St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Casa Grande launches Family and Life Ministry to help women in need

By Mary Lim 

St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Casa Grande, Arizona, has discerned how to address the growing need for assistance to newly pregnant women, new mothers, and young families. Four years ago, when the local Baptist church’s New Life Pregnancy Center closed their Casa Grande location, the need became dire. Now, in a post-Roe society, it is more important than ever that women and young families have a safe place to go to receive material and financial support, education, and unconditional love. St. Anthony parishioners have answered the call.  

On Sunday, March 12, 2023, the Family and Life Ministry was inaugurated, located in a modest 200-square-foot facility on the grounds of St. Anthony Church, kitty-corner from the Parish Office. 

“It started when the Knights of Columbus became interested in doing something to further the prolife movement,” says Judy Sellmeyer, one of the founders and leaders of the new ministry. “The Grand Knight told me about the program, and that they decided I would lead it!” Judy thought that was funny at first, since she was 72 years old and retired, but the Grand Knight was not joking. As a retired nurse midwife, an active parishioner, an avid prolifer, and a former volunteer at one of the few pregnancy centers in Casa Grande before it shut down, Judy was the perfect person to lead the Knights’ prolife initiative. With her husband, Don Sellmeyer, she agreed to the undertaking. 

The married couple makes the perfect team to lead the prolife ministry. Don takes care of all the logistics and organization. Judy is the knowledge and experience that drives their mission, which is “to increase the Church's outreach and support to pregnant and new mothers both in our parish and beyond.” 

The Family and Life Ministry is composed of three major parts. Walking With Moms In Need aims to help expectant and parenting women who are facing difficult situations during their pregnancies. H.E.A.R.T., which stands for “Healing the Effects of Abortion-Related Trauma,” is provided through Heartbeat International. It is a confidential support group that walks with women and men struggling with an experience of abortion. A.S.A.P. means “Aid and Support After Pregnancy” and is a Knights of Columbus initiative that gives assistance to mothers with their babies' needs.  

Image from kofc.org: "Each of the pregnancy centers on the map has received support from councils through the KofC Ultrasound Initiative."

Judy and Don Sellmeyer explained that once they accepted the ministry, the pastor, Fr. Ariel Lustan, encouraged them to collaborate with Dr. Ana Sanguineti, MD, and to pick her brain about maternal and prenatal health, contraceptives and reversals, options in pregnancy, resources, and all things that a pregnancy help organization should be. Based on the needs of the local community, and with Dr. Sanguineti’s help, the Sellmeyers determined that Walking With Moms In Need and H.E.A.R.T. would be the perfect programs to complement the prolife initiative “A.S.A.P.” that the Knights of Columbus already provided for them to build the new ministry. 

Piecing together these three resources to create a comprehensive program especially for their unique community in Casa Grande, the Sellmeyers have been working around the clock over the last several months. They have prepared to operate this new ministry by visiting other pregnancy centers and learning from them, writing standard operating procedures and other organizational documents, and training with their team of passionate and dedicated volunteers.  

“When the Knights of Columbus approved our plan and approach, we then proceeded to go through the parish to ask for their help,” Judy says of the early days of Family and Life Ministry. “I can’t tell you how much was the flood of donations that came in from our parish, but it is nothing short of miraculous.” 

The parish provided the 200-sq-ft room out of which Family and Life Ministry operates, and where they have designated an area of donations, and two private areas to interview and talk to clients/potential clients. Parishioners help provide the material goods that will go towards the needs of young moms and babies, including diapers, wipes, clothes, cribs, bottles, other infant essentials, and necessary IT devices to facilitate interviews. Another outpouring of love that the ministry has seen from the parish are at least thirty volunteers who stepped forward to help. At least ten of the volunteers are bilingual.

Judy and Don do not speak Spanish, but for many in the community in Casa Grande, Spanish is their primary language. In fact, the very first client who walked through Family and Life Ministry’s doors for assistance was a Spanish speaker. The volunteers came together just as they were trained, they provided the woman and her two-year-old boy with diapers, wipes, and clothes, and they made a plan with her regarding future services. With the help of the bilingual volunteers, the client scheduled weekly appointments to receive material assistance and classes through the ministry’s education program “Bright Course”. This woman was able to receive quality assistance thanks to the presence of bilingual volunteers. Family and Life Ministry plans to schedule a Spanish-speaking volunteer in every shift. Judy and Don are so appreciative of the more than twenty-five parish members who are volunteers. "Their enthusiasm for this ministry is a treasure that is priceless!"

