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By Terry O’Neill
IN 1979, saddened by the realization that many women were receiving little or no
counselling about life-affirming options when they faced a crisis pregnancy,
Fr. Harry Clarke and four female members of his All Saints’ Parish decided to do something about it.
They launched a pregnancy support centre, the first of its kind in Canada. Three
decades later, Coquitlam’s Pregnancy Concerns (PC) is Canada’s longest-running such agency, providing Christian-based service through
education, practical support and counselling.
The early, hopeful days were recalled during the organization’s 30th Anniversary Thanksgiving Service, held October 3 at Northside Church in
Coquitlam. In a letter read aloud at the service, Clarke recalled with fondness
and humility his role in PC’s founding.
“I must say I feel a bit small in the part I played in your sacred history,” Clarke said. “I was still in the dreams of youth when some ‘holy women of the temple,’ more connected with practical matters, established this place of love for the
abandoned unborn. Looking back, they were assured of graces: they were women,
they were few, but God was with them.”
Unborn children, he added, are “still precariously placed on the edge of existence, and I am convinced a busy
Coquitlam needs your voice, presence and action. You are the urgent appeal and
medicine in the wilderness, and you must continue to be there.”
PC now occupies a vital space in the heart of the Tri-Cities. But because of
increasing needs, there is still room for the organization to grow – and to build on its current $100,000 annual budget.
Last year, the organization recorded 439 client contacts, including 63
first-time clients, and it is aiming to welcome 100 new clients this year.
Even one new client might equal one life saved. This was the case with a young
unmarried woman named Laurie (not her real name), who walked into the centre’s office with the burden of an unplanned pregnancy.
“I was afraid of disappointing my mother [and] losing my work permit in Canada,” Laurie said in a written statement. “The [PC] counsellor . . . spoke to my boyfriend and me and explained that
pregnancy would not mean losing my work status . . . With that worry gone, I
realized my boyfriend just wanted me to have an abortion.”
This simple information made all the difference. “I chose to carry my pregnancy to term,” Laurie said, “and it turned out that even though my mother was disappointed, she didn’t want me to have an abortion!”
While still carrying her unborn child, Laurie reflected on the assistance PC was
offering.
“You are God-sent instruments to help those in need,” she said. “Having you be part of my life and to my future baby means a lot. I know I am
still struggling, but your words of encouragement have great impact to direct
me to the right path. Thank you so much for caring. I know it is not easy but,
with God’s help, things will be fine.”
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Laurie gave birth to her baby boy that spring, and then lived with the family of
a Pregnancy Concerns supporter while she fulfilled the work requirements to
secure her future.
Such success stories do not surprise acclaimed singer-songwriter Carolyn Arends,
a PC director in the early 1990s. Between songs at the anniversary celebration,
Arends told the audience everything she has done in the years since her time at
PC has been inspired by the organization’s good work.
“One of the things I love about Pregnancy Concerns,” she said, “is it reminds you that you can make mistakes and lose your way, but you’re still a precious child of God.”
Ultimately, the success enjoyed by PC cannot be measured in numbers alone, noted
Lola French, chief executive officer of the Canadian Association of Pregnancy
Support Services (CAPSS), a national organization of Christian pregnancy
support centres.
“Success is knowing that you loved [the woman in need], and that you reached out
to her and loved her, the way Jesus did and does,” she said.
It’s a sentiment that founder Clarke shares. “I am keenly aware that the absence of love is the real cause of abortion in our
world,” he said. “When we love, we see in an inspired way – and when we stop loving, we no longer have that wisdom or ‘light.’”
To its supporters, Pregnancy Concerns is a beacon of that light, inspiring hope
in a world all too often darkened by despair.
Terry O’Neill is a Coquitlam writer, and former B.C. bureau chief of Report magazine.
December 2009
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