Celebrate New Life ministry a source of hope for survivors of sexual abuse
By Sandy Moore, Henderson, Ky.
We would like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves. We are CELEBRATE NEW LIFE MINISTRY, recently formed in the Owensboro Diocese. Our mission is to foster healing of male and female victims/survivors of sexual abuse through support, advocacy, and education of the individual and community.
Our purpose is to address the issues surrounding sexual abuse, and to promote healing within our families, our Church, and our community, as well as on an individual level. Our goals are to raise awareness of the devastation caused by sexual abuse; to open lines of communication in order to address these issues and to promote healing; to provide support for male and female victims/ survivors by establishing more support groups and programs both at an individual and a Diocesan level; to develop and provide an information packet of support groups, support persons, events, and workshops, etc., that are available for healing the effects of sexual abuse, and to work toward establishing a safer environment for children and adults.
Some things that are being established are:
Healing Prayer Service (one is held annually. In the past, services have been sponsored in Owensboro, Henderson, and Clarkson. Our hope is to find more parishes willing to sponsor this event.);
a Newsletter we hope to make available at least twice a year (a new Newsletter, along with previous Newsletters, are available at our Healing Prayer Services, as well as anytime by request);
an annual Celebrate New Life Fellowship event, which is for men and women survivors of any type of abuse to come together for support, fellowship, and fun.
April is National Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month. Each year, we sponsor a Healing Prayer Service for men and women who are dealing with the issues of sexual abuse. It is an opportunity to share the gift of healing. So much secrecy and misunderstanding still surrounds this subject and keeps so many victims and survivors trapped in fear, silence, and shame. We need to let people know that being abused is nothing to be ashamed of; it is not the victim’s fault; and there is help available for children and adults - there is hope.
CELEBRATE NEW LIFE MINISTRY is open to people of all faith traditions. It is also open to those who have been affected by sexual abuse either as family members, partners, or friends of survivors, and for those who wish to support them.
In order for CELEBRATE NEW LIFE MINISTRY to be successful in our mission, we need your support. We certainly appreciate any input. Anyone interested in more information; who may have questions, comments, or suggestions ; who may know of issues that need to be addressed; or who wishes to join our team, please feel free to contact us at any time. Inquiries or comments may be done so anonymously.
We ask for the support of your prayers for CELEBRATE NEW LIFE MINISTRY, but most especially for the many people affected by abuse.
This year, our Healing Prayer Service will be: Friday, April 19, 2002 at 7:00 p.m., Holy Name of Jesus Church, 511 Second St., Henderson, KY 42420. For more information, call the Diocesan Family Life Office, Edwina Hyland or Rita Brothers at 270-683-1545, Sandy Moore, Henderson, KY, 270-869-9467, or Stella McClure, Leitchfield, KY, 270-259-4923.
CELEBRATE NEW LIFE MINISTRY also supports the Blue Ribbon Campaign to end child abuse. The Blue Ribbon Campaign began after a Virginia grandmother, Ronnie Finney, watched her only daughter become an abuser.
Following several instances of abuse, Finney’s grandson was put in a foster home for three weeks. Finney pleaded with the courts not to allow him to return to his mother, but her pleas were ignored.
Her 16-month old granddaughter wound up in the hospital after being severely beaten, suffering a leg broken in four places and a hand burned from the tip of her fingers to her wrist. Her grandson turned up missing, but was later found, killed, wrapped in a sheet, stuffed in a tool box, and dumped in a swamp.
Finney was sickened. Her life was turned into physical and mental chaos and her efforts to understand became a plea to stop abusing children. She tied a blue ribbon on her van antenna to make people wonder and it caught on locally with restaurants, businesses, police, and the media. She chose blue to be a constant reminder to fight for protection for our children.
Past statistics have shown that 1 in 4 families are directly affected by abuse of some kind. But it doesn’t stop there. We are all affected by abuse. Each one of us, whether we are aware of it or not, either knows or comes into contact with someone who is currently being abused, who has been abused, and is suffering the effects of it.
We urge everyone to join us in our effort to raise awareness and show support for the many victims and survivors of child abuse by wearing or displaying a blue ribbon during the month of April.