I made my “radio debut” this past weekend on St. Gabriel’s radio. It was such a cool experience to be in a real recording studio and be able to see a little of what goes into making a radio program. Thankfully, it wasn’t a live show, or I don’t think I would have had the nerve the go through with it! Ha! Knowing it was recorded and able to be edited made the whole experience a little more manageable 🙂

So, what led to this radio debut?? Let me tell you about this wonderful ministry I am involved with at church and the reason for the radio segment. After Eli was born, I wanted needed to connect with other moms and do something to just get out of the house for a couple hours (this was the first time in my life I wasn’t in school or working full time and surrounded by other adults!) Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE being a stay-at-home mom and can’t imagine working outside the house while my kiddos need me so much, but after Eli was born, I felt like life was passing me by while I stayed home and cared for this tiny human who ate, slept, and pooped 24/7! So, my mom invited me to an Elizabeth Ministry (EM) meeting at our church, which she had been a part of for several months. The group consisted of women who were all moms at various stages in their lives, helping other moms. They met once a month for 1-2 hours. Bingo! I decided to give it a try, and I can’t imagine motherhood without my tribe of EM ladies!

By now you might be thinking, what exactly is Elizabeth Ministry? Let’s talk about that! EM is an international organization based on the Biblical story of Mary visiting Elizabeth during their pregnancies. Back in those days, families lived in such close proximity in villages, that everyone knew when a woman was pregnant, a baby was born, or a baby or child passed away; there was no shroud of secrecy, so you could support the family exactly as they needed at the time they needed it. Today, we physically live far apart, our lives are busy so we may not see friends and family often, and the general societal norm is to not announce a pregnancy until it’s “safe” in the second or third trimester. All of these factors make it very hard to support mothers when they need it ~ struggling to achieve pregnancy, miscarriage loss, stillbirth, postpartum recovery, and just rejoicing with the family when a new baby is born. EM chapters provide women with “like to like” support by matching a mom in the ministry who has a similar situation with the person reaching out for help. We do everything from in-person visits to phone/email or simply leaving a bag of goodies on the doorstep to let the mom in need know we are thinking and praying for her family.

Peggy Hartshorn, host of the “Family Sanctuary” show on St. Gabriel radio, called to talk about Elizabeth Ministry and asked if I would like to come on her show to share our ministry with others. Yes, please! I love talking about EM because it helped me so much after Eli was born, and gave me my “mom tribe” of women who are there to lift each other up and provide a listening ear when needed without the typical “mom judgement” you find in a lot of groups of women. We have members who are biological moms, adoptive moms, and foster moms; ones who have struggled with infertility and postpartum depression; ones who have experienced miscarriages and stillbirths; and ones who had typical pregnancies, and typical or atypical deliveries. Some of the moms have young children, special needs children, children of all different races, or older children married with their own children. Chances are, if you contact our ministry, we have someone with a “like” situation to put you in contact with 🙂

Aside from providing personal support to moms, we also host events at church to spread the message of EM ~ an adoption panel, parenting presentation, prenatal blessings, Wave of Light Memorial loss service, and celebration of Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Our ministry is affiliated with St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Westerville, OH, but we minister to women of all denominations from parishes around Columbus. If you or someone you know would like to get involved with EM or would like us to reach out for support, please contact the church office at 614-882-2109. If you’re reading this and you are not from Columbus, go to the Elizabeth Ministry International website to find a chapter near you.

It was a blast to visit St. Gabriel radio station and I am so thankful to Peggy for asking me to be on the show. To listen to the archived show, click here.