Kairos Eight25 is a ministry of Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church in Williamsburg, Virginia serving women struggling with the loss and loneliness of infertility, pregnancy loss, infant loss, and related agonies.
OUR NAME
Kairos is a Greek word found in scripture meaning “the most opportune or seasonable time.” The scripture Romans 8:25 says, “But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” We desire to support women by emphasizing hope and perseverance as they walk in faith, waiting for God’s purposes to be realized.
VISION
Inspired by God’s love and strength, Kairos Eight25 aims to alleviate the aloneness, burden, and grief of women who walk through the valley of infertility and pregnancy loss. Support is offered to refresh women spiritually and emotionally, to preserve expectancy, and encourage persistence in the hope of the Gospel.
MISSION
Kairos Eight25 offers a monthly support group to provide Christ-centered hope to women who are experiencing the loss and loneliness of infertility and pregnancy loss. Women will walk alongside each other on this journey to provide confidential listening, regular prayer, hopeful messages, and a library of resources.
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
Kairos Eight25 began as the result of intentional prayer among several women at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church in the summer of 2019. Kairos was co-founded by Ali Williamson and Gwen Martin.
With unique stories, we came to understand how lonely and grief-filled the experience of infertility, pregnancy loss, or infant loss can be. Yet, we also saw how the gospel-centered church can fill a gap that exists, both spiritually and emotionally, through the ministry of women.
LAUREN BOONE, Co-CHAIR
Lauren is a former high school math teacher and has lived in Williamsburg her entire life. She now enjoys staying at home with her three living children, and is an active member at Daybreak Church. She has served as a member of Kairos Eight25 Steering Committee for the past several years, and has been the Co-Chair of the ministry since early 2025.
Lauren has experienced two losses. Her first pregnancy in 2017 was a chemical pregnancy that she miscarried at six weeks. A few years later, Lauren and her husband Cameron journeyed the difficult path of receiving a lethal diagnosis early in her pregnancy of their second-born son, who died shortly after his birth in August 2021.
Lauren feels called to walk with other women through their heartbreak of losing a baby, to surround them with love and to remind them they are not alone.
KATHRYN NEWSOM, Co-CHAIR
Kathryn is a physical therapist who loves sports and running events such as 5K races. She is active at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church as a substitute Bible study teacher and a regular volunteer for various ministry projects. She has served as a member of the Kairos Eight25 Steering Committee for the last few years.
Her experience with infertility lasted a couple years in her early marriage. After fertility testing, she entered an IVF program and she and her husband conceived triplets. One of the babies was lost to miscarriage in her early pregnancy, however she went on to deliver healthy twin girls who are now teenagers.
Kathryn uses her natural gift to encourage dialogue and the building of relationships with women who are most reluctant to feel comfortable sharing their reproductive loss stories or who are unfamiliar with how a support group can be helpful to them. She makes herself available between support group meetings to respond to women who are struggling and need to process the emotions of their challenging journeys.
I received comfort from the following song: “Before The Morning by Josh Wilson”
As a favorite resource, I now recommend “Waiting in Hope Infertility Support Ministries” to women experiencing infertility.
GWEN MARTIN
Founder & Steering Committee
Gwen is a retired Christian school administrator and teacher. She is the coordinator for the Women’s Shepherding Team at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church in Williamsburg, VA, and a former Co-Chair of Kairos Eight25 still serving on the Steering Committee. She writes for two blogsites –
psalm37fretnot.com and waitingwithperseverance.com.
She has three grown children who are married and eight grandchildren. Her “Kairos Eight25” compassion comes from journeying with her youngest daughter through the suffering of infertility and subsequent successes of the IVF process over a 5-year period. She was also very aware of the struggles of other women in her church community and hoped that somehow the needs of these women for care and presence could be met.
Gwen, along with Ali Williamson, created the Kairos Eight25 support group concept in 2019. After much planning and prayer during the Covid years, the support group was launched in March 2022 to address the deep gap of loneliness and grief that exists among women struggling with reproductive loss.
SAMANTHA DAVIS
Steering Committee
Samantha is a member of the Kairos Eight25 Steering Committee. She is currently a stay-at-home mom to her two daughters. She moved back to the Williamsburg area in 2021 after living in Maryland for five years and has been an active member of the Kairos Eight25 support group since October 2024.
Samantha and her husband, Kyle, experienced the loss of their second child and only son during the 39th week of her pregnancy. Their son, Jace, was stillborn on April 19, 2024. Since losing Jace, Samantha understands firsthand the profound pain and grief of losing a baby. She is passionate about walking alongside other bereaved mothers, offering compassion, understanding, and the reassurance that they do not have to navigate their grief alone.
JACKIE HAWKS
Steering Committee
Jackie Hawks is a member of the Kairos Eight25 Steering Committee. She is a retired high school social studies teacher. Her time as a 30-year Navy wife took her to many places as well as many professions: Navy drug and alcohol educator, adoption agency educator and case manager, and alternative education teacher. Currently, she is involved in coordinating her church’s women’s Bible study.
Fifty years ago she walked through the struggle of infertility. She and her husband adopted their daughter after being married 12 years. Beyond her compassion for women who struggle, she has personally discovered that the Kairos Eight25 support group has helped her better understand how to support her own daughter who experienced many miscarriages.
Jackie believes the grief connected with infertility, miscarriage, or infant loss is one that incorporates the body as well as the mind and heart. The dynamics of this kind of trauma weigh differently than other kinds of grief. She finds that being a part of Kairos Eight25 is a tender way to support those walking this road, providing an arena for these women to be heard and understood. Jackie prays that God continues to use her presence and listening ear to bring hope to the weary and broken-hearted.
RAMONA MORTIER
Steering Committee
Ramona Mortier serves on the Kairos Eight25 Steering Committee. She has a passion for helping families build strong, healthy relationships. She feels particularly called to help community women who struggle with various aspects of reproductive loss. She brings much experience along as a retired homeschool teacher who has spent over 30 years working with families, churches and organizations as a leader and consultant.
Ramona has a B.A. in Music/Christian Education from George Fox University. She and her husband Mark have lived in Oregon, Germany and Alaska before settling in Virginia. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, playing with her grandchildren, walking in Colonial Williamsburg, sewing, creating photo albums and traveling.
Kairos Eight 25 – What it IS and what it IS NOT:
IS
Kairos Eight25 IS a group of women who provide support and caregiving to other women who are grieving. The purpose is to be respectful, prayerful and present in the journeys of women through infertility, pregnancy loss, and infant loss. Kairos Eight25 is a practical means for the offering of mercy and hope to women who have suffered or are suffering with the deep losses felt when the dream of motherhood is being dashed in one way or another.
While Kairos Eight25 is a ministry of Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, it is designed to reach beyond our doors to women in the community as a beacon of grace and a way to provide a safe place to share important stories while hard questions are being asked either silently or out loud. Our mission is to communicate love and presence to hurting women.
At each support group meeting, we will offer free resources on our resource table that women can pick up when and if they want. This includes a list of online resources and books, as well as physical books available for pickup at meetings., either devotionally or specifically, to give a biblical perspective on suffering and loss.
IS NOT
Although it is a faith-based church ministry, Kairos Eight25 IS NOT a means for persuading women denominationally, politically, or ideologically. We will purposely not judge or influence women’s choices of treatments, methods, programs, physicians, clinics, or hospitals. This includes burial or funeral planning. We will not use personal opinions nor maintain a position to influence any personal healthcare or procedural decisions. Additionally, we will not offer any solutions, wives tales, or false promises, but only the hope found in Jesus Christ and the reality of His presence with us in the seasons and valleys of grief.
