Saturday, October 2, 2021

Pregnancy Loss & the Comfort of the Church - PPL ENEWS October, 2021

PPL Logo

Compelled by the Gospel, PPL equips Presbyterians

to champion human life at every stage

 

 

PPL ENEWS

October 2021

Ministry When There is a Miscarriage

By Sue Cyre

 

This article was originally published online with Juicy Ecumenism

https://juicyecumenism.com

 

Recently, several couples have publicly spoken of the deep emotional pain they experienced at the death of their preborn child. When Chrissy Teigen and John Legend suffered a miscarriage last September, Teigen shared on Instagram:

 

We are shocked and in the kind of deep pain you only hear about, the kind of pain we’ve never felt before… we for some reason, had started to call this little guy in my belly Jack. Jack worked so hard to be part of our little family, and he will be, forever….We will always love you.

 

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry also suffered a miscarriage last summer. Although pro-choice, Markle expressed her deep grief in losing her child writing in a New York Times op-ed [1] piece:

 

Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few. In the pain of our loss, my husband and I discovered that in a room of 100 women, 10 to 20 of them will have suffered from miscarriage.

 

Yet despite the staggering commonality of the pain, the conversation remains taboo, riddled with (unwarranted) shame, and perpetuating a cycle of solitary mourning.

 

This Fall, Josie Bates Balka, from the reality show “Bringing Up Bates” too shared that she and her husband lost a child they were expecting:

 

…Our hearts have been completely broken. I’ve never experienced the type of pain and loss that I’ve had these past weeks. There is an empty spot in our hearts and in our home.

How to Help Someone Experiencing a Miscarriage

Miscarriages are very common, but the frequency of the tragedy does not reduce the weight of death. Here is how you can be a support through your friends' grief.

 

By Emily Carrington

In April 2014, I was 11 weeks pregnant with a little one we call Baby. Only four weeks earlier, my husband and I had watched Baby’s healthy heart flicker on the screen, and I was still experiencing awful morning sickness. We had no reason to believe anything was wrong.

 

We sat in the doctor’s office waiting room and planned our public pregnancy announcement while I nibbled on saltines. But after that appointment, we faced a different announcement. Our Baby had died, and most people did not even know we were pregnant.

Worship Resources for Pastoral Care

Worship Resources/ppl.org

PPL's Pastoral Care Resources

 

Presbyterians Protecting Life - P.O. Box 5239 -
Lancaster, PA 17606-5239 - (412) 487-1990

 

Worship Resources for Pregnancy Loss & Infertility

Many church members stay silent about miscarriages and other common reproductive losses. Yet Christian traditions contain many helpful books and worship resources to aid those who have experienced reproductive loss. Your church can start with these resources to engage this issue more. (worship.calvin.edu)

 

Brick Pavers to Remember Miscarried Children

The National Memorial for the Unborn gives you the opportunity to honor your child by purchasing a brick paver to be placed along the path of our private gardens.

Being comforted by God we are equipped to comfort others. 2 Cor. 1:3-7

Want more resources like this?

Make a gift now to support the equipping ministry of PPL!

Text giving is now available! 

To donate via text from your phone: Text "give" to 1 (717) 537-0909. Follow the prompts on the page that opens to make a gift to equip Presbyterians to save human lives!

 

Click the donate button below to help PPL make a difference today!

PPL has achieved Guidestar's highest level of transparency. You may donate to PPL at Guidestar for a small transaction fee.


Visit our page
on the Guidestar website!


 

PRESBYTERIANS PROTECTING LIFE

PO Box 5239
Lancaster, PA 17606

No comments:

Post a Comment