By Angela Philpott
This Saturday I got to experience an evening of “pro-life leisure” through the Music of Life Summer Ball, a concept I had rarely considered before.
Following a busy day of activism, including outreach at two overpasses in Carmel and Indianapolis, the musicians and other sponsors of the ball met for some pre-ball sustenance. During this boisterous meet up, we exchanged stories from the front lines of pro-life activism in different states and how we got involved in pro-life advocacy.
We then arrived at the venue and set up our information table, complete with our pro-life volunteer quiz, pro-life swag, a photo-collage of the coolest people out there (a.k.a. our volunteers in the wild), and yellow paper roses.
The music for the ball was provided by Musica Vitae, a group of talented musicians whose mission is to play for pro-life events and promote pro-life leisure.
In her eloquent opening speech, Musica Vitae’s director, Catherine Woods encouraged us to be pro-life in all aspects of our lives: labor and leisure. She exhorted us to look for ways to incorporate our mission into our relaxation as well as our activism.
For her, this looks like bringing joy and beauty to pro-life events through her music. For us that meant melding dancing with the pro-life mission.
The dancing was made possible by One Dance at a Time, a family run endeavor, which seeks to renew the culture through hosting classy and modest dances. Their instructors taught us the basics of swing-dancing, foxtrot, contra, and waltzing. We danced the night away and 120 young adults had a wonderful time on their first night of intentional pro-life leisure.
Following the event, we had fun finding out with attendees what facet of activism they would be best at through our pro-life volunteer quiz (take the quiz today!) and passing out information about our August abortion clinic mission trip. One attendee, surprised by her quiz result, sidewalk counselor, said, “That surprises me, because it would take me out of my comfort zone”.
This is a common reaction to pro-life work if you are new to the movement, but after taking the step to get involved and accomplishing your first assignment in whatever aspect of outreach, the fear quickly goes away as the necessity of the mission and the thrill in changing hearts and saving lives overshadows apprehension. We received high interest and were able to introduce many Indianapolis young adults to our mission and opportunities.
This week I invite you to think about some way to incorporate pro-life leisure into your life or bring it to others, especially if activism intimidates you.
Lastly, if you need a final push to exit your comfort zone, sign up for our upcoming mission trip (Aug. 7th for Indianapolis, Aug. 8th for South Bend).
While we are so grateful for your presence alone, you also will have the opportunity to shadow a sidewalk counselor and learn how to rescue babies in a state where they are utterly dehumanized.
To learn more as always check out our socials (@voicesforlifeofficial), website, or email melanie@voicesforlife.com for more information!
Catch you on the flip-flop! -Angela Philpott
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