Dear Friend of JFA,
I was amazed. During a webinar that Paul Kulas, JFA’s Director of Operations, had planned for a family of supporters in mid-April, he led us through interactive teaching related to the topics of poverty and rape. To finish the webinar, JFA intern Mary St. Hilaire shared a story of a recent campus conversation with “Liz.” The two topics Liz had been most concerned about were also poverty and rape. The story fit perfectly with what Paul had selected even though we hadn’t planned it that way. Read Mary’s story, ”A New View of Abortion…and Pro-Life Advocates,” below.
During COVID-19, our team has been hard at work creating conversations using social media and other means. In just a few weeks, we’ve discovered and tested some methods we think anyone can use to create a conversation. We’ll report soon on our blog and in a future letter.
Our team has also conducted a three-hour online workshop, and we were excited to find a way to include interactive activities using Zoom breakout rooms. We have similar online events scheduled each week in the near future, including a series of shorter sessions for those who can’t attend longer sessions. To participate, keep an eye on the social media channels below.
Our team was encouraged this past week by Henri Nouwen’s essay, “From Solitude to Community to Ministry.” You can find it online at Christianity Today and in Nouwen’s short book, A Spirituality of Living. In the solitude you may be experiencing during COVID-19, we hope that you can pause and know more clearly how Christ has called you “Beloved.” We pray you might then find unique ways to share that same love with others in this challenging time. (See I John 4:7-14.) We continue to pray for you, beloved friends. Thank you for partnering with us in prayer and financial gifts, as God gives you ability.
Steve Wagner, Executive Director
UT Dallas Outreach Team (March 9-11, 2020) Missing: Kaitlyn Donihue (on plane back to MI for speaking event) and Paul Kulas (taking picture)
Impact Report, April 2020
A Note from JFA’s Executive Director: Mary St. Hilaire had been an intern with JFA for less than a week when we sent her to four different cities from February 7 until March 12. She helped JFA accomplish eleven days of outreach at five universities and also learned to present a portion of JFA’s training seminar. Since COVID-19 has caused us to postpone in-person events for now, we’re thankful for Mary’s help in doing more with social media, including starting conversations with people online. - Steve Wagner, JFA Executive Director
In the first outreach conversation of her internship, Mary (above, right) interacts with a University of North Texas student who skipped his class to talk about abortion.
One of my favorite conversations this semester was with a girl I’ll call “Liz,” a student at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. From the beginning I could tell that Liz was very hesitant to engage us in any way. When I asked if she wanted to weigh in on our poll (“Is Abortion an Injustice?”), she seemed almost nervous to do so, but eventually got up the courage and signed the “No” side. I then asked if she had time to share her thoughts with me, to which she timidly replied, “Yeah... I do have time actually.”
At University of Texas at Dallas in March, Mary talked with the group of students pictured here. As we traveled home from Dallas, we began to see cancellations of public gatherings nationwide.
I followed up by asking her what she thought about abortion. Right off the bat, I recognized the love and compassion that Liz has for women, for she responded, “Well, I don’t really like abortion, but I understand that it’s necessary for some women if they are raped or if they’re too poor to take care of a child.”
This was the perfect opportunity, early in the conversation, to set Liz at ease and help her know that I cared about her view and about these circumstances. I responded by saying, “I agree that rape is a terrible experience for any woman to have and I can’t imagine going through that. And poverty is something I’ve never had to experience, but my heart really goes out to anyone living in poverty, especially single mothers. Both of those situations are really sad to think about.”
Almost immediately after saying this, there was a change in Liz’s disposition. I saw a transformation in her face and could tell that my response was not at all what she was expecting to hear. In fact, not only did she become more willing to discuss the topic of abortion with me, but she also began to open up about very personal struggles in her own life. She said that both she and her boyfriend have problems with their mental health. They plan on getting married, and they would love to have children, but they feel trapped because they don’t want their kids to have the same mental challenges they have.
I could tell how distressing this was to Liz, and I was able to really empathize with her. “Wow,” I said. “That is such a difficult situation. I want to have children someday, too, so I can understand how hard this must be for you because obviously we want the best for our children and would never want them to experience the same hardships we have experienced. I’m sorry you have to go through this. Is your family supportive of you and your boyfriend?” “Yes, luckily they are very supportive and loving,” she answered. “I’m so glad to hear that,” I replied. “It’s so important to have people in your life that you can lean on to help you through the hard times.”
The way that Liz opened up to me and the way in which I was able to empathize with her created a strong connection between us. In fact, most of our conversation was spent just getting to know one another. We talked about our shared Christian faith, joked and laughed over stories from our past, and talked about our families and backgrounds. We didn’t actually discuss the topic of abortion in depth until a friendship had begun to develop. Because of our connection, when I did ask her about abortion again, she was very open and willing to discuss it with me.
