Scottish Catholic Observer

Rising musical star Tara Mathe has released a special Christmas single to raise funds for the Cardinal Winning Pro-Life Initiative.

Canadian born Tara, who has shared a stage with Celine Dion, was impressed when she heard about the initiative’s work. She travelled to Glasgow to perform at the group’s first ladies lunch in honour of St Margaret of Scotland, where she sang her new seasonal song, Christmas Present.  A portion of all sales from the single, written by her manager, Kevin Wilson, will be donated to the Cardinal Winning Initiative.

Tara (right) recently had a club hit with her song, He Said She Said, which appeared on the Almighty Essentials Vol 4 album, along with pop giants such as Olly Murs and Usher. Now she hopes Christmas Present, which tells how Jesus is the best gift anyone can receive—will help raise funds for the pro-life initiative, run by the Sisters of the Gospel of Life.

“I love the mixture of spirituality and practical assistance the Cardinal Winning Initiative offers to anyone who needs it,” Tara said. “I haven’t come across anything like it, either in Canada or Europe. The sisters who run the group with an army of amazing volunteers, really do put the Gospel into practice. I hope I can play a small part in helping this amazing pro-life group. I spent five years working as a missionary in India where I saw the tragedy of abortion at first hand.”

Sr Roseann Reddy, who invited Tara to the St Margaret’s lunch as the main speaker, said she was a remarkable woman.

“I want to thank Tara for coming to Glasgow and telling her amazing story as a singer and a missionary,” she said.

Around 70 women from all over Scotland attended the lunch that Sr Roseann said will become an annual event. Other speakers included Catherine Macmillan, who spoke of receiving a pre-natal diagnosis of Dandi Walker Syndrome with her daughter Sara, who was also at the lunch.

“Our other speaker, Mary Doogan, though unable to talk about her and Connie Wood’s case, was nevertheless able to tell a little of what inspires her to keep fighting the pro-life battle,” Sr Roseann said.

— Christmas Present can be downloaded from iTunes and can also be found at: www.taramathew.com.

— For more on the Cardinal Winning Pro-Life Initiative, visit http://gospeloflifesisters.wordpress.com/

—This story ran in full in the November 29 edition print of the SCO, available in parishes.