PARSONS—Bishop Mark Brennan formally blessed a new ultrasound machine for the Central W.Va. Pregnancy Care Center Feb. 7. The ultrasound machine represents the third such machine placed by the Knights of Columbus in West Virginia under the ultrasond machine initiative sponsored by the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus as part of the Culture of Life Program. In addition to this, two other councils in the state are currently working to place ultrasound machines in their local pregnancy care centers. The ultrasound machine placed in the Parsons Pregnancy Care Facility represents a unique partnership between the Knights of Columbus Thomas Council #2010 and the Padre Pio Council #10754 in Great Falls, Va. This collaborative effort began in the late summer of 2018 when the director of the Pregnancy Care Center, Barbara Kinkaid, was at a rally for life in Charleston. She met Father William Kuchinsky who asked her if she had an ultrasound machine in her pregnancy care center. Kinkaid said that having a machine was a life-long dream, but was not yet a reality. Father Kuchinsky put Kinkaid in touch with the folks in Great Falls. They, in turn, contacted Father Timothy Grassi, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Thomas and Our Lady of Mercy Mission in Parsons, about the possibility of placing an ultrasound machine in Tucker County. The process of obtain- ing the necessary approvals from the Supreme Council and the West Virginia State Council began. Before the machine could be purchased, one half of the cost of the machine needed to be raised by the Padre Pio Council in Great Falls. The Supreme Council contributed the remaining half of the cost of the machine. The money was donated to the Central West Virginia Pregnancy Care Center for the purchase of the machine in December of 2020. The Pregnancy Care Center can now offer free ultrasounds to expectant mothers to help them see the beauty of the gift of the life of their unborn child. In most cases, once the mother sees her unborn child, there is a great chance of carrying the child to full term. Father Grassi and Kinkaid were present for the bishop’s blessing of the machine as well as State Life Chairman Skip Gjolberg of the West Virginia Knights of Columbus and Pat Kotten of the Knights of Columbus Thomas Council #2010. For more information about the center or for assistance, call (304) 642-8496 for Parsons and (304) 463-4388 for Thomas. More information is also available at www.cwvcpc.com.
Courtesy Photo Bishop Mark Brennan blesses the ultrasound machine at the Pregnancy Care Center in Parsons.