February 21, 2018 Debbie

Annual Banquet Planned for March 12, 2018!

Tables are going quickly for our annual Lighthouse Fundraising Banquet on Monday, March 12! Don’t miss this amazing night of celebration and support for the life-saving work of Lighthouse. In addition to inspiring testimonies from women and men whose lives were transformed by our life-enhancing services, our featured speaker David Nasser will share his story of amazing grace. David’s own spiritual journey began as a child of nine, fleeing Iran with his family, terrified and hating religion. How David arrived at our banquet is a story of brokenness made beautiful when God’s love came to life — like it does at Lighthouse, every day with your support.

Join us as we discover how God can bring beauty from the brokenness in our own lives. Enjoy The Venetian’s delicious food. Spend time with friends of Lighthouse, and see what happens when the Body of Christ comes together to bring love to life.

Table sponsorships of $850 include seating for 10-12 guests and a half-page ad in our banquet program. A limited number of individual seats are available for $85 each. All monies raised from the event will fund the free services Lighthouse offers to anyone facing an unplanned pregnancy or related concern. These services include STD testing and relationship counsel, ultrasound confirmation of pregnancy, parenting preparation and material aid, and post-abortion recovery support. To register for the banquet, please click here.

To learn more about the free services Lighthouse offers, please visit LighthousePRC.org. Thank you!

November 17, 2017November 17, 2017 Debbie

HarvestFEST Guests Take Big Steps for Life

Lighthouse is grateful to all who joined us to take steps for life at HarvestFest 2017, held in early November at Powerhouse Church in Wyckoff. Friends of all ages enjoyed the festive fall atmosphere, delicious food trucks, square dancing, rock climbing, children’s crafts, and more — topped off by a concert featuring the world-famous Sleepy Man band.

Prizes were awarded to those who dressed in their western best, and those who contributed to the world’s tallest (and only?) diaper bale received extra tickets toward door prizes, which included a live Christmas tree from Abma’s Farm and a dinner at Cilantro in New York City. A total of 1,308 diapers were donated that evening to support families in need. Enjoy pictures from the photobooth HERE.

The highlight of HarvestFEST, a Lighthouse fundraiser held every other autumn, is always the concert by bluegrass band, Sleepy Man. The band is comprised of three talented brothers from New Jersey (plus friends Josh on bass and Rocco on drums). The Mizzone brothers made a big entrance on the music scene at an early age, and their musical ability, stage presence, and passion for life continues to grow as they do. Lighthouse was honored to host Sleepy Man for a rare local performance to help save and change lives through our Paterson, Wayne and Hackensack centers.

Thanks to a matching gift, and generous contributions from volunteers, participants, and guests, HarvestFEST raised $43,000 to fund the free, life-enhancing support Lighthouse provides to women, men and teens facing or at-risk-for unplanned pregnancies. This equals more than one month of operations at Lighthouse’s busiest center plus relationship programs in local schools.

October 10, 2017 Debbie

Sleepy Man to Perform at HarvestFEST November 4

Lighthouse invites you to take steps for life by attending HarvestFest 2017 on Saturday, November 4. We are eagerly preparing for this family-friendly fundraiser which takes place 4:30-9 pm at Powerhouse Christian Church in Wyckoff, NJ.

Many wonderful things are in store for this evening – all culminating in a 7 pm concert by the world-famous Sleepy Man band. Adults and children of all ages will find food and fun activities to their liking!

Start your evening off with a delicious supper from one of NJ’s famous food trucks. Then work off your calories with rock climbing, line dancing or square dancing. Beginners welcome: talented caller Paul Ingis of PI Squared and Christine Crawley of New School of Dance Arts will show you the steps! Children will enjoy the craft and game room, where they will make their own special memento of the night. Refreshments and homemade desserts will be served.

Dress in your best western or country look to compete for an individual, couple or family prize. You can also earn extra door prize tickets by bringing a pack of diapers (or more!) to help build the world’s largest diaper bale to support families in need.

The highlight of HarvestFEST is a concert by bluegrass band, Sleepy Man. The band is comprised of three talented brothers who hail from New Jersey (plus a friend on bass). The Mizzone brothers amazed Lighthouse supporters in 2013 and 2015 with their unique blend of folk, country and pop, and their stage presence. The world-renowned teens made quite an entrance onto the music scene, with their YouTube videos, now eclipsing over 30 million views. They have performed at the Grand Ole Opry, on the Late Show with David Letterman, NBC’s The Today Show, and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

Lighthouse is honored to host Sleepy Man for a rare New Jersey performance to help save and change lives through our Paterson, Wayne and Hackensack centers. All proceeds from HarvestFEST will fund the free, life-enhancing support Lighthouse provides to women, men and teens facing or at-risk-for unplanned pregnancies.

Don’t miss this opportunity to see these passionate young musicians upclose, performing with a purpose! Tickets are $15/person in advance and $20 at the door; or $60/per immediate family in advance and $70 at the door. To learn more or purchase tickets online, please visit itickets.com Thank you!

July 10, 2017July 10, 2017 Mary Kate

Summer Life Support Events

Get ready for the fun summer activities we have planned for everyone to enjoy while supporting LIFE this July and August!

If you are ages 18-30, please join us at our 2^nd annual Young Adults’ Bowling Night on Tuesday, July 11^th from 7:30pm-10:30pm. Experience unlimited bowling, pizza, shoes and special prizes at Holiday Bowl, located in Oakland, NJ. Sign up as an individual or as a team. One team of 6 amounts to one life-saving ultrasound! $20/person pre-paid or $25/person at the door. Tickets and more details are available here.

Craving Mexican food? Bring your family, friends or small group for lunch or dinner on Tuesday, July 25^th at Blue Moon Mexican Café in Wyckoff & Englewood. Lighthouse PRC will receive 20% of your receipt to save and change lives! Just bring the printed flyer with you! Gift Cards, take-out, delivery & catering included! Download the flyer here.

Pizza anyone? Enjoy lunch or dinner at California Pizza Kitchen in the Garden State Plaza (Paramus) or Willowbrook Mall (Wayne) on Monday August 9^th. With the printed flyer 20% of your receipt will be donated to Lighthouse. Can’t make it that day? Don’t’ worry, gift Cards and take-out are included too! Download the flyer here.

The Signs of Life Fundraiser illustrates your creativity and gives Lighthouse 15% of all signs ordered throughout July & August. Pick your custom saying, size, colors, and unique style while bringing love to LIFE! For inspiration and to see some of the custom signs available, visit the Restoring Traditions Facebook page. Order forms are available here.

Don’t miss out on these fun summer events! We can’t wait to see you there! Remember, your participation provides the vital services and support to those experiencing a pregnancy crisis or other related concerns. Thank you for saving and changing lives this summer!

May 24, 2017 Mary Kate

Spring Open House Provides Friends with a Look Inside Lighthouse

We were pleased to greet many new and old friends of Lighthouse Pregnancy Resource Center at our Wayne Center Open House on May 21! Guests were impressed with the professionalism and comfortable welcoming atmosphere. Because of our location on the back side of the 2025-2035 Hamburg Turnpike office complex, we have a confidential setting for those needing privacy as they seek help. The newly opened center has helped us extend our free services to a new area of Northern New Jersey and Passaic County, spreading out the reach of our three locations.

Guests enjoyed cake and other refreshments from Shop Rite of Oakland, and delicious snow cones from The Jolly Trolley, after touring our newest facility. We were excited to share with them the spacious welcome area, ultrasound room, multiple counseling rooms, and a well-stocked material services room (our PREP Shoppe for new parents!) – furnished with some of our Hawthorne seating plus new pieces from our friends at Ashley Furniture HomeStore. Our expanded receptionist area – which doubled our desk space – made a great gathering place for guests!

