Dedicated Volunteer to Receive Top Pro-Life Award

The below article spotlighting one of our parishioners recently appeared in the Catholic Witness.

Dedicated Volunteer from St. Joan of Arc to Receive Top Pro-Life Award
By Micaiah Bilger
Special to The Witness

Every Friday for the past 26 years, Delores Euker has stood bravely outside the Hillcrest abor-tion center in Harrisburg, offering pregnant women one last chance to choose life.

Recently, Euker said, a young man cursed at her as she tried to offer him and his partner informa-tion about free pregnancy help. Later, the young man came back and apologized to her, confiding that he didn’t want the abortion.

Euker told him about the free pregnancy resources available and encouraged him to talk to the mother of their child. When he walked back inside, Euker said, she and the other sidewalk coun-selors prayed.

“Low and behold, this guy and girl came walking out,” Euker said. “They got [to see] an ultrasound of their baby, and they were beaming because they chose life. That’s the power of prayer.”

Euker, a member of St. Joan of Arc Parish in Hershey, is one of the most compassionate and dedicated advo-cates for life in Pennsylvania. For her unwavering ser-vice, she will be recognized this fall with the Pennsyl-vania Pro-Life Federation’s highest honor, the Pro-Life Lifetime Achievement Award.

Michael Ciccocioppo, Executive Director of the Penn-sylvania Pro-Life Federation, said, “Few pro-lifers are as faithful and passionate as Delores. She is an outstanding example of how one person can make a difference for life. We are very proud to honor her with this award.”

She will receive the award at the 2014 Celebrate Life Banquet on Tuesday, Sept. 30 at the Radisson Hotel Har-risburg in Camp Hill. Joining her will be state Rep. Jerry Stern, of Blair County, who will receive the Pro-Life Leadership Award for his efforts to protect life in the state legislature.

Bishop Ronald Gainer will be the keynote speaker at the ban-quet, which benefits the life-saving work of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation Education Fund. For reservations or more information, visit www.paprolife.org or call 717-541-0034.

Along with her volunteer work, Euker worked at the Federation for 12 years, helping to advance pro-life education in Pennsylvania.“

A majority of American Chris-tians don’t know we’ve killed close to 60 million children by abortion,” Euker said. “There are so many opportunities to do some-thing about it – sidewalk counsel-ing, pregnancy resource centers, maternity homes.”

Euker’s heart for protecting life motivates her to reach out, not just to preborn babies and their fami-lies, but also to the elderly and dis-abled.

Once a month, she joins a group from her church to vis-it a local rehab center. Euker said many of the residents “had nothing at all their whole life,” and they appreciate the company and cookies that the group provides.

She also serves on her parish’s Respect Life Commit-tee, which sponsors buses to the March for Life every year in Washington, D.C. Other activities have included an expectant families Mass to honor families for saying yes to life.

Euker also is a familiar face in the offices at her parish and at the Diocese of Harrisburg, where she volunteers every week.

But Euker doesn’t want any of the credit for her work. She said her work is about “allowing yourself to be phys-ically present to allow Christ to use you as a tool.”

(Micaiah Bilger is the Education Director of the Penn-sylvania Pro-Life Federation.)

Link to Original Article: http://www.hbgdiocese.org/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2014/07/JULY-18-2014.pdf