“So, do you think the unborn is biologically human?” I asked. “I’m not sure,” she replied. “That’s okay!” I said. “Would you be open to hearing what I think?”
“Absolutely!” she eagerly responded. I then walked her through evidence that the unborn is biologically human. For example, the unborn exhibits the three characteristics of living things, it has human parents and human DNA, and it is a whole organism that is developing itself. Liz said that those reasons made sense, and she was willing to agree that the unborn is biologically human.
I then tried to help her see why all human beings deserve the right to life by asking her a few questions: “Look around at everyone on campus. We’re all different, right? Different religions, races, ages, and genders. But could you agree that everyone on campus deserves to be treated equally at least in the sense of the basic right to life?” She nodded. “Of course.”
I continued, “So then there must be something the same about us that gives us the right to demand this equal treatment. What do you think is the same about us?” Liz paused and thought for a moment. “That’s a good question. I don’t know. What do you think?” she finally asked.
“Well, I think it’s simply that we are all human beings!” I could see that this answer really resonated with Liz. “Yes, that makes sense,” she quickly replied. I continued: “So if the unborn is also human then shouldn’t he also deserve the right to life?”
The look on Liz’s face told me that she completely understood this argument and was really grappling with it. After a moment, she answered, “I guess abortion is an injustice. But I do understand why some women need to get abortions.” This response impressed me because of Liz’s willingness to admit that she had changed her view of abortion as not being an injustice. I wasn’t at all surprised that she held onto the belief that it is still necessary for some women, despite it being wrong. I know that she was simply trying to process through everything we had discussed. A total change of heart may come later when she has had more time to dwell on this complex topic.
With all that being said, my conversation with Liz is one of my favorites not because of her altered view of abortion but because of what she said in parting after we had talked for about an hour. She looked at me earnestly and said, “Thank you! You have changed my perspective of pro-lifers and the pro-life movement.” Those are the most precious words I have heard in any of my conversations.
One of our main goals as staff at Justice For All, and as pro-life advocates in general, is to have dialogues that convey Christ’s message of love, forgiveness, and understanding. Liz’s parting words confirmed that I had fulfilled that message in our conversation. Whether or not she completely changes her mind on the issue of abortion, I know that I had a great impact on her because she has a new view of pro-life advocates as people of acceptance, love, and openness. This, in and of itself, opens so many doors for more productive conversations in the future. She will now be much more willing to listen to and understand the pro-life position without the interference of a negative association with pro-life people.
So often, pro-choice people don’t want to engage us simply because they think we don’t care about their views. Let us change that stigma by our examples of Christ-like love, unconditional and immeasurable, in every interaction we have with people with whom we disagree. Let us truly live out Jesus’ command to us: “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13:34)
February 8-12: Seminar and Outreach Events in Denton, Texas (University of North Texas)
February 17-19: Seminar and Outreach Events in Albuquerque, NM (University of New Mexico)
February 23-27: Seminar and Outreach Events in San Antonio, Texas (Trinity University and UT San Antonio)
March 7-11: Seminar and Outreach Events in Dallas, Texas (UT Dallas)
March 11: Presentation at Retreat for Council of Catholic Women - Kaitlyn Donihue
Because JFA has canceled all in-person events for the time being, we are offering JFA webinar events in various formats! Click here to register for an upcoming online event, or book a JFA webinar.
April 25: “Taking Abortion from Debate to Dialogue” Online Workshop
April 30: “Love 3: A New Roadmap for Conversations about Abortion” Webinar, 6:00-7:30 p.m. (Central Time) - Live on JFA’s Facebook Page
May 7: “Love 3: A New Roadmap for Conversations about Abortion” Webinar, 10:00 a.m.-11:30 p.m. (Central Time) - Live on JFA’s Facebook Page
To attend one of our upcoming webinar events, go to the JFA Calendar Page to get more information and register. We are also regularly adding new online events to the calendar, so watch for those.
It seems like the only thing anyone is talking about these days is COVID-19. It has dramatically changed our lives, canceled our plans, and turned our world upside down. What are we, as Christians, to do?
Trinity University, February 24 and 25, 2020
We are commanded throughout Scripture to go and make disciples of all nations, to proclaim the truth, to be salt and light to a lost and broken world. The Bible doesn’t list any exceptions. Nowhere does it say to make disciples unless there is a deadly pandemic sweeping the land.
The commands of Scripture still apply to us today. Our calling as Christians has not changed. So what can we do?
We have to get creative. Many of the normal routes for evangelism and discipleship are not available at the moment, so we must seek out other routes!
University of Texas at Dallas, March 9 and 10, 2020: I am so thankful for the training and outreach events we were able to do before COVID-19 hit and forced us to change our plans.
