Embrace Grace pregnancy ministry now in Millersburg
For anyone experiencing an unplanned pregnancy, it can be hard to know where to turn. That’s where ministries like Embrace Grace come in. One of the newest branches of the nonprofit can be found at Northside Church in Millersburg, where it started in the fall.
“The primary goal is to empower the church to be a safe, nonjudgmental place for the women to run to when they find out they’re pregnant,” local co-leader Elaine Tomski said.
Embrace Grace, a national group based in Fort Worth, Texas, provides emotional, practical and spiritual support for single women who find themselves in an unexpected pregnancy. There are over 1,000 branches in the country including the recent addition to Holmes County.
The support group for mothers-to-be started at Northside in November with gatherings during the church’s second service. The 12-week program began in November and will wrap up its first round in early February. The weekly sessions follow the Embrace Grace curriculum, focusing on the women’s value and identity in Christ and how they can have their baby and their dreams, Tomski said.
“It’s to help them be able to move forward with confidence, knowing that they can (be a mother), even if it’s something they weren’t ready for,” she said.
There was a special week in the middle of the program called Testimony Day in which women at Northside shared their unplanned pregnancy stories, where they are today and how God helped them make their way through, Tomski said.
The experience allowed members an opportunity to be transparent, providing healing for themselves and their audience.
“A lot of women carry shame even now because of an unexpected pregnancy,” she said. “In fact, many women when we put this together for our church said, ‘We really need this. The girls in our community need this.’”
Each woman who joins a group receives a Love Box, which includes a onesie that says “best gift ever,” a handwritten note for each “brave girl,” a journal and the ministry’s “A Bump in Life” book, a collection of women with similar stories. The boxes are often handed out in pregnancy support centers as an invitation for them to join. Northside received its first participants in partnership with the Pregnancy Care Center of Wayne County in Wooster.
The program wraps up with a baby shower, providing each woman with practical resources. The congregation is currently collecting items for the baby shower, which will be held at the program’s end.
Tomski enjoys coleading with Bobbi Freeman and Melody Rising. Other members have gotten involved to provide food during sessions and offer friendship and support.
Tomski, a pro-life author and longtime pregnancy center volunteer, proposed the concept to start a branch at their church. She’s written an educational book called “Pregnant and Praying,” which takes the reader through weeks four through 40 of the baby’s development, followed by a weekly prayer. She’s also published “Behind My Bellybutton,” a children’s book that teaches kids their value.
When a friend from a Sunday school class contacted her after finding herself pregnant, Tomski looked for resources to help, and that’s when she discovered Embrace Grace. Tomski likes to use the founder Amy Ford’s coined term “pro-love” when getting involved in ministry.
“(Ford) says being pro-life is a position; pro-love is an action,” Tomski said. “So as a church, we’re taking an action of pro-love so that these girls will be able to give life to their babies (and have) a good life.”
After Northside’s program wraps up, they’ll start another after they garner more interest.
Northside Church is located at 1207 Wooster Road in Millersburg. For more information about the church’s Embrace Grace branch, call Tomski at 937-336-3148 or email elaine@elainetomski.com. Visit www.embracegrace.com to learn more about the national ministry.