ULSTER PARK — This fall, the Ulster Deanery Respect Life Committee (UDRLC) is ramping up its cooperation with statewide opposition to Proposal 1 by sponsoring a billboard on Route 9W southbound at Ulster Park during October to urge local voters in English and Spanish to vote against this ballot proposal.

“After approving the design by the Coalition to Protect Kids-NY, we were only too happy to post our exhortation to Ulsterites and all passers-by on Route 9W to defend parental rights, to preserve girls’ sports for girls, and to avoid further encroachments on the lives of preborn children by voting no on Proposal 1,” said Father Arthur F. Rojas, moderator and spiritual director of the UDRLC.

Father Rojas added that the billboard is one more step in the UDRLC’s cooperation with the Coalition to Protect Kids-NY to educate New Yorkers, starting but not limited to local Catholics, on the perils of this misnamed “Equal Rights Amendment” proposal to the right to life for preborn children, to the rights of parents to raise their children in accordance with their values, and the integrity of girls’ sports and other opportunities.

The UDRLC has distributed thousands of palm cards and sheets on Proposal 1 in English and Spanish at different venues in Ulster County this year, such as the Ulster County Fair (New Paltz) and Blueberry Festival (Ellenville) and through several Catholic churches and other sites.

The UDRLC coordinates the pro-life activities of several Catholic parishes within the Ulster Deanery of the Archdiocese of New York, which is coterminous with Ulster County. The committee has worked with other social actors for pro-life and pro-family causes, such as the Bruderhof Communities.

Finally, the UDRLC will hold its annual Respect Life Mass on Friday, October 25, at 5:30 p.m. at St. Augustine’s Church in Highland. All people of good will are welcome to the Mass with no prior registration required. Prior reservation is required to attend the UDRLC’s Annual Dinner that follows, at Novellas New Paltz, where veteran pro-life activist Anthony Pinque from Ellenville will be honored and the guest speaker will be Ayesha Kreutz, the executive director of the Coalition to Protect Kids-NY. For more information on reserving tickets or journal ads, please visit the committee’s website, or contact Robert Smith at 845-527-3580. No tickets or ads will be sold at the door, so prior reservations are mandatory.