We are so grateful to the Lord and to Florence Christian Home Center for the amazing provision of Suite L on Hamburg Turnpike. The reduction in our facility expenses is allowing us to reallocate our resources to save and change more lives. The one need we have is for more storage, as we lost our basement space in the relocation from Hawthorne, and are currently working on creative solutions. As we address our storage shortage, we have asked friends to hold onto their gently used clothing and larger material donations for May and June. We will let supporters know via Facebook when we are accepting these items at Rea Ave in Hawthorne again.

A huge thanks goes to Liz, Theresa and our Wayne Center staff and volunteers for their hard work behind the scenes to make the Open House possible!

If you are interested in volunteering at our Wayne Center, please contact Mary Kate at events@lighthouseprc.org or 973-238-9047 x10. Most office volunteer projects happen on Tuesdays and Fridays, when we are closed for client services. Please be aware that we strive to maintain a confidential setting on the other weekdays.

We so appreciate the continued support of donors who partner with us to save and change lives each day. Your generosity provides free life-enhancing services to those facing unplanned pregnancies, parenting struggles and other related concerns. Thank you!

May 11, 2017May 8, 2017 Mary Kate

CHANGE CHANGES LIVES…

As the leaves on the trees begin to mature and the spring blooms shoot from the ground, we are also celebrating new life at Lighthouse! We are blessed to report a record year of courageous choices by those who received our life-affirming support in 2016.

Because of your generous partnership, last year we were able to serve more than 1,800 women, men and teens in our Wayne, Hackensack and Paterson centers and help bring 441 babies into the world (up 36% from 2015!). Through your prayers and financial and material support we have been able to accomplish these great things. Thank you for being part of God’s loving work at Lighthouse!

Spring also means the start of our annual Baby Bottle Boomerang on Mother’s Day. This campaign is not only a practical, easy way for every member of your church or school to provide valuable life support to parents in need, it also helps spread the word about Lighthouse’s free services. Last year, your participation allowed us to raise more than $74,000 – which equaled one month of life-enhancing services at ALL of our centers and in local schools.

This year, we ask that you pray with us for an even greater outpouring of support – enough to cover an entire summer of saving and changing lives!

The 2017 Baby Bottle Boomerang works like this: We supply your church or school group with wrapped baby bottles to be distributed on or after Mother’s Day (choose the date that works best for you!) and returned to you by Father’s Day (June 18). We ask that bottles be filled with change, cash or checks to provide valuable life support. We offer a 3-minute video featuring several brave moms, or a staff member, on Distribution Day or another time, to share about the lives being saved and changed through your partnership. Other promotional items are offered – all at no cost – and materials are available in Spanish.

Please call Mary Kate in our Wayne office, 973.238.9047 x10 or email her at events@lighthouseprc.org to participate in our Baby Bottle Boomerang.

Our Lighthouse family and the families we serve appreciate your continued prayers and support. Thank you for helping parents be brave so children will be loved!

May 9, 2017May 5, 2017 Debbie

Happy Mother’s Day to Julias everywhere . . .

pexels-photo-59894 After a dozen years, it still doesn’t get old. Every Mother’s Day, I am reminded of the women Lighthouse has supported to make brave choices – choices that have changed their lives and their children’s forever, for the better. Often their first life choice caused a ripple effect that brought abundant life and joy to those around them.

This Mother’s Day I am especially grateful to those who give sacrificially to Lighthouse to make our free services available to women like Julia. Here is her story, which she shared at one of our past banquets:

Hi, my name is Julia. I came to Lighthouse in 2011 after googling free pregnancy test center sites.

Being an unemployed recent college graduate and newlywed, I was worried about how having a baby would burden me with responsibilities I wasn’t ready to handle. I thought this unplanned pregnancy would throw my plans for a foreign service career out the window and possibly keep me unemployed for several years.

