ROTHBURY — Rothbury Community Church’s relationship with Muskegon Pregnancy Services has existed just about since the latter’s inception in 1985, but the church recently strengthened the relationship by offering a satellite space for MPS in the church offices.
The church’s services are collectively referred to as RiseUp, which stands for Real, Inspiring Support and Education for Uplifting Parents.
Kelli Ritter, a retired Montague teacher, mother of three and grandmother of eight, is a longtime church attendee and coordinates the church’s nursery ministry, in addition to being a MPS volunteer for nearly a decade. With help from other volunteers, she helms the church’s MPS connection as well.
The most visible sign of the church’s connection to MPS is what Ritter calls its “baby boutique.” Various items needed for pregnant women or parents of young children are there, compiled through church donations: Diapers, baby clothes, formula and more. (The church cannot accept donations of cribs or car seats, but is always accepting donations of other items for babies and children, and in particular, winter clothing.)
The reason for the church’s decision to step up its aid for MPS, said pastor Bryan Wolff, was twofold. First, the church noticed there was a geographical gap in services for those who might seek out MPS. The nearest similar offices are in Muskegon, Ludington and Fremont - not necessarily unreachable destinations, but not always easy to get to, especially for those most in need of help.
The second reason, while the church is not a political organization, was that Wolff, Ritter and others at the church couldn’t help but notice the discussion around Michigan Proposal 3 last year before it was approved by state voters; the proposal read in part that it “establish(ed) new individual right to reproductive freedom, including right to make all decisions about pregnancy and abortion.” The proposal was placed on the ballot in response to the June 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court decision that repealed the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that previously guaranteed abortion access to all Americans, returning regulation of the matter to the states.
While the church did not take an official position on the proposal, Wolff and Ritter both felt inspired to help those who become pregnant and might otherwise feel like they have no one to turn to. (In addition to services for currently pregnant women, the satellite office also offers post-abortive counseling to those in need of it.)
“We wanted to be on the front lines of that kind of care,” Wolff said. “We see ourselves as providing a space, rather than this being a ministry of the church. We’re providing space for MPS to extend what they do in our local area.”
The satellite office does not provide any sort of medical treatment, though church volunteers do make themselves available to transport those seeking treatment to MPS’s main office, which is capable of providing pregnancy testing, ultrasounds and testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The satellite office in Rothbury does offer education and counseling. For those who take the time to avail themselves of the services the church offers, Ritter said, it provides what she likes to call “baby bucks” to shop in the “baby boutique.”
“We don’t want to just say, ‘We believe you should become a parent even though it’s stressful,’” Ritter said. “We want to say, ‘We are here for you and we can help you.’”
The services are also available to fathers, Ritter said, and if possible they are welcomed to join their partners for the education and counseling sessions.
Ritter can’t claim to know exactly what those facing crisis pregnancies are feeling, as she was married while carrying each of her three children; however, she remembers how stressed she felt even with a solid support system in place, which informs her desire to help those without one.
“I still had times where I was in tears and thought, especially when it came to a boy - I didn’t have any brothers - ‘What do I do? How do I potty train? What do you do with a boy?’” Ritter said. “Having someone who’s been through it, and you can just talk to them as a friend; that’s what we try to be.”
The education and counseling offered isn’t just through conversations with Ritter and other volunteers but also videos provided by BrightCourse, which produces content covering various stages of parenthood, from pregnancy to delivery and beyond.
The ‘and beyond’ part is one Ritter can’t stress enough; postpartum care is a recent addition to the services offered at MPS and, by extension, at the church. Some of the topics covered in postpartum sessions include nutrition, breast-feeding and car seat safety.
“At MPS, some of the experiences that I had through there, I would meet a client that’s in a crisis pregnancy and feels very alone, and then by the end they’re like, ‘I’m kind of sad I’m having the baby. I don’t want to stop coming in,’” Ritter said. “And we tell them, ‘You don’t have to. You can continue to come.’ That’s something that’s expanded in the last few years. It doesn’t end at the birth of the child. We have parenting videos that go up through toddlerhood and into school, and even information about day care and what to look for, and all these big questions that moms and dads worry about.”
In addition to the “baby bucks” that can be earned by participating in counseling, Ritter said, parents are offered Bible study sessions that, if completed, earn them a full baby shower put on by the church. Parents can be connected through the church to other organizations that can provide further help, such as Love INC in Oceana County. Ritter said she is also able to connect expectant mothers with a doula to be there during births if needed.
The reward for all this work, said Ritter, comes in the reactions from parents who receive the aid.
“I feel like God’s opened up a lot of different connections that we can pass along,” Ritter said. “One of our clients came in, and she saw what we had, and with very tear-filled eyes, she said, ‘I wouldn’t be able to do this for my baby, but you have brand-new clothing here, and you’re just giving it to me.’ I said, ‘Well, you’re earning it. You’re learning about how to be a good parent and what to expect during labor and delivery. You’re spending time, but that time is earning things that you need for your baby.’”
For the church, the MPS connection isn’t just about helping those facing crisis pregnancies now, but by getting them connected to other support services that can pay dividends for a young family down the line as well.
“I want to see people in our community get connected to support systems, and a church, whether it’s Rothbury Community Church or another church in our area, is a great place for that,” Wolff said. “We even have other ministries here at the church directed towards young mothers, and I know other churches in the area do as well. And (there are those directed to) young families, for those that don’t have anything, to help, to provide perspective, to get encouragement and things like that. The potential here is not just here at the MPS satellite ministry. It’s also getting connected with other churches or other ministries or other support systems in our area.”
