Healing, help, hope: Rachel Ministries retreat offers post-abortion healing for affected women, men
Deacon Steve Dixon and Betsy Kopor, diocesan coordinator of Rachel Ministries, pose together at Holy Redeemer Parish in Aledo. (NTC/Juan Guajardo)
For Lisa Jones, the Rachel Ministries retreat in 2010 completely changed her life, bringing her healing, hope, and an avenue for serving others.
Jones attended the retreat at age 40, more than two decades after having an abortion as a high school senior.
Although she is a cradle Catholic and attended Catholic schools, she couldn’t bring herself to disappoint her parents and disrupt her future.
In desperation, she went to Planned Parenthood, where staffers assured her that abortion was a way to get her future back.
Instead, she found herself in a cycle of self-destruction. She turned to promiscuity and alcohol. Her first marriage ended.
Her second husband, a firefighter, recognized her signs of trauma and encouraged her to get help. He was the first loved one that she told about her abortion.
Then she learned about the Rachel Ministries retreat through the Church.
“I went and it changed my life,” Jones said. “After the retreat, colors were brighter, and it felt like a resurrection. I was filled with such joy.”
She remembers hearing the story of the Prodigal Son at the retreat, and she could visualize the Father running to her.
“I didn’t even need to explain to Him,” she said. “His mercy is greater than any of my sin.”
Two years after her retreat, she joined the small team that conducts the retreats.
“To be a part of that is the best gift of grace, to watch others experience that death and resurrection,” Jones said.
God offers healing
Betsy Kopor is the Rachel Ministries coordinator for the Diocese of Fort Worth. Like Lisa, she had an abortion and found healing and transformation through a Rachel retreat she attended in Dallas in 1999.
She then trained as a leader and, a few years later, helped start retreats in Fort Worth. Since 2001, the group has held close to 50 retreats.
The next retreat is set for Nov. 14-16 at a confidential location in a quiet rural area within an hour of downtown Fort Worth.
“The healing is just amazing,” she said. “It’s amazing to be there and actually standing in awe and watching the Lord work in someone’s life.”
The small team leading the retreat includes a facilitator, a priest or deacon, licensed professional counselors, and a few people who prepare meals for the group.
One of the biggest impacts of the retreat is to draw hurting people back to the Church, which makes the presence of clergy so critical, Kopor said. They reassure those who have experienced abortion that the Church doesn’t reject them.
“We want them to know that the Church does not abandon them,” she said. “The Church wants them to heal and bring them back to the Church.”
Kopor said attendees have the opportunity to go to confession, and, for some of them, it’s the first time in many years.
During the course of the retreat, they can tell their abortion story, if they wish. Everything is kept confidential. Attendees are free to share their own stories with others after the retreat, if they choose.
They also get a chance to personalize the child or children they aborted, giving them names and holding a memorial service for them.
Kopor said they’ve had teenagers and 80-year-olds attend the retreat, and they all can receive healing.
“Sometimes the abortion was a year ago and sometimes it was 60 years ago,” she said. “They come, and they’re all healed. It’s a miracle in our midst.
“We couldn’t do that on our own, but the Lord is there throughout.”
Deacon Steve Dixon from Holy Redeemer Parish in Aledo served as clergy at a Rachel Ministries retreat for the first time last year and plans to serve again in November.
“I was impressed by how courageous retreat attendants are, and how they bring all the burdens they have and just allow the Holy Spirit to transform them,” he said.
Dcn. Dixon said he’d attended many retreats and was truly touched and humbled by the transformations he witnessed at the Rachel retreat.
Dcn. Dixon also saw the healing power of the Holy Spirit working in the Eucharist and confession.
Some women come in believing they are cursed, he said, but God wants them to know that they can be reconciled and healed.
“God did not abandon you, and you’re not alone,” he said.
A message of hope
Dcn. Dixon said attending the retreat impacted his ministry in ways he couldn’t have imagined, finding new ways to help others.
“I can be a better deacon to the people God puts in my path,” he said.
It also transformed his prayer life as he seeks to share God’s love with those in need.
Kopor encouraged the Catholic faithful to pray for them during the retreat.
“If anyone wants to pray for us, that is wonderful,” she said. “Prayer changes things.”
The organization receives help with finances and prayer from several Knights of Columbus chapters.
Kopor is joined on the retreat team by her husband, Steve Kopor, also a licensed professional counselor. Men who have been impacted by abortion are welcome to attend, although most attendees are women.
The Kopors are parishioners at St. Patrick Cathedral and have recently published a book on healing from abortion titled “The Lord Heals the Brokenhearted.”
For Jones, sharing her story has become a ministry. She frequently prays outside Planned Parenthood locations and sometimes goes inside to share her story with the staff.
“I’m just very thankful for Rachel [Ministries],” she said. “If there are people out there suffering in silence, there is help and hope.”
Fort Worth’s Rachel Ministries retreat is part of Rachel’s Vineyard Ministries. Get more information on the retreats at RachelsVineyard.org.