By Amy White
The Texas Catholic
On March 29, several Diocese of Dallas priests and deacons will make their way beneath underpasses and alongside busy service roads for the inaugural Bella House Miles for Moms fundraiser walk. The 18-mile walk will begin at the Bella House in Dallas and end at the Bella House in Plano with stops at Dallas and Plano parishes along the way.
Deacon Andrew Tanner, who will make the entire trek during the Miles for Moms event, proposed the idea of the fundraiser walk. The Our Lady of Angels deacon had previously completed a 500-mile journey down the Camino de Santiago in Spain, backpacking 15 to 18 miles a day for 33 days. Inspired by that experience, he began to plan a walk to raise funds for the Bella House, a pro-life nonprofit in the diocese.
A member of the Bella House board, Deacon Tanner regularly teaches personal finance classes to the mothers housed by the nonprofit. The classes are one of several resources offered to moms by the Bella House in pursuit of its mission.
“The mission of Bella House is to provide a home for pregnant, homeless moms and their babies with education, counseling, material and spiritual support,” Bella House Board President Patty Platts explained, “creating an opportunity for them to transform their lives and those of their babies.”
The team
On the day of the Miles for Moms fundraiser, Deacon Tanner will be joined in his journey by representatives from Dallas and Plano parishes, including St. Rita Catholic Community, Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church, and St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church, among others.
Setting out early in the morning, Deacon Chris Knight will kick off the fundraiser event by walking from the Dallas Bella House to St. Rita; Father Russ Mower and Deacon Bob McDermott will make the trek from that location to All Saints Catholic Church; Father Wade Bass will take on the 7.5 mile stretch from All Saints to St. Mark the Evangelist; Father Jason Cargo and Deacon Paul Vetter will continue the journey from St. Mark the Evangelist to the Bella House in Plano; and Deacon Mike Seibold will complete the Seton leg of the walk, starting at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Plano, joining at St. Mark the Evangelist, and ending at the Plano Bella House.
Unlike the Camino de Santiago that inspired the fundraiser walk, the route these clergy are set to travel will be distinctly urban; some roads are under construction — with water lines being replaced or streets being resurfaced; and traffic is often heavy.
“Like 70% of the walk is on the sidewalk of pretty busy streets,” Deacon Tanner said, “and there are just hundreds of intersections to get through.”
Still, the deacon noted that he spotted a couple of yellow arrows along the path, reminiscent of the “flechas amarillas” that guided his journey along the Camino — a hopeful sign, he said.
Throughout the Miles for Moms walk, Deacon Tanner will carry a backpack filled with a month’s worth of baby supplies, representing the basic necessities upon which moms and babies rely to survive. Another backpack will be passed person-to-person between the priests and deacons accompanying Deacon Tanner on the walk.
‘Walk the walk’
Deacon Seibold, assigned deacon at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, will be one of the participants to walk the final portion of the Miles for Moms route. Like Deacon Tanner, he assists in presenting educational programs at the Bella House. He said he sees the upcoming Miles for Moms walk as an additional opportunity to provide support to mothers who have chosen life for their children, often under extremely difficult circumstances.
“The ladies with their babies who are in these homes in many cases have very little support provided to them,” Deacon Seibold shared. “So, the Bella House support is one of those ways that we as Catholic Christians can show our love to our sisters who are struggling in this way.”
The deacon also said that Miles for Moms will provide a special opportunity for the community of local churches to unite in support of a worthy cause.
“It’s pretty special to join a few of our Plano parishes and our Dallas parishes together in a way that perhaps hasn’t been done before,” he said, adding about his own parish, “We’ll hopefully see a pretty good surge of contributions coming out of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.”
All proceeds from Miles for Moms will directly fund the operations of the Bella House. Among the resources that the nonprofit provides to women and their children are shelter, food, and baby items; funds from the walk will support whatever need is most pressing, Deacon Tanner explained.
Kevin Prevou, human dignity and respect for life associate director of the Diocese of Dallas, said that he encourages everyone to support the upcoming Miles for Moms fundraiser. He noted that affordable housing is a primary need among pregnant women seeking help and that the Bella House, which is a part of the Culture of Life Collaborative in the diocese, responds to that “overwhelming need of pregnant women and their families.”
“I hope, in some small way, we can make a financial contribution to Bella House,” Deacon Tanner said of the upcoming walk, which he hopes will become an annual fundraiser, “but even more importantly, I want to help create some awareness that these ministries are out there and that there are people in the Church that are delighted to strap their shoes on and go on a walk like this… to walk the walk.”
Cutline for featured image: Deacon Andrew Tanner, assigned deacon at Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church in Allen, will be joined by members of the Plano and Dallas clergy to participate in an 18-mile Miles for Moms fundraiser walk for the Bella House on March 29. The Bella House is a nonprofit in the Diocese of Dallas that provides housing and resources to mothers experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and who are at risk of homelessness. Deacon Tanner is pictured at one of the stops along the Miles for Moms route, St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church, during a practice walk. (Courtesy photo)