I strongly dislike social media. Other people get great enjoyment out of it, and that is wonderful. But I would much rather have a conversation with someone face to face or at least over the phone. When our team decided to work together to leverage the internet to create conversations, I began to think through how I could contribute. Despite my dislike of social media, I started an Instagram account (@kaitlyndonihue). Why? Well, this is my creative route for trying to share the truth with others.
I have been following pro-life pages and reading the comments on their posts. Many pro-choice people comment. After reading a comment, I private message the commenter and say something like, “Hey, I saw your comment on Justice For All’s post about abortion, and I would love to hear more of your thoughts.”
Over the past three weeks, I have had some amazing conversations about abortion, worldviews, and the gospel this way.
I have been talking with one young lady who struggles to believe in God because she has been hurt and abused by a lot of people throughout her life.
Another young woman shared with me that she believes that animals and human beings are equal in value. When I asked where value comes from and whether she thinks there is a God who gives value, she shared that she doesn’t believe in God because she has been deeply hurt by some very hypocritical Christians.
Another young lady has been sharing with me her view on the issue of a woman’s bodily rights related to abortion.
I have been amazed at how open and honest these young women have been with me. They are hurting deeply and are excited just to have someone listen to them.
I said earlier that this is not my preference for outreach. I would much prefer to be on a university campus having face-to-face conversations. Yet I cannot deny that I am seeing God use this. And yes, even I am enjoying talking with these women over Instagram.
How about you? During this season, have you found any creative ways to talk about abortion, worldviews, and the gospel with those who disagree or to disciple other Christians? I would love to hear about them!
I am excited to see what God will do in and through this time to draw people to Himself. May we be faithful and creative messengers of truth.
I recently came across this short, intriguing story from John Ensor at PassionLife: “Lunch with an Abortion Doctor.” It raises some interesting questions that could be useful for conversations between pro-choice and pro-life friends (see below). Here’s the story:
Photo by Igor Starkov on Unsplash
(Click on the image above to read “Lunch with an Abortion Doctor” by John Ensor.)
In Oradea, Romania, Mihaela and Gabby Visan run a pregnancy help center inside a women’s hospital.
Their effectiveness is severely limited by one fact: women must pay for their abortion before they can talk to anyone, committing them to abortion, even if they arrive ambivalent. So the counseling service is effectively cut out of the patient flow.
To address this, we had lunch with the main abortion doctor at the hospital. His girlfriend also joined us.
He sat down and started talking…
What should informed consent look like for those considering abortion?
Do you think it’s a good thing for pregnant mothers to see accurate imagery of the unborn (e.g. an ultrasound, in-utero footage such as content available at EHD.org, or imagery of the unborn after abortion) before making an abortion decision? Why or why not?
Join us today for “Taking Abortion from Debate to Dialogue,” a JFA Online Workshop with Interactive Activities. Here’s the workshop info:
Rebecca Hotovy talks with a student at a JFA outreach event at Arizona State University.
2:00 - 5:00 PM (Central Time)
Register here for webinar materials and login information. - If you are registering more than one person in your household, please just register once and add the names of all participants in the Comments area.
Presenters: Steve Wagner, Susanna Dirks, Jon Wagner, Mary St. Hilaire
Click here for more information about the “Taking Abortion from Debate to Dialogue” Online Workshop.
See more about the entire JFA team, including our interns, at the Our Team page. Read bios, see recent outreach pictures, and learn more from newsletters.
JFA Intern Rebekah Dyer recently posted “A Woman’s Response to ‘Men Can’t Talk about Abortion’” at the Merely Human Ministries Blog. Check it out, and let us know what you think in the comments or on Instagram.
A quote on our Instagram page paired with two cups of coffee: “Now let’s turn to feminism. If I claim that I deserve equal rights as a woman because I am equally human to men, but then I turn around and say that I also deserve the right to end the life of someone else who is equally human to me through abortion, then I would be betraying the foundation of my feminist beliefs. So it actually makes more sense to be a pro-life feminist than it does to be a pro-choice one!” -Grace Fontenot
See the story behind this quote at “A Living Room Conversation” by former JFA staff member Grace Fontenot Read it and share your thoughts in the comments below or on our Instagram page.
Dear Friend of JFA,
We thank God for you and are praying for you through this challenging time. Here’s an update on what’s happening with JFA in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic:
Mariana interacts with a student at JFA’s first-ever day of outreach at UT Dallas in early March 2020. See more pictures from this and four other recent events at our Calendar page.
““I think that every pro lifer (and anyone who is interested or on the edge about the topic of abortion) should attend a JFA seminar. They are excellent at preparing anyone for intentional conversations.”