I admit that I did consider abortion so I liked the fact that the Lighthouse website reached out to undecided, unprepared women like me and that it was free. When I finally made an appointment to get that free pregnancy test, I met Marissa, who provided me with the free resources available to not only test for pregnancy but also to care for the baby afterwards. My husband and I were amazed at how much easier and more possible giving birth became, just by knowing that an organization like Lighthouse was ready to support us every step of the way to delivery and even beyond childbirth.

How could we resist the love of God we received through Lighthouse? Lighthouse had given us our first picture of Brian taken at 6 weeks, and that was enough to cancel out any thought of abortion. My first visit was followed by phone calls from Marissa, who continued to care and provide me with resources that prepared me for childbirth. So then, my husband and I benefitted further from watching videos on the childbirth process and bringing home some items for Brian like baby clothes, toys and a washtub.

In this way, Lighthouse became an example to us and our unbelieving parents of how Christian love builds families and communities. Please pray with us that like Lighthouse, we, too, will be able to touch and improve the lives of others around us. Thank you.

This mother’s day I am also thinking of and praying for another young woman named Julia. This young woman bravely placed her son in the arms of a loving adoptive couple. She sacrificed much to give her son the life she believed he deserved. May God fill her arms and her heart to overflowing for this precious act of love. And may He bless you for your precious gifts of love to those we serve.

May 5, 2017May 5, 2017 Mary Kate

A Mother’s Day to Remember

Liz Ultrasound Mother’s Day is fast approaching and at 22 weeks and 4 days into my pregnancy, I am experiencing all sorts of feelings. This is definitely a Mother’s Day to celebrate and to reflect on God’s grace and his love for me. Mother’s Day reminds me of my three beautiful children and how precious they have been throughout the years. I remember all the things they’ve made for me, flowers they’ve picked for me, and cards they so carefully decorated. I’m happy to recount all of those great memories, plus the new ones that are being made every day when I feel my developing daughter’s kicks, and see my belly expanding. I’m also celebrating the fact that there are so many cool pregnancy apps out now, that they didn’t have 12 years ago. I get updates on her size, weight, and other milestones on my smart phone daily. I know that as of today, she is the size of a spaghetti squash, weighing in at approximately one pound. How cool is that?

I also have other feelings, after a long tiring day or after hearing an infant cry at work. I feel excited, anxious, nervous, happy, and at times sad (blame it on those pregnancy hormones!) – sometimes all in the same day! I have so many circulating questions. … Am I ready after 12 years to have another active little one around the house? Will my house accommodate this new little one and all the things she needs? Will I be able to do the long nights of little sleep and long days of chronic fatigue? Is my body going to bounce back after a C-Section at my advanced maternal age of 41? How will our family who is set in their ways, sleep times, and schedules, manage the unpredictable timing of a newborn and her own baby hours? Will my older children look at her as a blessing or as a bother? Will my landlord give us notice that our small apartment cannot house another little human?

I can’t answer all of these questions, but I can turn to the One who can help us through. The One who knew this baby would be born and chose us as her family. The One who knew this baby would complete our family, and who also knows that if I trust in Him, He will equip me to handle all my fears and concerns. Just as He calms the storms of my worries, He will prepare me to be the best possible mom to my fourth child because He loves this baby and her life matters to Him.

We are all precious in our Father’s eyes! My baby girl is no different and I thank Him for this opportunity to be a mom again, despite my fears. He knows me well, and He knows my fears even before I pray about them so for that I can rest assured that He will provide for all of our needs. He always has!

Happy Mother’s Day! May God bless you, calm your storms, and guide your paths through parenthood while providing the peace only He can offer.

– Liz Lopez, Center Support Coordinator for Lighthouse Pregnancy Resource Center

April 12, 2017April 12, 2017 Mary Kate

2017 Banquet Recap

“It takes a village to raise a child.” – African Proverb

At Lighthouse we know it takes a community of support – the Body of Christ – partnering together to make it possible for parents facing unexpected pregnancies under difficult circumstances to choose life. And once moms and dads choose life, they need continued support from the Church to thrive – not just survive – as they care for their newborns and raise children to adulthood.

