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October 2025 Newsletter
In this edition you will find:
Respect Life Month: October
40 Days for Life: September 24th-November 2nd
Feast of St. Francis Programs: October 4th
49th Annual Respect Life Conference St. Louis: October 4th
Rosary Rally for Lance Shockley: October 6th
Justice for All Two Opportunities
Begotten Not Made Infertility Group: October 28th
Upcoming Abortion Healing Retreats/El Viñedo de Raquel
Abortions are happening in our diocese: Coalition Life Circle: November 13th-21st
MCC Corner
Volunteer Opportunities
In the News
Other Calendar Items
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New Feature: Text Messaging!
- Have you ever been interested in one of our events, but it didn't find its way into your calendar?
- Are you wanting to give of your time, talent, and treasure, but don't know where to start?
- Want to be immersed with prayer opportunities that remind you of the sanctity of life and the dignity of every person?
Check it out...we can now text out reminders through the month of upcoming events, volunteer opportunities with our community partners, and prayer reminders and requests from the Office of Life & Justice!
We promise not to spam you, just some occasional reminders of the same great Life & Justice content, but in short text form.
You can sign up a few different ways:
- Text "Join" and your email to (816) 707-5123
- Click the button below!
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Respect Life Month
When: October
October marks Respect Life Month. Parishes and schools can find resources at https://www.respectlife.org/respect-life-month. We encourage parishes and schools to highlight topics such as:
Abortion
Adoption
Contraception/Birth Control
Death Penalty
Euthanasia/Assisted Suicide
Fetal Development
Mental Health
Non-Violence
Post-Abortion Healing
Reproductive Technology
Stem Cell Research/Human Cloning
Find resources on all of these topics and more at https://www.lifeandjusticekcsj.org/
You can view the video above for a preview of Respect Life month social media posts.
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Fall 2025 Campaign 40 Days for Life
When: September 24th-November 2nd
Where: 4840 College Blvd., Overland Park, KS 66211
Parish groups are invited to sign up for vigil hours with 40 Days for Life at Center for Women’s Health, 4840 College Blvd, Overland Park, KS, 66211. Parishes and individuals can sign up for 40 Days for Life vigil hours at 40daysforlife.com/en/overlandpark.
Vigil opportunities may soon be coming to Missouri abortion provider locations. Please stay tuned to how to become involved with sidewalk prayer and counseling opportunities at https://www.lifeandjusticekcsj.org/40-days-for-life.
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Feast of St. Francis Programs
When: October 4th
Several parishes have St. Francis of Assisi celebrations planned for October 4th:
Diocesan Blessing of Animals: Bishop Johnston will bless animals at 10115 Vista Avenue, Winston, MO on Saturday, October 4th, at 5:00 p.m. All are welcome to bring farm and domestic animals
St. Bernadette Catholic Church: View the plans here
St. Elizabeth Catholic Church: All are welcome to have their pets blessed on the Feast of St. Francis, Friday, October 3rd, 3:45 p.m. in the parish garden. Please have pets on leashes or in carriers.
St. Patrick Catholic Church, KCMO: Join Father Matthew on the grassy area outside the Parish Office on Sunday, October 5th, at 12:30 p.m. Father will be blessing pets at this time. Keep your pets on a leash; you may also bring a picture of a pet to be blessed if your pet cannot attend the blessing.
Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Lee's Summit: Pet blessing on Saturday, October 4th, 9:00 a.m. by the fountain outside the church doors. Please have pets on a leash or in a carrier.
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49th Annual Respect Life Conference
When: October 4th, 9:00 a.m.
Where: Cardinal Rigali Center, 20 Archbishop May Dr, St. Louis, MO 63119
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Rosary Rally for Lance Shockley and an end to the death penalty
When: October 6th, 5:00 p.m.
Where: Zoom Link (click here)
Please join us for a Rosary Rally for Lance Shockley and an end to the death penalty. We will be joined by guest speaker Heidi Moore, the new Executive Director of Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty. She will speak about clemency campaign efforts and actions to take leading up to October 14th.
Next Scheduled Missouri Execution of Lance Shockley
When: October 14th
"Regarding the death penalty, the first and foremost aspect of the Church’s teaching is the belief in the inherent dignity of the human person as created in the image and likeness of God. Our Catechism states that this dignity “is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes.” As such, the death penalty is “inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person” (Catholic Catechism 2267)." (Catholic Mobilizing Network)
Lance Shockley is scheduled to be executed on October 14th. Please contact Governor Kehoe and urge him to do everything in his power to stop Lance Shockley's execution. Stay tuned to www.madpmo.org for message prompts to write and send. Local churches and organizations will host prayer opportunities for the evening of the execution; please contact the Office of Life & Justice at voboril@diocesekcsj.org or 816-714-2375 to learn more.
Sign the petition below for the clemency campaign.
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Justice for All Training Sessions
1st Opportunity:
When: Tuesday, October 14th, 6:30 p.m.
