TRUMBULL—On Tuesday, March 19, the feast of St Joseph, at the Klein Memorial Auditorium in Bridgeport it was confirmed that there is a strong appetite for the Pro-life message in the Bridgeport Diocese as well as in the state of Conn.
The St Theresa Trumbull Knights of Columbus Council 8013 staged a very successful Pro-life fundraiser and Pro-life rally around the sneak preview screening of the prolific and powerful new pro-life movie hit UNPLANNED.
The timing of the recent release of the movie UNPLANNED, which tells the conversion story of Pro-Life hero and former Planned Parenthood employee Abby Johnson, couldn’t have come out a better time as a response from the Pro-Life community in exposing the evils of the aggressive pro-abortion industry and movement inflicting great moral damage to our country. The goal of the event was not only to promote awareness of the movie but also to unify and energize the Pro-Life movement in Conn. The event itself was a huge success with over 500 tickets purchased and distributed. The evening also included an enthusiastic Pro-Life rally that brought together great Pro-Life organizations like:
- Malta House, Hopeline and Project Beloved that assist pregnant women In need of help,
- The Family Institute of CT and the CT Catholic Conference who represent our faith and family values in the political arena in Hartford.
- Second Saturday Films which is a great example of a grassroots initiative to promote faith and Pro-Life values in the
eastern part of the state. - The presence of the Sisters of Life, as well as CT Right to Life, also benefited the evening.
The main partners that helped promote the event were the Diocese of Bridgeport along with CT State Council of the Knights of Columbus. Special recognition needs to be given to Maureen Ciardiello, who heads up the Pro-Life Ministry for the Bridgeport Diocese including leadership on Project Rachel, a great Pro-life resource for post-abortion healing for women. We encourage all of you to enthusiastically support her efforts.
The proceeds from the evening helped fund a portion of 12 theater buyouts in the state. Despite expected bias and suppression against the movie from the media and advertising industry, the movie’s extremely successful $6.5 million opening weekend box office was propelled by groups initiating approximately 1100 theater buyouts across the country. We are pleased to report that approximately 1% of those occurred in the tiny state of CT with a meaningful assist coming from the fundraiser and its supporters. The opening weekend success has resulted in more theaters now showing the movie with momentum
continuing to build. Other noteworthy benefits from the fundraiser’s proceeds included:
- Free tickets for approximately 75 college and high school students in CT.
- A donation to CT Right to Life was made to help sponsor a Pro-Life presentation at the UCONN Storrs campus for students to listen to abortion survivor and Pro-Life advocate Gianna Jessen speak on campus.
- A donation was enabled to be directed to the St Jude Monroe Knights Council to help complete their efforts to raise enough money to earn a matching donation from the Knights of Columbus Supreme Council to refurbish a much-needed ultrasound machine for the Hopeline Pregnancy Center in Bridgeport.
- Malta House, Project Beloved, Project Rachel and the Sisters of Life
also received much needed and appreciated donations.
A couple of aspects of the event deserve particular attention. Firstly, the event itself and the outcomes it produced are the perfect reflections of the incredible potential for grassroots efforts to help make a difference. A network of supportive people emailing other people who emailed even more people created a beneficial chain reaction. The individual passion of the Knights steering committee that pulled together the event against many odds and a very short lead time speaks to the strength of individual effort. Additionally, it also highlighted the power of collaborative synergy between the participating organizations.
More details including video footage and photos can be found at a specially created web page that will continue to provide info on the movie and other future Pro-Life events: https://terrancewalsh.wixsite.com/unplanned2019
The movie is most likely still playing locally at the Fairfield Bullard Square as well as Danbury AMC theaters in CT (also playing in Plainville and Southington). We highly encourage you to see it and make sure you encourage friends to see it as well. Pro-Lifers seeing the movie will become more passionate and some pro-choice supporters can have their hearts converted by the power of the movie.
As stated earlier there is a timely and much-needed appetite for The Pro-Life message in the Bridgeport Diocese and the state of CT. Let’s unite and energize the effort to be prepared to fight the battles that lie ahead. As we learned that evening everyone’s individual commitment and effort can make a positive difference.
The Knights of Columbus Council #8013 at Saint Theresa Church in Trumbull, Conn. is a Catholic fraternal organization dedicated to promoting and conducting educational, charitable, religious and social welfare works, rendering mutual aid and assistance to sick and needy members and their families, and providing insurance products and annuities to benefit members, wives and children.
(For more information: Please contact Dave Janny:djdj00414@gmail.com or 203.856.8496.)
