Organizing Your Parish Gabriel Project

Mission Statement

The Gabriel Project is a pro-life, parish-based apostolate of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston offering assistance to women in need of support and accompaniment during pregnancy and after the birth of their child. Gabriel Project volunteers act to provide practical advice and help as well as spiritual and emotional accompaniment and Christian witness to mothers in need.

Getting Started

The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston coordinates the Gabriel Project through the Office of Pro-Life Activities. If you are interested in starting a Gabriel Project chapter in your parish, please contact the Pro-Life Activities Office at 713.741.8728 for more information.

Steps to getting started:

Obtain Pastor Approval. Consulting with your Pastor is the first step when starting a Gabriel Project chapter in your parish. An important consideration to discuss is the place of the Gabriel Project in the parish budget. The Office of Pro-Life Activities is available to assist interested Pastors, volunteers and parish staff in evaluating the volunteer needs and time commitments for a Gabriel parish ministry.
Find Interested Volunteers. Depending on the size of the parish and needs of the surrounding community, the number of volunteers will vary. We recommend starting with a Parish Coordinator, a Donations Coordinator, and at least two Gabriel Angels. Your parish may wish to add volunteers as the program grows.
Obtain Resources for Mothers. Material items for young infants will be needed before you begin assisting moms in need. Inform your parish that a Gabriel Project is starting and consider hosting a Kick-Off Baby Shower to obtain a good supply of needed items prior to opening your doors to expectant mothers. Ideas for hosting a parish Baby Shower can be found here.
Advertise. You may want to obtain a sign to be posted on the parish grounds to let the public know assistance for pregnant moms is available. These signs can be ordered from one of our local companies (see Advertising Resources). Additional advertising materials (brochures and social media images) are available through the Office of Pro-Life Activities.
Community Outreach. You may wish to appoint an Outreach Coordinator to act as liaison with other parish ministries and to advertise the ministry outside the parish community. Possible outreach locations include community health centers, public libraries, and high school or college campuses.

Recruiting Gabriel Project Volunteers

As individuals ministering to mothers and children in need, we recommend that those volunteering with the Gabriel Project:

Be Catholics in good standing.
Be members of the parish in which they will volunteer.
Have a strong prayer life.
Be familiar with and accepting of Church teaching on marriage, family, contraception, and Catholic Social Teaching.

The roles of the parish Gabriel Project Team are outlined below.

The Gabriel Coordinator

Receive referrals from Gabriel phone line and online intake form;
Match each referred mother to an Angel in a timely manner;
Advise team members of meetings and trainings at the parish and Archdiocesan levels;
Communicate with the Pastor and parish office;
Work with Donation Coordinator to ensure adequate resources for mothers being assisted;
Work with Outreach Coordinator to ensure Gabriel program is being advertised in community, on social media and in the parish.
Connect and collaborate with other parish ministries;
Communicate regularly with Angels concerning mothers they are assisting;
Communicate with the Archdiocesan Pro-Life Office in the event of concerns or special needs regarding a mother;
Ensure all Gabriel Angels are current in Safe Environment training (formerly VIRTUS);
Attend quarterly meetings for all Archdiocesan Gabriel Coordinators (other Gabriel team members are also welcome to attend these meetings).

The Gabriel Angels

Respond to her assigned mother promptly (within 24 hours)
Check up on her mother regularly via telephone, text and in-person meetings
Keep the mother in daily prayer
Assist the mother to access parish and community services
Communicate with the parish Gabriel Coordinator about mothers being assisted, including any problems or concerns that may arise.
Maintain the confidentiality of the mother(s) assigned to her

The Donation Coordinator

Maintaining and keeping stock of baby items/donations.
Organizing parish baby showers, diaper drives, etc. when baby items are needed;
Working with the Gabriel Coordinator and the Outreach Coordinator to place donation requests in the parish bulletin, website and social media;
Ensuring large items (car seats, cribs, baby swings, etc.) are in good condition and have not been subject to recall.

The Outreach Coordinator

Connecting with the parish bulletin and website Coordinator to advertise the Gabriel Project to the parish;
Assisting the Gabriel Project Coordinator to reach out to other parish ministries for collaboration and support; Reaching out to and developing relationships with organizations near the parish where women in need may seek assistance (e.g. community health centers, food pantries, libraries, high schools and colleges).

SAFE ENVIRONMENT TRAINING

Your Gabriel Team may be called on to assist a pregnant minor; a mother may also have other minor children in her care. Your volunteers must be Safe Environment (formerly VIRTUS) certified before meeting with or assisting these individuals. Please see the Archdiocesan website at https://www.archgh.org/offices-ministries/office-of-child-and-youth-protection/safe-environment-training-for-adults/ for more information or to register for an online training or certification renewal.

