St. Pats Pro-Life Ministry (SPPL)

Our Mission

Our mission is to increase pro-life related awareness, education and involvement within St. Patrick Church and Archbishop Bergan Catholic School and our local area. 

Driven with a passion and love for the most vulnerable, we desire to:

  • Educate and defend the position that life begins at conception
  • Bring awareness to current events threatening the sanctity of life
  • Encourage support of organizations, businesses, and leaders that align with Catholic pro-life beliefs
  • Increase involvement with parish-wide, community-wide, and local government pro-life activities & elections

Want to get involved with St. Pats Pro-Life Ministry? Contact Crystal Sixta at 402-525-4615 or crystalsixta@gmail.com

52nd Walk for Life
Saturday, february 1st, 2025
https://www.lincolnrighttolife.org/walkforlife

St. Pats Pro-Life Ministry and the Knights of Columbus invite you to join as a parish for the 2025 Nebraska Walk for Life! Don’t let the cold scare you away, because the sight of so many people gathering to defend innocent lives will warm you from the inside out. We will arrange a carpool for those that would like to ride down together, or you are welcome to drive and meet up with us there if you want. We will plan to meet at church around 7:15 am so that we can be parked and at Mass at St. Mary’s in Lincoln at 9 am. From there, we’ll walk across the street to the State Capitol, where we’ll listen to speakers, including our Nebraska government representatives. After a little “rally” at the capitol steps, we’ll begin the walk to UNL, where activities conclude with the keynote speaker. Those who have carpooled or would like to join can grab lunch together before heading back to Fremont. More details will be sent as we get closer to the date.

From the Nebraska Right to Life website: “The Nebraska Walk for Life commemorates the landmark Supreme Court decision, Roe vs. Wade, on January 22, 1973. It is the largest, longest-running First Amendment demonstration against abortion in the state. Participants gather at the State Capitol and walk several blocks to an indoor venue to hear a nationally known speaker deliver a profound pro-life message. Thousands of pro-life supporters have gathered for this event since its inception in 1974. Nebraska Right to Life also commemorates the day by distributing roses to state senators and elected officials at the State Capitol.”

Some of the things SPPL has accomplished since August 2022...

Educational Presentations
Thanks to funds from the Fremont Area Right to Life garage sale each June, work & additional fundraising by the St. Pat’s Pro-Life Ministry, the Knights of Columbus, and the cooperation of Faith Formation & Bergan administration and school board, we have been able to provide annual presentations by Abortion Dialogue Academy to Bergan seniors, and by Heart of a Child to all of our parish & school students in 2023 with plans to repeat every 2 years!

Books Donated
Thanks to Catholic Answers and a generous donor, 400 Why We're Pro-Life books were donated and made available to MS/HS students & adults. We still have some if you're interested!

Life Chain Participation
Each year since this ministry began, 75-135 parishioners & community members have attended the Fremont Life Chain, standing in solidarity for the sanctity of life.

Walk for Life Attendance

The pro-life ministry has coordinated carpools to the annual Walk for Life in Lincoln since 2023 and the group size continues to grow.


Charitable Contributions

In conjunction with the Fremont Area Right to Life, this ministry has donated funds to LifeChoices in Fremont, supporting pregnant moms and young families, as well as offered financial support to the Nebraska Right to Life.

Prayers
Through Respect Life Month challenges and weekly rosaries leading up to the 2024 election, the pro-life ministry has led the parish to praying 8000+ rosaries!

Honoring Moms & Dads
The pro-life ministry sponsored fun giveaways for Mother's Day & Father's Day, honoring those parents for saying "yes" to life.

Post-Abortion Healing
New for 2025, this ministry will be offering financial assistance to those interested in finding peace and healing after an abortion by providing the means to travel to and attend a post-abortion healing retreat.

Fundraising

Funds for this ministry are raised through the Fremont Right to Life Garage Sale, spaghetti sauce sales, and donations from memorials and other generous gifts.

ADA Presentations
One of the things SPPL does to promote pro-life education to our youth is to provide Abortion Dialogue Academy presentations to Bergan Catholic School and our faith formation students. This presentation, appropriate for MS/HS youth, uses a secular, facts-based approach to answer the question, "Should abortion be illegal for any reason?". Below are the results from recent presentations to the Bergan senior class:

ADA Presentation Results 2023

  • A 26% persuasion rate to 100% pro-life
  • An additional 30% became more pro-life
  • Seeds planted for future conversions of heart!

ADA Presentation Results 2024

  • A 27% persuasion rate to 100% pro-life
  • 1 out of the 6 "undecided" shifted their view to believing that the unborn is a person at fertilization
  • Seeds planted for future conversions of heart!

Clarification on ADA data: Sometimes people are discouraged by the number of pro-choice or undecided students prior to an ADA presentation. Our staff at Bergan, especially Mr. Vanek, our priests, and Mr. Rainforth, are doing a great job instilling a culture of life in our students. Combatting the culture of death can be challenging, but not impossible. The truth does not need defencing, it speaks for itself through logic, reason, and experience. ADA's job (and our job as Christians) is merely to present the facts, pray, and let the Holy Spirit change hearts and minds.

If a student is pro-choice or undecided only in the case of rape, ADA still labels them as such. A lot of students are pro-choice only in that circumstance, because it takes a lot of emotional and logical maturity to wrap your head around such a horrendous crime. Rest assured that even though ADA labels those students as pro-choice or undecided, that there is a spectrum of pro-choice students. Not everyone who is pro-choice thinks it should be legal no matter what, at any stage in pregnancy.

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