An Anniversary

Last updated on: August 8, 2015 at 9:00 am by JoAnna Wahlund

An Anniversary 2015-08-08T09:00:49-08:00 JoAnna Wahlund

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Peter with his mommy — August 7, 2014

One year ago today, I was sitting in a small conference room at my workplace, pumping breastmilk for my then-10-month-old son, Peter, and thinking about a recent Facebook PM I’d received from a new Facebook friend. A mutual friend had directed her to my blog, and she was glad to find another Catholic mom of many who also worked full-time outside the home. I was happy that she’d contacted me, because it was rare to find someone else who could understand the joys and challenges of being a Catholic working mother.

Which got me to thinking — I knew we couldn’t be the only two Catholic working mothers out there; in fact, a recent thread in another Facebook group for Catholic moms had asked how many of its members worked outside the home, and I was surprised by the number of respondents.

I wondered, not for the first time, why wasn’t there a Facebook group specifically for Catholic working mothers? We really needed a source of community given that it seemed no one around us understood what it was like to live as we did — constantly trying to balance faith, work, and family in a culture that was increasingly hostile to Catholicism.

As I listened to the whirring and hissing of my breastpump — an object that was, to me, a symbol of my working mother status — the Holy Spirit slapped me upside the head. If you want a group like that, maybe you should start one.

I pulled out my iPhone and the Catholic Working Mothers Facebook group was born.

I was kept busy the next several weeks welcoming new members. “I’m so happy to have found this group! I thought I was the only one!” was a common refrain.

One year later, we have nearly 700 members [edit: as of 6:15pm MST on August 8, we have 701 members!) — Catholic working mothers from all walks of life. We have mothers who work full-time, part-time, work at home, or do freelance work. We have mothers who are pregnant with their first child and mothers of large families. We have mothers who are nurses, pharmacists, teachers, software engineers, military officers, editors, and countless other professions. We have mothers who are married and mothers who are single. We have mothers who are wholly committed to their careers and mothers who are only reluctantly working because their family needs their income. Most importantly, we are all faithful Catholics, striving to live our vocations as mothers and employees in accordance with Church teaching.

The success of the Catholic Working Mothers Facebook group was the inspiration for the start of this blog. To commemorate this anniversary, I’m going to have a great giveaway, featuring some prizes created by a few of our members! Be sure to come by the blog on Monday to check out the available prizes and find out how to enter!

Giveaways

Life as a Catholic Working Mother

anniversary

giveaway

Previous Post

August 7, 2015

The Case for Maternity Leave

Next Post

August 10, 2015 An Anniversary Giveaway!

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Abuse Scandal Advent Book News Book Reviews Catholic Teaching Catholic Witness Chesterton Christmas Commuting Cooking Cosplay CWM Profiles Daycare Family Gender at Work Giveaways Good Friday History Household Management Humor Instant Pot Life as a Catholic Working Mother Marriage and Family Maternity Leave Meal Planning Media Recommendations Miscarriage NFP Politics Pregnancy Pro-Life Pro-Life Pumping Racism Religious Education Reluctantly Working Rules and Regulations Sacraments Saints Scams TV Show Review Uncategorized Vocation Working for the Church

Select a Month January 2020 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 November 2017 October 2017 July 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 October 2016 May 2016 April 2016 February 2016 December 2015 November 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz