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RCRC supporters have always been compassionate and caring. But the hundreds of responses we received recently to our letter about a young woman with an unintended pregnancy were heartening beyond measure. Some bore just a signature, others had a hand-written note. They included personal anecdotes, blessings, and prayers – all expressing support and gratitude for the compassion and love we show to women and couples facing an unintended pregnancy, infertility, miscarriage, or stillbirth. The young woman who called the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice was in a crisis. Like so many others, she was uncertain what to do and where to turn. She was troubled by economic insecurity and family turmoil. She wanted the kind of non-judgmental, spiritually grounded guidance that a trained clergy counselor could provide. We immediately put her in touch with a clergyperson trained in our All Options Clergy Counseling method. We can’t tell you the outcome, of course – privacy and confidentiality are always respected. But we are confident she received the help she needed to do what she felt was right. The messages we received from you, our supporters, have been passed on to our Clergy for Choice members, in appreciation of the work they do to counsel women in need. We thought you would also be interested in them. Your financial support is always needed to sustain our training programs for clergy counselors. You may donate online by clicking here or by mail to RCRC, 1413 K Street NW, 14th floor, Washington DC, 20005. “As a physician, I understand the need for women to have support and privacy in making their personal decisions about those issues and (that they) should have all choices open to them.” “God never said anything about all this so he left it to women and the men they choose to figure it out. You are, by your help, fighting the (anti-choice) assault on God.” “A woman’s decision will affect her for the rest of her life. Thank you for your wise advice.” “Thank you for working with these women who so desperately need a kind listener.” “Please know how valued your contribution is to families in need who turn to you for support.” “Thank you for showing respect and love to women who obviously need lots of both!” “I appreciate your courage in helping women in these hazardous decisions.” Thank you for your compassion and courage. May God surround you and those you counsel with grace. In Christ. “I am an obstetrician often caring for couples who face difficult choices about whether to have an abortion when a fetus is found to have a serious malformation. Clergy are often very important to my patients. I am very grateful for your work.” “Thank you for protecting separation of church and state and individual freedom to choose what we think is good for our bodies.” “Thank you for your faithful service to those in need of your compassionate wisdom. We are weary of the loud voices of the haters, especially those who invoke the name of the Lord from the pulpit to prove their righteousness.” “Your work gives me hope. Thank you.” “I am pro-choice and pro-life in that I believe a woman has a right to choose whether or not to have a child. I also consider myself a follower of Jesus’ teachings. Thank you for giving voice to a more reasonable, compassionate, and loving undertaking of the human condition and its problems.” “Many thanks for standing up for a more loving and less punitive view of God—and for all you do to support those women in need of support.” “Thank you, sisters and brothers for being there over the years! You helped me personally many years ago, and now I join you in providing pastoral support to others.” “You are courageous and faithful to an ideal of dignity for women.” “I worked for 40 years in a variety of settings as a clinical social worker and dealt with many women and girls struggling with these issues. I can’t tell you how helpful it was to me and to my clients to have supportive clergy they could also turn to—an alternative religious voice in contrast to the dogma of the religious right.” “Thanks for being a voice for calm, clarity, and genuine love.” "Thank you for having the courage to openly support and respect women; for respecting the integrity of their bodies, their intellect, their hearts, and their moral agency. It can’t be easy. “As members of the most progressive UMC congregation between the Texas Dallas/Ft. Worth area and Arizona, we know the hard work faced by others like you who don’t always find support for your work. Thanks for being steadfast.” Learn more about our work:
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