By Lindsay Steele
The Catholic Messenger
The annual Culture of Life Dinner will take place Nov. 6 at St. Mary Parish in Solon. Guests will have the opportunity to learn about life-affirming women’s healthcare and fertility awareness and discover ways to support those who want to know more about it.
Brenda Platz, a member of the parish’s Culture of Life team, said girls and women don’t often have the opportunity to learn about the role of hormones in their menstrual cycles and how fertility awareness can detect problems and help them to achieve or avoid pregnancy. “I believe women are craving this information … this could be a breath of fresh air and empower them.”
A spaghetti dinner, sponsored by the St. Mary Culture of Life team and Knights of Council 12129 begins at 6:15 p.m. Presentations begin at 7 p.m.
Sheryl Schwager, a Creighton Model FertilityCare practitioner and executive director of Johnson County Right to Life, will serve as emcee. The Creighton Model was developed by the Pope Paul VI Institute in Omaha to help couples unravel the mysteries of the menstrual cycle and female fertility. Couples use this model of Natural Family Planning to avoid or achieve pregnancy and to identify hormonal abnormalities.
Speakers will be Kari Beadner of Orange City, Iowa, and Jamie Rathjen of Cedar Falls, Iowa. Beadner, a FertilityCare practitioner and founder of Ashwood FertilityCare Center, is the national coordinator of the Guiding Star Cycle Show. Rathjen chairs the board of the Guiding Star Project and is a Fertility Care practitioner. She is the founder and former director of Guiding Star Cedar Valley and a co-host of The Hormone Genius Podcast.
There is no cost to attend, though guests will have an opportunity to support St. Mary Culture of Life programs. These include scholarships for persons interested in becoming Creighton Model FertilityCare practitioners or medical consultants, scholarships for individuals and couples who want to learn a method of Natural Family Planning, and educational programs for girls and women. “Money can be a barrier for some individuals, and we want to remove that,” Platz said. She hopes people will attend the dinner even if they are not in a position to make a donation.
For more information or to register, visit www.solonstmary.org/culture-of-life.html or email COLsolonstmary@gmail.com. Childcare will be available to those who pre-register.
Attendees will follow all health protocols based on current recommendations by the state of Iowa and the Diocese of Davenport. Ample space will be available for those wishing to social distance while attending.