When women come in on their first visit, they are provided with diapers, wipes, and clothes, and they are scheduled for an appointment. While every family’s situation will look different, there will essentially be two options for services that Family and Life Ministry offers. In the first option, women can come to the facility every two weeks to receive material assistance, like diapers, wipes, and clothing. In the second option, women can come in weekly for this material assistance, and they will also begin receiving education through the “Bright Course” program, which is 200 lessons on everything from prenatal care month to month, to postpartum and breastfeeding, child development, child rearing, husband and wife dynamic, fatherhood, family life, and more.  

“We are not going to let any woman go without receiving something from us,” Judy stated of their dedication to serving mothers in need. “Every woman needs support. We give them community, we bond with them, and we become Christ to each other. They give us that gift, and we give it back to them. The Holy Spirit has come in and fostered this family atmosphere [amongst the ministry team and volunteers], and we become a family to the women who come in.” 

Family and Life Ministry will provide women and young families with every support that they might need, including an impressive network of professionals to which they can refer clients for needs that Family and Life Ministry cannot provide, like ultrasounds and other possible medical care. Though the things that they can do for women are numerous, Family and Life Ministry is not an official “pregnancy center” since they are not licensed to provide medical services. Rather, they are a “pregnancy resource organization” that aids in every other way imaginable through material goods assistance, education through classes, and confidential mentoring. Family and Life Ministry has pregnancy tests, and they will teach women how to use the test for themselves. After receiving a positive result, they will be offered options mentoring and referrals to receive medical care.

The ministry’s services are being marketed to both religious and non-religious people alike, and they emphasize that, though they do not encourage abortive options, “all options are discussed” when a woman comes to them with an unexpected pregnancy. Based on her time at the Baptist pregnancy center four years ago, Judy estimates that Family and Life Ministry could be seeing anywhere from ten to twenty women per day, but she suspects that there are more in need of assistance.  

According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, there were 13,998 abortions in 2021, which was a 5.5% increase from the number of abortions reported in 2020. In Pinal County alone, there were 512 abortions reported in 2021. Assuming a 5.5% increase each year, Pinal County may be expected to report approximately 570 abortions in the year 2023, which is 570 women that the Family and Life Ministry desperately wants to reach, to show them the unconditional love that is offered to them in Jesus Christ. It is to be noted that these numbers do not include mail ordered abortion pills, which, Dr. Ana Sanguineti informed Judy and Don, are not reported. 

Judy and Don have been parishioners at St. Anthony of Padua Parish for over ten years. They have a blended family of three girls and one boy, and together they have nine grandchildren. They both agreed that “once you raise kids, you are never the same.” They are so passionate about the work that the Lord is doing through them at Family and Life Ministry, though it was a plan that only God could have made for them. “We are both 72-years-old and had no idea that we would be doing this,” Judy said, “but it has added so much joy to our lives.”  

For the time being, Family and Life Ministry is open Tuesdays 1-5pm and Thursdays 10am-2pm, and they hope to be able to open additional hours in the near future. Through the Knights of Columbus’ prolife program A.S.A.P., Family and Life Ministry also hopes to raise funds to be able to provide ultrasounds – the Knights will match half of the funds raised to expand services to include ultrasounds. Also in the near future of Family and Life Ministry are plans to develop a men’s support group to work with dads.  

To inquire about making monetary donations, or if you have any other questions about Family Life Ministry and their mission, you can contact Judy and Don Sellmeyer at [email protected], or call 520-660-6215. 

If you are experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and are in crisis, or are seeking healing from an abortion, or are a young parent in need of support: 

Casa Grande locals: contact Family and Life Ministry at 520-660-6215 

Tucson locals: contact Reachout Women’s Center at 520-321-4300 

Or call the Option Line at 1-800-712-HELP to connect with caring, nonjudgmental help in your area.