This past March at our annual fundraising banquet, we were blessed to have 861 people join us to celebrate and support the courageous choices for life made by Lighthouse parents. We are also thankful that over 60 churches were represented at this year’s event, from many denominations. We are thrilled to see Lighthouse serve as a unifying cause that brings churches from different communities and backgrounds together as a force for good and for sharing God’s love. This is a practical expression of compassion in response to a critical need in our world.

In John 13:35, Jesus says, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

With over 44,000 abortions taking place in New Jersey each year, there is no denying that there is still a great need for the compassionate, life-enhancing services we offer confidentially and free of charge. In addition, many of the women who do carry to term, face the challenges of parenting alone, without the support of a committed partner, or without family support to lighten their load.

That being said, we are so thankful for the love, prayers and sacrifices of our courageous supporters, as you bravely contribute to help individuals overcome fear in the midst of trials and difficult decisions. Your support is a practical expression of Christ’s love, and it is making a significant impact in the lives of women, men and children in need.

Thank you for being the hands and feet of our risen Savior, bringing light and life to a hurting world.

To view pictures of the event, click here. If you visited our photo booth, click here to find your picture.

February 11, 2017April 5, 2017 Taylor Faber

Valentine’s Day on Social Media—a Lot Not to Like

heart-700141_960_720 Like many holidays, Valentine’s Day stirs mixed emotions for many people.

To celebrate it, we buy chocolate or flowers for those we love, and even send children to school with bags full of handwritten notes and treats for their classmates. Couples go out to dinner or exchange gifts to mark the holiday.

But what about those who are single on Valentine’s Day? What about the person whose spouse has passed away? Many people have an attached sadness to this day every year. These feelings of sadness can easily turn into an (understandable) sense of bitterness towards the day.

While this is no new concept, there is something in society that I feel has made this experience worse for many people – even people who are in a relationship on this Valentine’s Day: social media.

On February 14, people will scroll through their Instagram feeds to find countless pictures of the bouquet of beautiful flowers from a romantic boyfriend, the scrapbook made by a thoughtful girlfriend, or the fancy candlelit dinner setting for two at an extravagant restaurant. Facebook feeds will be filled with paragraphs written about how amazing some husbands and wives are.

So what is the problem? Are any of those things wrong? Absolutely not. In fact, such things are worth celebrating and capturing once in a while.

However, here is where it gets a little tricky: Those pictures, posts, and statuses do not show the entire reality. In fact, they often create a false reality of perfection – especially for people who are sitting alone on Valentine’s Day viewing the posts from afar. Worse yet, social media fosters an unhealthy comparison between couples, and the day turns from a celebration of love into a competition of who gets the most likes on a post or picture.

While I definitely do enjoy Instagram, I have come to the conclusion that social media never gives the whole story. People never post about the fight they had on the car ride to the restaurant or the financial struggles that have them celebrating on a tight budget. And rarely do you read about the hard conversations needed to navigate a Christ-centered relationship. These just don’t make it onto our social media feeds. Social media posts simply show the highlights of people’s lives – usually through rose-colored filters.

So, for the people who are in a relationship this Valentine’s Day, what if instead of bragging about your husband, wife, boyfriend or girlfriend on social media, you write them a letter saying what you would have posted? Or better yet, you tell them face to face? Social media can be an amazing, creative outlet and is made to be enjoyed, but I wonder what would happen if we thought twice about what we post and ask ourselves: Will this picture create a false reality? Might it lead to unrealistic expectations?

For the people who are not in a relationship this Valentine’s Day, when you are scrolling through social media on February 14, remember that those posting have their own struggles, and hardships in their lives that a box of chocolate or beautiful bouquet of flowers cannot fix. Their lives may look perfect, but that is only through the lens of social media.

Jesus Christ is the only perfect and pure example of what true love looks like. Instead of getting our ideas about love this Valentine’s Day from our Instagram feeds, may we all look to the cross.

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” I John 3:16