Where: Good Shepherd Catholic Church, 1801 US-169 Hwy, Smithville, MO 64089
2nd Opportunity:
When: Saturday, October 18th, 9:00 a.m.
Where: St. Peter Parish School Cafeteria, 701 E Meyer Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64131
Learn how to talk to anyone about the value of every human being, born and unborn, with confidence and grace. Justice for All will help you build rapport and how to make a clear and persuasive case. You'll gain specific strategies for navigating each moment in a conversation, including asking the kinds of questions that keep discussions productive and communicating your ideas in ways that resonate with advocates of legal abortion.
There are two Justice for All trainings upcoming, contact the Office of Life & Justice for information on either training event!
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Begotten Not Made Infertility Group
When: Tuesday, October 28th, 6:00 p.m.
Where: St. Gabriel Catholic Church, 4737 N Cleveland Ave, Kansas City, MO 64117
Are you or someone you know experiencing infertility? Have you experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth? Would you like to better understand Natural Family Planning and why the Catholic Church’s teachings oppose IVF, IUI, surrogacy, and contraception? St. Gabriel’s is starting an infertility group called Begotten Not Made to support and educate those struggling to start or grow their family.
The first Begotten Not Made event will be on Tuesday, October 28th at St. Gabriel Catholic Church. The evening will start at 6:00 p.m. with Perpetual Help Devotions with Benediction, followed by a light dinner in the Gathering Space with testimonial and Q&A with Sarah and Matt Ternus. This event is open to any individuals and couples seeking support/information from the Catholic Church for themselves or others. Click the link below to register for the event (to help with dinner planning and for contact information for event planners).
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Upcoming Abortion Healing Retreats
Ready to embark on your journey of healing from past abortion(s)? Please consider the following:
El Viñedo de Raquel: 24-26 de octubre, 2025 (en español)
Email: vinedo.raquel.omaha@gmail.com
Tel: 531-215-3608 Sonia
(Ver folleto para más detalles)
Rachel's Vineyard: October 17-19, 2025
Contact: rvkcmo@gmail.com, 816-679-4973
Not Alone Retreat (Found & Woven): November 14-16, 2025
Website: https://foundandwoven.com/services/not-alone-retreats/
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Abortions are happening in our diocese now...join Coalition Life Circle
When: Thursday, November 13th-Friday, November 21st, 8:00 a.m-12:00 p.m. each day (4 1-hour shifts)
Where: Planned Parenthood - Patty Brous Health Center, 1001 Emanuel Cleaver II Blvd, Suite 6, Kansas City, MO 64110
Coalition Life is hosting a new 9-day vigil in front of Planned Parenthood - Patty Brous Health Center. The Coalition Life Circle will be from 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. November 13-21 in front of 1001 Emanuel Cleaver II Blvd, Suite 6, Kansas City, MO 64110. This is an opportunity to pray for life, witness, and evangelize by your presence. We are looking for local churches to sponsor one day of the Circle and commit to covering each of the 4 shifts that day. Please let us know if your church would like to sponsor one day. Feel free to pass this email along to anyone who you think might be interested in participating whether as an individual or church group.
Contact Chelsea Voboril for church/individual sign-ups.
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MCC Corner
The Missouri Catholic Conference promotes the sanctity and dignity of human life in public policy advocacy in Jefferson City, MO on behalf of the Missouri Catholic Bishops. In one of their latest podcast episodes, MCC from the Capitol, Dr. Guillermo Villa-Trueba spoke with Dr. Javier Orozco and Sister Tracey Horan about Immigration Through a Catholic Lens.
Listen to the episode at: https://mocatholic.org/podcasts
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Volunteer Opportunities
Many volunteer positions are available within our office programs and with our community partners. Highlighted today are just four:
Get involved with retreat hospitality with Rachel's Vineyard
Become a mentor in Lead to Read.
Help refugees acclimate in Kansas City through Jewish Vocational Service of Kansas City.
Consider being a volunteer partner or donate your time through Prenatal Partners for Life, assisting expectant/new parents with special needs children.
For these and more volunteer opportunities, please visit www.lifeandjusticekcsj.org/volunteer or call 816-714-2375
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Other Calendar Items
Did you know that on our social media we share awareness topics saint feasts and ways to pray about them, take action, and support local groups which address the topics? Here are some examples of some upcoming "awareness" topics and saints:
Month of September: Down Syndrome Awareness Month
October 1st: St. Therese of Lisieux
October 4th-5th: Jubilee of Missions and Jubilee of Migrants
October 5th: World Teachers Day
October 8th-9th: Jubilee of Consecrated Life
October 11th: National Farmers Day
October 11th: Pope St. John XXIII
October 11th-12th: Jubilee of Marian Spirituality
October 17th: St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
October 18th: Jubilee of the Roma, Sinti, and Travelling Peoples
October 22nd: Pope St. John Paul II
October 24th-26th: Jubilee of synodal teams and participatory bodies
October 27th-November 1st: Jubilee of the World of Education
October 29th: Bl. Chiara Bodano
Keep watching our social media to see how we address these topics and more!
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