I spent some time this morning looking at the websites of churches throughout my home state Texas.  Many have ministries in the “dog whistle” political areas, the wedges issues, the culture war battlefields that Fox & my Democrats push as the grand narrative.

It is sobering how few have ministries for girls who find themselves pregnant, the boys or men who got them pregnanted & the families & communities that support them.

It brings to mind Matthew 6:21 (Message paraphrase):
The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.

Bob, my Catholic parish in Dallas has a very extensive support program. It includes support not only during pregnancy, but following as well, with job placement and childcare services.  I don’t think it’s all that uncommon…  Are you sure your search was all that meaningful?

yea for your parish’s ministry, cabbages - truly

i searched 475 churches this a.m. - pretty even mix or rural/urban, cath/evan/mainline.  i am no social scientist, but 475 is a decent sample set

We used to live in Austin, and at that time, Travis County had the highest pregancy rate in Texas.  What was interesting about this was Travis County, through the Austin ISD school system, had the most extensive sex ed program in the state.  Austin ISD’s response to the increase in the pregancy rate was to propose having sex ed start at the K level, instead of 6th grade.  My wife was teaching in the district at the time (elementary level) and teachers and parents put a stop to that.  My wife had much anecdotal information from the intermediate teachers about how disruptive the six graders were after the sex ed sessions, and the reported up tick in “activity”. Sex ed without morals is only a “how to”.  Reminds me a a 20/20 epispode where 12 and 14 year old girls were interviewed about sexual activity, at first they seemed proud, but with further discussion many regretted not feeling OK about saying “NO”.

Re: #3
If you’re looking for a particular ministry, it’s often more profitable to search the diocesan/presbytery/what have you site rather than an individual church site. For example, after only a couple of minutes on the San Antonio archdiocesan site, I located their ministry for pregnant teens: http://www.ccaosa.org/facs.html

Seconds to Charming Billy - Some years back I participated in our diocesan “synod”, where one of the proposed goals was to increase social ministries.  In the course of discussions, it became clear that we do an enormous amount of social ministry; it’s just not out-front and media-friendly. 

I know my Fort Worth parish doesn’t have a formal “ministry” on the subject of teen pregnancy,, but there are activities in the overall religious formation program that address it.  Sort of in the same way, we don’t have an identifiable ministry to homeless folks (we are an inner-city parish), but we do partner with the Union Gospel Mission, which provides comprehensive services. If you saw our website (if we had one!), you wouldn’t find any of this, but it’s there.

CB is right.  Almost 9 yrs ago, my wife and I adopted our son, Joseph, thru Catholic Counselling Services.  They are an outreach of the Diocese and provide parenting classes, help navigating the government assistence bureaucracy, and direct assistance.  They also provide counselling for pregnant women who desire to give the child up for adoption.

Joseph was born in Dec 5.  We received word of the placement on Dec 16th and we received placement on Dec 21.  I cannot hear the Isaiah passage for Christmas Eve without tears welling up in my eyes:  “For unto us a child is born.  Unto us a son is given.”

On a sadder note, when I was doing CPE as a chaplain at Parkland Hospital, the last patient I ever saw was a 14 yr old girl with her 4th miscarriage.  He mother had been taking her to the bars where the mother worked because she couldn’t afford baby sitting. 

YBIC,
Phil Snyder

Texas?  I thought that was a stronghold of abstinence education!

I would be very curious to know what percentage of these teens are illegal immigrants?  Anyone know?  With our present laws, any child born on US soil is a US citizen.  I have been in South Texas (Maverick County) and have witnessed teen mothers signing up their newborns for Social Security and other US benefits while still in the hospital, having given birth with no cost to themselves (but quite a cost to US taxpayers). 

Many of these women will continue to live across the border in Mexico, and have the checks mailed to them.  It’s been going on for a long, long time.  And it shouldn’t be allowed.

“Texas?  I thought that was a stronghold of abstinence education!”
John, in Texas our abstinent teens have a 100% non-pregnancy rate!  And as pointed out upthread (do you read comments?) the most leftist part of Texas (with a morality free extensive Sex-ed program) is the part of the state with the highest teen pregnancy rates…

John Wilkins, LOL!! Great comment!!!

And, John Wilkins, note how #10 tries to sidestep your point.  Yes, Cabbages, any abstinent teen will not become pregnant.  However, the abstinence programs have simply not worked.  Just admit it, and let’s try to come up with something that does work.  The world does not need another teen mother or father.

In many communities, pregnancy counseling/crisis centers are supported by a cross-denominational group of churches and would not necessarily show up on a parish or diocesan list of ministries.

RE #8/12 - pithy comments aside, are you seriously contending that the overall societal relaxation of sexual morality, to which you contribute, is not a factor in these pregnancies? That is the unaddressed (and tacitly admitted) point by #10.

They are called “anchor babies”. They are mostly Hispanic. Girls also have a higher incidence for pelvic cancer as a result of ealy sex and early childbearing. Guess who is paying for it - it ain’t the ex-Mexican president touting his new book nor his government.

Full demographics would be very revealing on the problem… .  Links, anyone?  Of course, they WON’T be politically correct, but that’s the problem with data, you know.  It allows conclusions.  Meanwhile this fluff piece would seem to be arguing that abortion is the reason for the difference in birth rates.  THAT should not come as a surprise.  Aborted babies are not born.

#13 Bill Matz:  Ad hominem attacks always signal weak thinking.  ‘...the overall relaxation of sexual morality, to which you contribute…’  Do try to avoid making your trollish tendencies so obvious to one and all.

My own sexual morality (and that of my family) is staunchly Christian and conservative.  It’s not an easy stance to take in our hyper-sexualized society.  Should we check the sexual morality of YOU, your children and grandchildren?  Mmmm?  (Please:  NO).

The article addresses reasons for Texas’ alarming increase in teen birth rates, not the general degradation of sexual morality in Western society.  The article points out the failures of ‘abstinence only’ education.  It has failed, and we should try other tools to fight this battle.  Keep to the thread, and avoid slinging mud, OK?  Such poor reasoning makes all your comments suspect.