples when it comes to healthy relationships in their lives or the culture at large, which constantly normalizes unhealthy behavior. The point of reference for what’s real to many of our young people is the opinion of the latest social media influencer. Many aspire to be popular through fitting in and are not challenged to question the influencer for fear of standing out. As we engage the students that we serve, one of our goals is to challenge them to think about

their choices and how those choices have both positive and negative consequences attached to them. These experiences form their perspectives about value and quality of life. We are the still small voice in their noisy worlds. We are the threads that are woven into their minds at a critical time of life and become secured within their story. Truth always stays with you no matter how many lies exist. Truth changes our perspective and wakes up the life inside of us. We are thankful to all of our partners who equip us to be able to pour truth into the lives of this next generation. God is weaving many beautiful tapestries through the prayers and generosity of His people. Let’s continue to offer threads of hope and life-changing truth!

“I always thought my future relationships would be like my parents. They divorced when I was 8 … when you came, you helped me realize the mistakes that they made and it helps me not make them too.” - Xenia High School Student

CREATING YOUR NEW LIFE TOGETHER

Greg Schutte, our Senior Director of Marriage Works! Ohio, has shared “that unless we are willing to do what is challenging or uncomfortable in life, we will always limit what God can do through us. He can make us so much more than we could ever imagine through love, yet it is when we hide away in our comfort zones and don’t seek to stretch ourselves, that God is limited in working through us because of our resistance. Our marriage calls for us to seek to create a life together that takes the best of who we are and magnify it; that takes the worst of who we are and, with help from our spouse and God, reshape it into something that is life-giving and of value to our family, or maybe even to get that pattern out of our life altogether.” Supporting couples as they learn to grow and create their new life together is a big part of our mission at Marriage Works! Ohio. We seek to empower couples to see the necessity of fighting for their marriages daily and striving toward unity with each other in all circumstances. Just this year, we served over 185 clients through mentorship and therapy. We continue to receive a steady stream of referrals from former and current couples. We are also continuing to expand our class offerings, with 102 unique clients being served through our

Lasting Intimacy, Building Healthy Relationships, and Discovering our Deepest Desire classes. We also recognize that comfort zones can be an obstacle to not only individuals and families, but also to organizations, which is why we continue striving to stretch our own organization to reach even more couples in Dayton, but also across the nation, and around the globe. We want to disseminate our curriculums more broadly, but this massive undertaking is beyond the bounds of our current staff. To meet this need, we created and filled a new position: Program Development and Marketing Specialist. Blake Hansher is now respon- sible for all marketing activities for Marriage Works Ohio!, including all marriage enrichment programs and all youth programs, as well as developing any new products that may meet emerging needs in the community. For example, he just finished his certification as a Darkness to Light Authorized Facilitator, offering in-service and at-will trainings in preventing child sexual abuse. He is also identifying new leads among both national and international dioceses for our Build- ing a Eucharistic Marriage program, and in the future will reimagine our protestant curriculum, Rekindling the Heart.

Our director, Greg Schutte, MSW, LISW-S, continues to receive re- quests to be a keynote speaker at various national forums. Recently he was a speaker at the Catholic Engaged Encounter, where he dis- cussed the parallel dangers of a crisis of family and a crisis of faith. He emphasized Christ’s covenantal love of the Church and how that is the very source of the marriage covenant. In August, he will speak at Catholic Familyland, teaching about Building a Eucharistic Marriage, and how the theology of marriage must include a practical application component He also has upcoming speaking events scheduled in Detroit and San Diego. We are continuing to develop our relationships across the nation, and around the globe, with new dioce- san sponsors in California and South Dakota, and internationally, in Aus- tralia! We hope to continue to work with our domestic and international partners as close as Dayton and Cincinnati, or as far as Guam, Canada, and Trinidad & Tobago. We are excited to continue our work empowering couples to protect their families and marriages and look forward to what God is going to do through our programs.

Elizabeth’s New Life Center 2201 N Main St. Dayton, OH 45405

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Walking in the Newness of Life Pg. 1 Breathing New Life Pg. 2

Protecting New Life Welcoming New Life Pg. 3 Giving Teens a New Perspective on Life Pg. 5 Creating Your New Life Together Pg. 6

Catching Up with ENLC

Loving Life 5K In July, we gathered with pro-life

Christmas in July Elizabeth’s New Life Center and our Women’s Centers of Ohio were blessed this year by an extremely successful Christmas in July event. Our Lady of Light parishes collected diapers, wipes, and other baby items for a midyear restock of our boutiques. Using our Giving Tree ornaments and setting up Christmas trees in their churches, parishioners were encouraged to embrace the spirit of generosity and bring in specifically requested baby items. Through their generosity, over $13,000 worth of items were delivered to our boutiques.

Bottles for Babies Bottles for Babies campaigns are a year-round opportunity and an easy way to involve anyone of any age in supporting our pro-life ministry. It allows you to share with your children or friends about your partnership with ENLC and the purpose behind the baby bottle filled with cash and coins. As times change, we are making it easier for you to participate in the Bottles for Babies campaigns. In addition to filling a baby bottle, your gift can also be given by check, online, or using a QR code with your phone.

champions at the 3rd annual Loving Life 5K in Englewood Metro Park. The weather was practically perfect for walking and running while enjoying God’s beautiful creations and supporting Elizabeth’s New Life Center. Congratulations to Trevor Cross, the overall winner, coming in just over 17 minutes; Jonathan Pelligrino for his 2nd place finish; Francis Gulick, for rounding out the top three; and Lily Hart, who came in first place for the women.

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