Stony Point: Christmas Concert Raises $8,000 for Good Counsel Homes

By Fr. Steve Ryan, SDB

On Saturday, December 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, we held a Benefit Christmas Concert at the Marian Shrine in Stony Point, NY. We were uplifted through the music provided by acclaimed New York Musician, Michael Kennelly, and his lovely wife, Megan Weston, a soprano.

The best part of our gathering was that it was a pro-life benefit concert, where we all stood up for life in the womb. Moreover, we raised monies for Good Counsel Homes in the tri-state area. Funds were collected for several weeks through the baby-bottle collection, journal ads, and a free-will offering. Founded and directed by Chris and Joan Bell, these homes have been providing for women and their children for 25 years. Pregnant and scared, women have found a home and a way to move forward through these homes. Therefore, Good Counsel Homes have made a difference in the lives of hundreds of families.

The other tremendous blessing of the day was that it gave us a chance to honor Fr. Joe Doran, SDB for his commitment to the pro-life movement. Fr. Joe received an award at the concert for being a great advocate for babies in the womb. He is 95 years old and continues to energetically preach and teach on the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death. Fr. Joe has also been doing this strongly and consistently for 50 years. In fact, Fr. Joe protested in Washington DC at the very first March for Life in 1973 when the Supreme Court came out with the dismal Roe v. Wade decision.