Dr. Jillian Stalling (left) and Shirley Plaag will speak at the Mother and Daughter Tea on April 30 in Peoria.

Body and soul will be fed at the Mother and Daughter Tea that will be held on Saturday, April 30, at the Spalding Pastoral Center in Peoria. Planned for 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., it is being co-sponsored by the Respect Life Ministry of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Peoria and OSF FertilityCare.

Cecilia Soñé, associate director of Catholic Charities and a nurse practitioner at OSF Fort Jesse in Bloomington, said the event is designed as a “fertility appreciation tea” that is appropriate for girls from the ages of 10 to 13.

“We will be looking at the beauty not only of their physical body, but also the beauty and strengthening of their spiritual being,” she said. “We are both body and spirit, so we are showing them their beauty and dignity holistically.”

Shirley Plaag, coordinator of the Office of Evangelization and Faith Formation, will talk about the theology of the body, while Dr. Jillian Stalling, a natural-family-planning-only health care provider, will discuss what they can expect in their bodies during these formative years.

Dr. Stalling is on the staff of Teverbaugh, Croland, Mueller OB/GYN and Associates in Peoria and Ottawa. Soñé added that she is a Creighton Model medical consultant and NaPro Technology medical and surgical doctor.

Soñé acknowledged that the word “fertility” might scare people, but said these kinds of events have been very successful in other dioceses, including the Archdiocese of St. Louis. They are also necessary, she said.

“More and more the young ladies need to see themselves as being worthy of the respect that they truly deserve, especially with what’s happening on social media,” she told The Catholic Post. “Many — not all, but many — feel they have to expose themselves to feel wanted, whereas they need to know that they already are loved and wanted, first of all by their Creator.

“We also want to affirm them in their own beauty, no matter if they’re short or tall, full-bodied or thin — it doesn’t matter,” she said.

Not only will the girls and their mothers, godmothers, grandmothers and “aunties” be treated to tea, finger sandwiches and other refreshments, but they will receive information to take home, according to Soñé, who said the goal is to give them the science along with church teaching.

“They go hand in hand,” she said. “It’s natural.”

Those who attend are encouraged to dress up for the event, which is $10 per person. Reservations are needed as soon as possible so hospitality can be arranged, with the final deadline being April 26.

For more information, call Suzie Meismer at (309) 839-2287. Online registration and payment are available by clicking here.