Julie O'Neill wasn't sure she was in labor.

        Cramps struck every 10 minutes, but this was her first child, and she couldn't tell if the pain was part of the chronic aches of pregnancy or the beginning of the end.

        The Loveland woman asked God for a clear sign.

        Then her water broke.

        It wasn't an easy pregnancy for Ms. O'Neill, an anchor for WCPO Channel 9. During the early months, she had to take medicine to control nausea. Later, she developed gestational diabetes.

        As the end of the pregnancy drew near, Ms. O'Neill and her husband, David Gregory, prepared for labor the same way as many couples: They signed up for a childbirth class. The difference: their class not only would cover anatomy and stages of labor but also prayer and Bible study.

        Susan Weickgenant pitched the idea of a Christian childbirth class a decade ago. A tangle of bureaucracy delayed the program until August, when the White Oak woman taught the first class at Mercy Hospital Fairfield.

        “Without God's word to stand on, it would have been sand for me,” Ms. Weickgenant says of her pregnancies. “Faith helped me through pregnancy and childbirth and has continued through parenting.”

        The childbirth classes opened and closed with prayers. Couples were assigned homework during the week, Bible scriptures that address pregnancy and labor.

        Lessons included Joshua 1:9: “I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

        For 17 hours in November, Ms. O'Neill listened to the sound of waves crashing, breathed through the contractions, and prayed.

        People warned Ms. O'Neill labor would be difficult.

        “Let me tell you, the pain was much, much worse than I ever imagined,” she says. But “I really felt the whole way through I was in a zone. I really felt like the Holy Spirit was with me.”

        Garrett Gregory entered the world on Nov. 7, 2001, with his mom's dark hair and dad's blue eyes.

        “I couldn't imagine going through an experience like that, the miracle of life, without God being at the center of it.”

        A second Christian Childbirth Series runs Feb. 9 to March 9, from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Cost is $70. To register, call 513-956-3729.

Taking world view

        The Rev. Raymond Jones keeps hearing over and over, “God bless America,” and he thinks it's kind of selfish.

        “We all live in this world together,” says the Rev. Mr. Jones, executive director of the Cincinnati Concerned Citizens Association. The group buys presents for needy families at Christmas, hides 10,000 Easter eggs for a free hunt and passes out meals to the elderly.

        “It's important to say, "God bless America,' but we should set an example for the rest of the world,” he says. “We should let them know we're not selfish, not thinking only of our own interests.”

        He proposes starting a grassroots movement to create a world flag and anthem.

        Contact the Rev. Mr. Jones at 861-1269.

       Send religion news to rthompson@enquirer.com or contact Richelle Thompson at 513-755-4144, 755-4150 (fax).

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