• July 2019 bulletin notices
• August 2018 Bulletin Notices

The Respect for Life Committee represents St. Raphael Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Washington’s mission to promote respect for and safeguarding of the dignity of all human life from conception to natural death, seeking to change the current culture of death to a Culture of Life.

Annual National March for Life 2020

Join other Pro-Life parishioners in the 46th Annual National March for Life in Washington, D.C. on Friday, Janaury 24, 2020!  Reserve a seat on a 32-seat bus below on a first-come, first-served basis.   We are requesting a Driver Tip Fee for each passenger in the amount of $5.00, collected at boarding. 

Please meet in the church vestibule for Mass at 9:00 a.m. and at its conclusion, proceed to the vestibule for roll call. Departure will be at 10:00 a.m. sharp!  Suggestion:  Please bring your own bottled water and a bagged lunch, which can remain on the bus after we are dropped off in D.C.  Also add your cell phone number on the sign-up so we can have a list in the event anyone gets separated. 

Instructions and a map will be provided on the bus.  Please keep together so we all arrive at the pick-up location (corner of Louisiana Avenue and T-Street) by 2:15 p.m.

St. Raphael’s Respect for Life Committee (RFL) seeks to promote a greater reverence in both our parish and faith community, for the dignity of human life from conception to natural death.  We approach this task with a readiness to nurture and sustain this precious gift of human life through pro-life education, advocacy, works of charity and prayer.  In an effort to successfully promote a culture of life in an increasingly complex world, we share the Catholic Church’s teachings on a wide range of life issues, such as abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, euthanasia, Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS), contraception, infertility procedures and the death penalty.  We humbly commit ourselves to spreading the message of God’s Word and Love as it pertains to the infinite values of each human life created in His very image and likeness (Genesis 1:26).  We support Saint Pope John Paul II’s comments during his 1999 visit to St. Louis:  “And so, America:  If you want peace, work for justice.  If you want justice, defend life.  If you want life, embrace the truth, the truth revealed by God.” 
 

Are you facing an unplanned pregnancy and are being pushed to resolve the “problem”?  You do not have to face this decision alone or make it hastily.  There are several life-affirming resources available to help not to regret your decision.  They are as follows:
 
Shady Grove Pregnancy Center                    Centro Tepeyac Pregnancy Center
16220 N. Frederick Road, #118                         12248 Georgia Avenue
Gaithersburg, MD 20877                                    Silver Spring, MD 20902
301-963-6223                                                     301-587-9516
www.pregnancy-options.org/                              www.centrotepeyac.org/
 
 
Archdiocese of Washington Resources               
Visit:  http://www.adw.org/pregnant-need-help/    
 
Healing after an abortion?
Call Project Rachel at 301-853-4565
 

The Mustard Seed Project is a letter-writing campaign that sends out a letter to the organizations and corporations who support Planned Parenthood (PP) with annual or personal charitable giving programs.  These organizations and corporations have in some cases supported PP for decades.  The letter-writing process has been effective in changing the minds of CEOs to no longer support PP and has resulted in the loss of funding in the millions.  A letter is composed with a different organization every month.  The RFL Committee encourages parishioners to copy the letter and mail it to the addressee for that month’s letter.  The letters are linked to the documents menu on the right.