Chattanoogans for life held their 7th Annual United We Stand -- Respect Life Banquet at the Chattanoogan Hotel on Friday, April 23, 2010.
This year's guest speaker/entertainer, Jaime Thietten, sang and spoke with knowledge and passion for God's gift of life as we celebrated the Glory of Adoption. She was such a blessing and a reminder that every child is a wanted child with so many people like herself hoping to become parents through adoption. Her song and accompanying video for My Chance was a moving experience for all our guests as it focused on the pain of post abortion. Her next song, Open Door reminded us that God continues to give us opportunities to do his works. Emphasizing adoption as an alternative led to a very emotional evening. All our award presenters and emcee had adoption stories they shared. We presented the Nellie Gray Life Service Award to all adoptive parents at the banquet. They received a single red rose, the universal symbol for pro-life, and were given a blessing by Father Peter Iorio. The evening ended with Karen and Paul Schulz receiving the Brother Cajetan award for all their work with the March for Life. They have coordinated this for the past 8 years and have always made the trip easier for students, chaperons, priests and all attendees.
Chattanogans For Life is a group of all volunteers and would love to have you partner with us in one of our activities:Annual Prayer Chain for Life - 1 hr of silent prayer on Respect Life Sunday
(October 3, 2010)March for Life in Washington D.C. - On anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, join thousands at our Nation's Capital to support life as we peacefully march
(Jan. 22, 2011)Christmas Card Sale - Christ centered Christmas cards are sold at churches
(Sept.-Dec)Youth Speech Contest - High school students prepare a speech on God's "gift of life"
(Feb, 2011)Annual Awareness & Fund Raising Banquet –
Friday, date to be announcedWe are starting to form committees for next year's events and we need your help. Please call the Chattanoogans for Life Office (423-290-7314) to volunteer. Or
email us.
Congratulations to the following students who took part in the Pro Life Oratory Contest sponsored by Chattanoogans for Life on February 19 at Notre Dame High School.
1st place: Nathan Bird, St. Augustine.
2nd place: Matthew Kniedler, St. Jude.
3rd place: Elizabeth Tuggle, Shepherd of the Valley.
Each student gave a 5 to 7 minute presentation on abortion and how Roe vs. Wade could be overturned if person-hood is established by law. Prizes were awarded to all six students who took part in the contest.
Way to go, students!
Once again were blessed to take 100 students & chaperones from East Tennessee to the National March for Life at our Nation's Capital. We left Wednesday evening, drove through the night, slept on a gym floor and joined over 250,000 others that marched down Constitution Avenue to the steps of the Supreme Court where several women from Silent No More gave their testimonies. Then back to the train station and onto the bus for the night.
This peaceful March has been held for 37 years on the sad anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States through all nine months of pregnancy. Tens of millions of children have been killed as a result. The plaintiff in the case, however, has changed her mind. Norma McCorvey, the former Jane Roe of Roe vs. Wade, now opposes abortion and works for the reversal of this tragic decision. Her conversion gives us hope that as millions of Americans pray, march, and speak up this weekend for the unborn, the conscience of the nation will again be stirred, and the blessings of liberty, equality, and prosperity will be granted soon to the children living in their mothers wombs.
I liked the poster, "Thank you, moms, for my 4 adopted children".
I think it was cool how some people prayed the rosary as they were marching.
They brought new light on how awful abortion is.
I thought those signs on the side of the street showing babies in utero were cool!
It was a great trip, I learned so much and I look forward to next year!
Seeing all those people of different religions & different denominations gathered in one spot, marching and standing up for "one" cause is just amazing!
It really touched me when Steve Angrisano said that sometimes he is scared to talk out and live out this issue, but knows he needs to speak out for those that can't!
Mass was long, but it was amazing to see so many Priests, Bishops, Cardinals and religious that were there. Seeing them in all their vestments helped me feel connected to the bigger church.
It made me think when someone said that every baby aborted could have been someone's future spouse.
It was such a pleasure and a wonderful experience to take these pro-life students to the convention this year. NRL offers teen sessions simultaneously with the adult sessions. It is a wonderful opportunity for the students to meet other teens and share their pro-life experiences and learn new information about how they can be involved in the pro-life movement. We arrived during the middle of the second day, but there were plenty of workshops for the students to attend. On the drive home, we reviewed each of the sessions and what information they gathered and what they can do with it in their schools and communities. Following is a quick summary of each of the sessions.
SESSIONS ATTENDED
When They Say...You Say -- Olivia Gans and Mary Spaulding Balch, J.D.
