MAGGIE PAWSEY
STAFF WRITER
Franciscan University club Students for Life extended an open invitation for more students to become involved in its two new outreach programs, promoted at its information meetings on Jan. 22 in the Gentile Gallery.
President of SFL Cassidy Roderick and Vice President Thomas Mosier led the meetings, one at 11 a.m. and one at 9 p.m. Life Values Outreach participants will learn to give talks to middle and high school students on issues regarding life. The goal is for Franciscan students to speak at schools they attended or to Catholic schools in their home diocese. The program has the potential to impact 20,000 to 40,000 people a year, said Mosier.
Roderick explained that the new ministries will focus on human dignity as the root of all pro-life issues. “When people misunderstand the worth of the human person,” Roderick said, “that’s when we get all these other horrible issues. … When you’re trying to cure a disease, it’s more than just putting on a band-aid. It’s about addressing the issue at its cause.”
Students will work on public speaking and creating content for their speeches in meetings and small groups and through online videos from the Catechetical Institute. This semester the group will develop speeches dealing with human dignity and relationships, which
will be presented to youth in the students’ communities.
The second ministry, Core Values Outreach, will teach volunteers to speak with other college students about the sanctity of life. Students will learn the structure of pro-life apologetics and “how to talk to people about a controversial topic in a well-formed, structured way,” said Roderick. She explained that students can apply the same thought process to other moral issues. The group will talk with students at the University of Pittsburgh, this semester focusing on euthanasia.
Senior Dana Lannin said she liked the ideas of both ministries. “They would definitely be stepping out of my comfort zone a lot, and really putting myself out there, but if that’s the way the Lord’s calling me to minister… why not be bold for Him?”
Core Values will meet every Monday night at 9 p.m. in the International lounge, and Life Values will meet at 9 p.m. on Tuesdays in the International Lounge. Anyone interested can also check out their new website, valuesoutreach.com.