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Dear friend,
One of my favorite things to do is to share stories of my family with my children and grandchildren. I love to tell them about the great grandparents they never had a chance to know and about the shenanigans that their grandpa got up to. Family stories tie us together and give us a better understanding of our history and ourselves. In the same way, I’d like to share some of the history of Birthright with you. Birthright has been in Odessa for almost 40 years and Birthright International has existed for over 50 years. We have had so many new supporters and volunteers joining with Birthright and so many new people in our area, that I thought I’d share the story of how Birthright was born and came to grow up in our West Texas town.
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Birthright, International was founded in 1968 because Louise Summerhill saw the great need of women facing unexpected pregnancies. In her book, The Story of Birthright, Louise writes, “The essence of the Birthright service is love. We should not underestimate the power of love…True compassion recognizes no boundaries nor lays down any conditions.”
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In that spirit, this busy mother of seven children opened the first Birthright Center on October 15th, 1968, in Toronto, Canada. From that one center, this philosophy of love and friendship spread to centers throughout Canada and the United States and even to Africa, each committed to helping mothers and their unborn children.
Our own center in Odessa was born April 2, 1984, from the same desire to provide love, compassion, and life-affirming options to women in crisis pregnancies.
The seed for Birthright began one night when I was picking up a pizza for my children before my husband and I went out on a date. Behind the pizza parlor sat a young woman I’ll call Diane. I went to see if I could help her, and she was sobbing and inconsolable. Not knowing why, I said, “Whatever you have done, God will forgive you.” She said, “God can’t forgive me. I’ve just had an abortion, and I feel like my baby is crying out, ‘Why did you kill me?’” Her friends were inside sharing a pizza, and she was on the curb, her heart broken.
I kept in touch with Diane for several years, and she did find healing and forgiveness in Christ. However, I wanted to help young women before they reached the broken-hearted regret Diane faced. In 1984, my mother Mary Lou Woolf and I went to a Birthright Center in Midland to see if we could volunteer. Somehow, we found ourselves driving back to Odessa with a trunk full of materials to start a center here.
Starting with a second phone line in my living room then to a warehouse office space out on the interstate, Birthright took root and grew. From those humble beginnings, we have helped thousands of women in Odessa and the surrounding area who have found themselves in an unexpected pregnancy. Through the prayer and faithful service of countless volunteers as well as the generous support from individuals, churches, and businesses, we have been able to walk beside these women and offer love, friendship, and practical support for more than 38 years.
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For years, we rented office space. That meant that every few years, we had to pack up and move, sometimes to a better situation, sometimes not. In 2008 we received an overwhelmingly generous blessing when Terry Scott donated and custom-built our current, permanent office space. Long-time residents may remember that a Planned Parenthood clinic once stood just a few feet from our current address. It’s also only a few feet from where that pizza parlor once stood where I met Diane. Now we offer hope, help, and love to mothers and their children from that same location.
Looking back at our history and especially all the people who have loved and supported the ministry of Birthright over the years, I am overwhelmed by the goodness of God in sustaining us. I know that his faithfulness will continue and I thank you for joining with us as we offer hope and help for mothers and their unborn children.
Friend, I am so thankful that you are interested in the ministry of Birthright. If you are one of our supporters or volunteers, know that without your faithfulness Birthright would not exist. I hope you are blessed knowing more about our history. If you are learning more about us and considering joining with our mission, I’m glad you’re here! Please feel free to email me with any questions you might have.
There are three ways you can support Birthright. The first and most important is prayer. We know that our Father founded this ministry and sustains it. We have created a weekly prayer focus that you can download and print out. It contains different prayer requests for each day of the week.
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We also need individuals to volunteer, either in the Birthright offices speaking with and offering assistance to the women who come to us or in a variety of other supportive roles. If you’d like to learn more about volunteering at Birthright, please visit our website and fill out the Volunteer Information Form.
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Finally, we are supported 100% by private donations. We do not take government grants or money from programs that might limit or dictate how we minister to our community. Because of the generosity of individuals, businesses and ministries, we have been able to be faithful to the heart of Birthright to offer love, compassion, and practical help to the mothers that God has sent to us. If you feel led to donate, you can do that here.
Thank you for letting me share our story. Whether you thought, “I remember that pizza place!” or found all of this information new, I am thankful for your interest in and support of Birthright. As we continue to serve in the community, I know we will create more stories of God’s goodness and direction to share with future supporters.
God bless you,
Mary Holley
Director
Birthright of Odessa
P.S. If you have a friend who would be interested in this email, would you consider forwarding it to them with a note? Spread the news of the good things Birthright is doing!
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