Intake Procedures

There are 3 primary ways a mother may reach out to the Gabriel Project:

Gabriel Telephone line 713.225.5826. This line is staffed by volunteers who will take information about the mother and contact the Gabriel Coordinator of the parish nearest the mother’s home.
Gabriel Online Intake form. Mothers fill out a brief online form, at https://archgh.swoogo.com/GPinfo, which is received by the Office of Pro-Life Activities. The Office will determine the closest parish to the mother’s residence and provide the mother’s intake information to the parish Gabriel Coordinator.
Occasionally, a parish will receive a “walk-in” referral. A mother may come directly to the parish office seeking assistance or be referred from another parish ministry (e.g. a food pantry or social service ministry). In this case, the coordinator should complete the Gabriel Project New Client Intake Form and advise the Office of Pro-Life Activities and the Archdiocesan Gabriel Coordinator (Cathy McConn) that they are assisting a particular mother so accurate numbers can be maintained.

Referral to Gabriel Parish:

Once this initial intake is completed, the parish Gabriel Coordinator will be provided with the mother’s contact and other relevant information.
The Gabriel Coordinator should review the intake form and assign a Gabriel Angel for the new mother. Some Gabriel Coordinators may wish to schedule an initial meeting with a mother first or attend the first meeting between a mom and her assigned Angel.

Assignment and Follow-up

It is up to the assigned Angel (or the parish Coordinator, in appropriate circumstances) to make the initial contact with the mother and arrange a first meeting.
Some mothers will ask for initial contact via text message or email. While it is fine to make initial contact in writing, we recommend using phone and in-person communications after the first contact to help further the relationship between the mother and her Angel.
There are various ways to contact an assigned mother. A team member may use a parish phone line or her personal cell phone. In the event a personal phone is used, we recommend sharing your first name only. You may also keep your calls anonymous by first dialing “*67” and then the mother’s number. Your call will appear as a “Blocked” or “Anonymous” number.
Because some mothers may not wish to answer anonymous calls, another option for Angels is the is the Google Voice phone app. Google Voice is a free app downloadable on iOS and Android devices. The app assigns an alternate phone number to the user; when using the app, this alternative number appears, rather than your personal cell number. Outside callers can reach your phone by dialing this number. Find more information about the Google Voice app at https://voice.google.com.
All matters relating to your mother should be kept confidential. Her name, identifying information and details of her circumstances should not be disclosed to individuals outside your parish Gabriel Project team. On rare occasions, the Gabriel Program Coordinator and/or the Office of Pro-Life Activities may become involved. The only exceptions to confidentiality will involve reporting suspected abuse (See FAQs).

The Importance of Prayer

The Gabriel Project is founded on the importance of prayer. If your mom is comfortable, it is a great idea to begin and end your meetings with her in prayer. If space/time permits, you might consider taking her to the Church or chapel at your parish.
Some women are not comfortable with prayer and would prefer not to pray with their Gabriel Angel. If this is the case, you may ask her if there is something she would like you to pray for privately. It is important that her Gabriel Angel and the entire Gabriel team continue to keep her in daily prayer.
In addition to praying with and for our moms, we recommend that our team members maintain an active prayer life so as to be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit as they work with their mothers.

Important Safety Considerations

As in any ministry, establishing appropriate boundaries between your team and those we serve is essential. The Office of Pro-Life Activities recommends Gabriel Project volunteers adhere to the following guidelines in order to maintain their safety and that of other parishioners and staff.
Arrange meetings with your mother at the parish during hours when other parish staff are present. We ask that volunteers avoid making trips to the mother’s residence or other locations determined by the mother and unknown to the volunteer.
It is acceptable and recommended to attend doctor’s appointments or social services appointments with your mother. We recommend that you meet your mother at the appointment location and avoid driving her in your own car.
Take precautions when contacting a mother via your personal cell phone. If you are not using “*67” or an app such as Google Voice, consider identifying yourself using your first name and “Gabriel Project” only.
Avoid providing a significant amount of personal information in the course of your conversations, such as your home address or your children’s names or school information.
Remember that the Gabriel Project is not an emergency service. At times, you may be unable to return a call or email from your mother for a 24-hour period, or even longer. Mom should be advised to call emergency services in the case of a life-threatening emergency.

Working with other Parish Ministries

Involve other parish ministries in the Gabriel Project! Some ideas for collaboration include:

Knights of Columbus/Knights of Peter Claver. If your parish has a Knights chapter, this can be an excellent resource for assistance in fundraising, set-up and take down at Gabriel events or help with transporting baby items donated between one parish and another.
Parish Social Ministry/St. Vincent de Paul chapter. Many times, the mothers we work with need more (or different types of) assistance than the Gabriel Project can provide. Depending on a mother’s need, you may consider contacting your Parish Social Ministry or St. Vincent de Paul chapter.
Women’s/Men’s/Seniors’ groups. The Gabriel Project is grounded in the importance of prayer. You may consider asking members of these parish groups to pray for a Gabriel mother. If you choose this option, make sure not to provide a name or identifying information of the mother you are helping, in order to maintain confidentiality.
Youth/Catechetical groups. Confirmation Programs or other youth teams can get involved in fundraising and helping to host a Gabriel Project baby shower or other events. Ask them to assist with promotional materials and in prayer.

Return to Resources for Gabriel Teams page.