This was the favorite session of the weekend. The students learned a lot about how to handle discussions with pro-abortion defenders. They learned certain terms to use, certain terms to avoid. The impact was doubled because one of the speakers was post-abortive.
Making Your Voice Heard: Youth Lobbying - Senator Michelle Fischbach, Lori Kehoe
Now It's Your Turn - Senator Michelle Fischbach, Olivia Gans, Mary Balch, J.D., Lori Kehoe
These two sessions fit together. In the first session, the students learned about how to lobby, how to find district representatives, etc. They learned that lobbying is trying to convince someone to agree on certain views. In the second session, the students were able to observe and participate in different lobbying scenarios.
Stem Cells and Scary Science -- David Prentice, Ph.D
This session reinforced the fact that adult stem cells do work and are proven to cure certain illnesses in humans, with many more successes on the horizon. Embryonic stem cells have never been proven to work and have only been tested on lab animals.
Can Organ Transplants be Pro-Life? -- Lori Kehoe
This was another favorite session for the students. However, this session presented a lot of information that troubled them. There was some conflicting information on whether or not to be an organ donor. We had a lengthy discussion on this topic on the way home. Overall, the students were confused because the speaker told them that if they are a slated organ donor, then the hospitals would not work as hard to keep them alive because they want to harvest the organs. We encouraged the students to talk with parents and trusted clergy. Also, for Catholics, it is important to research the teaching of the Church which in fact deems organ donation to be commendable and a gift of life to another.
Euthanasia - A Looming Evil -- Bobby Schindler, Brother Paul O'Donnell, Brian Johnston
The students were really impressed with the presentation given by Bobby Schindler, the brother of Terri Schiavo. They were able to see some video taken of Terri and how she expressed herself. She really was an active human being. They learned about how she was dehydrated and then starved, and how the attorneys were able to manipulate the husband to push for this to happen. This really made an impact on them. This is an important session since the students are mostly hearing about abortion. This is the other end of the spectrum for them to learn about.
Stopping the Abortion Agenda -- Rai Rojas
They enjoyed the speaker in this session. He taught the students about how to reach out to minorities to teach them the truth about abortion and how it is hurting them. He also went into detail about how Europe is killing itself with increased abortions. Another interesting fact that they learned and were impressed with is that babies have more dreams than adults.
Taking Your Place in the Fight for Life -- Dorothy Yeung, J.D., Patrick Yeung, M.D.
This session presented the students with great speakers and videos. They were given information on how they can use the media to their advantage in the fight for life. The students saw the commercial from CatholicVote.org beginning with an ultrasound leading up to Barak Obama. The video is powerful and was actually a rejected Super Bowl commercial.
In addition to the sessions, the students were able to meet Michael Clancy, Photographer, and Fr. Frank Pavone, Director of Priests for Life.
Michael Clancy is the man who photographed the in Utero surgery of a baby named Samuel who had spina bifida. During the surgery, Samuel grabbed the surgeon's finger and Mr. Clancy was able to capture it all on film within a matter of seconds. There was a lot of controversy surrounding this picture. The surgeon refused to acknowledge that the baby actually grabbed his finger. We are also hoping to have approval at both KCHS and NDHS to invite him to speak. He has already agreed to do so if it is approved.
The students were also able to meet and interact with Fr. Frank Pavone, Director of Priests for Life. Fr. Pavone was warm and welcoming to the students and enjoyed speaking with them. We were able to attend a special Mass with him in his suite on Saturday morning, as well as the Saturday vigil Mass before leaving to return to Knoxville.
On the ride home we discussed with the students how they can put the information they received into action. NDHS and KCHS definitely want to work on projects together. KCHS has a fairly large and active pro-life club (Irish Fightin' for Life), while NDHS could use some help. They are happy to work together to share ideas. They want to plan for NDHS students to come to Knoxville to participate in 40 Days for Life from September 23 November 1, 2009. They will also work to attend the pro-life banquets in Knoxville in the Fall and Chattanooga in the Spring. They all want to support Chattanoogans for Life during the Memorial for the Unborn ceremony in the Spring as well. The students would also like to get together to make YouTube videos to promote life and come up with ideas for fundraisers to support their missions.
Overall, the students had an amazing trip and a wonderful experience at the convention. They definitely recommend it in the future. It is a great way to promote new activities in the pro-life clubs in school and educate others about the sanctity of life. Thank you to all who support the youth and our future by encouraging them to get involved and take action!
Chattanoogans for Life had an educational booth at the J-Fest Christian music festival June 5 and 6 in Chattanooga.
