OCLife Parishioners in the Archdiocese:   On Becoming Equipped as ‘Ambassadors for Life’

On Thursday, September 19, thirty-five members of St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Allison Park and twenty-two members of St. John the Baptist Church in Canonsburg attended the annual Fall Fundraiser Banquet for Network of Life. Our two parishes, which both have Orthodox Christians for Life (OCLife) parish ministries, sponsored a total of five tables at the event. The mission of Network of Life, which comprises three pregnancy centers in the Pittsburgh area (Oakland, North Side, Monroeville) is to empower those most vulnerable to abortion to choose life. Their vision is to create a culture of life in Pittsburgh by:

• Defending unborn children
• Meeting the needs of those at risk and unprepared for pregnancy
• Healing those traumatized by abortion
• Inviting our communities to embrace a Biblical view of sexualty

The guest speaker at the banquet was Dr. Marc Newman, President of Speaker for Life, a training firm dedicated to equipping church leaders, clergy, and advocates to defend their Christian faith and the unborn. He articulated ways in which we can become ‘ambassadors for life’ through prayer, support and service to our local pregnancy centers, and being knowledgeable about how to help those who are vulnerable to abortion. We left the event with many ideas about how to be more supportive to our communities as ambassadors of life.

For the first time, we had a group of 8 college students (primarily from LaRoche University) who attended this event as members of the Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF). They are excited about serving as Orthodox ambassadors of life on the college campus. Let’s pray that God will guide them in this effort!