”
We’re thanking God for the five outreach events we were able to complete in the past two months before the COVID-19 outbreak hit the US. Six mission trip participants joined our entire team as we ministered for three days at University of Texas at Dallas, and smaller teams ministered at University of North Texas, University of New Mexico, Trinity University, and University of Texas at San Antonio! See our Calendar page and social media channels for pictures.
We’re just as passionate as ever about creating productive conversations about unintended pregnancy and abortion. COVID-19 has forced us to postpone five upcoming planned outreach trips to Denver (CO), Durango (CO), Lawrence (KS), Wichita (KS), and San Diego (CA).
We’re saddened by this turn of events, but we also see this as a unique opportunity to work on an outreach project we’ve had in mind for years but to which we have not been able to give sustained attention. I’m referring to the challenge we give to audiences in virtually every presentation: “You can take what you’ve learned from us and create a conversation about abortion with someone you know.” So, every member of our training team is tackling this project while we’re forced by COVID-19 to limit our contact with people in person. We’re using social media, email, apps on our smart phones, and good old-fashioned telephone calls to engage as many people as we can in conversations one to one. Pray that we’ll learn valuable insights we can share with the people we train throughout the rest of the year. We’ll say more about this in future updates, but for now, feel free to join us by praying for one person you think may disagree with you about abortion. If you then start a conversation, let us know how it goes!
In addition, we’re experimenting with training formats which until now we haven’t needed to master: video conferencing and webinars. Susanna Dirks and I presented a webinar on March 21, and about 15 people attended. We were pleased that the participants found the event helpful. We plan to schedule more of these and will post the details at JFA’s Calendar page so you can participate. For those of you who have been waiting for JFA to come to your town for awhile, let’s talk about planning a webinar that would work for your schedule and ours! We’re excited to be able to help more people connect in this time when many are feeling extremely isolated and alone.
A JFA supporter recently asked, essentially, "Should I send my support check to a different address because of COVID-19?" We appreciated her concern for us and for making sure her gift made it to JFA, and we assured her she can definitely send her gift to the JFA office (113 N. Martinson St., Wichita, KS, 67203) with confidence that it will be received and processed. We so appreciate each of you who is continuing to give or making a new gift to JFA as you are able. (You can also give a gift online.) We understand this is a difficult time for many, and we are trusting God to sustain you and to sustain JFA.
Our team is focusing on trusting God through this time, and we are praying for you. We are praying for a strong immunity from this virus and that the virus would not affect your health. We are also praying for your work and your family and for a renewed sense of the peace that comes from the confidence that God is with you in Christ. This is our prayer for you, that in this time you will experience in a vivid way God’s presence with you. Thank you for praying for us as we continue our work training Christians to change hearts and save lives.
Warmly,
Executive Director
Watch these contrasting closing statements in a recent debate in Mexico, first from Mara Clarke (1:55:00) followed by Stephanie Gray (1:55:38). What do you think of the statements? With which one do you identify more?
Rebekah Dyer, the newest staff member on the JFA Team, interacts with a University of Oklahoma student at the JFA Free Speech Board in early November. You can read one of her favorite conversation stories from this year here in JFA’s recent Impact Report.
Please pray for JFA as our team members prepare for upcoming events in Texas, New Mexico, and Kansas in the coming weeks. Pray for each person we will train and each person with whom we will converse at outreach, that God will help each to actively love every human being involved in unintended pregnancy.
Jan. 26 (Albion, MI): Interactive Workshop — First Baptist Church
Feb. 8 (Decatur, TX): Interactive Seminar — Father’s House Church
Feb. 9 (Denton, TX): Interactive Seminar — Redeemer Denton Church
Feb. 10-13 (Denton, TX): Staff Training Day and Outreach Events in North Texas
Feb. 17 (Albuquerque, NM): Interactive Workshop — University of New Mexico (UNM)
Feb. 23 (San Antonio, TX): Interactive Seminar — Trinity University (Private Event)
Feb. 24-25 (San Antonio, TX): University Outreach — Trinity University
Feb. 26-27 (San Antonio, TX): University Outreach — University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA)
Mar. 3 (Wichita, KS): Presentation — St. Patrick Catholic Church
Mar. 7 (Richardson, TX): Interactive Seminar — University of Texas at Dallas
Mar. 8 (Denton, TX): Interactive Seminar — Location TBD
We invite you to share our post referencing Stephanie Gray’s comment about belly buttons in her recent debate and in her piece, “The Greatest Love.”
Ask a friend to set aside the question of legality of abortion for a moment and engage a different set of questions: “Were we intended for abortion?” and “Or were we intended to give of ourselves and experience what it means to love?” and “Could all of us find common ground in the fact that our mothers engaged in a self-giving act of love when they gave birth to us, and could this be a light for us when we contemplate what we should do with unintended pregnancy and abortion?”
