Taylor University welcomes Taylor for Life, a pro-life club, to campus. With a dual focus on education and outreach, Taylor for Life will equip members to serve vulnerable women and children within their communities, Alaina Ventry, one of the founders, said.
The club hosted its kickoff meeting Sept. 25 and will continue to meet once a month at 7 p.m. on Thursdays. The next meeting will take place on Oct. 23.
Ventry, a junior double-majoring in biblical literature and psychology, met her cofounder, Lauren Sly, at a Christian Ministry retreat. They were discussing abortion and their involvement with pro-life organizations when Sly mentioned that there was no pro-life club on Taylor’s campus.
After talking it over, Sly and Ventry decided to start the club themselves, approaching Sisson with their idea.
“They shared with me their heart for wanting to support women and infants in the community and preborn babies as well,” Sisson said. “And (they) thought we would be a good fit with OVC, because…a lot of what we do is protecting the vulnerable and reaching out.”
After submitting the paperwork in the spring semester, the club received approval this summer, Ventry said.
Club members will learn about various aspects of abortion, including types of abortion procedures and milestones in fetal development, Ventry explained. She also hopes to teach students how to advocate for babies within the womb in a Christlike manner.
“Our main goal of this club…really is…to love and support and care for people in crisis situations,” Ventry said. “And so just teaching [students] how to approach that issue lovingly and understand the whole scope of it too, because there's so many different aspects to it.”
Taylor for Life welcomes all students interested in the topic of abortion, whether or not they are staunchly pro-life, Ventry said. The organization seeks to come alongside students with biblical truth as they explore this issue.
Taylor for Life will also offer multiple opportunities for outreach, such as volunteering at nearby crisis pregnancy centers, fundraising for needy families in the community and completing service projects. By partnering with local organizations, like the educational parenting program GROW: Thriving Grant County, as well as with local pastors, Ventry hopes to forge community connections.
The club seeks to open students’ eyes to local needs, Carol Sisson, the director of orphans and vulnerable children and the club’s faculty supporter, explained. Students do not have to wait to serve. They can start promoting pro-life values right where they are in Grant County, Sisson said.
Taylor for Life will also put on campus-wide events, Ventry said. She hopes to host monthly prayer meetings in the Meredith Prayer Chapel and plan periodic speaking engagements featuring professors or outside speakers. Having a movie night to screen the film Unplanned is also a possibility, she said.
Since it is unaffiliated with a national organization or movement, the club will mostly focus on the issue within the context of the local community, Sisson explained.
“We will obviously learn about things that are on the national and international spectrum, but we are focused on, ‘How do we here (and) now step into this space?’” Sisson said.
Craig Long, professor of Biblical studies, underscored the Christian responsibility of caring for God’s image-bearers, including those inside the womb. He hopes Taylor for Life educates students about the value of human life in every season and embodiment while reminding them to approach conversations about this topic with gentleness.
Ventry also emphasized the need for Christians to value life.
“Life as a whole is a God-given gift,” she said. “And so not only are we to value life in the sense of not ending it, but we're supposed to value it by using it to honor the Lord.”
For more information about Taylor for Life, Ventry encouraged students to reach out by sending her an email at alaina_ventry@taylor.edu and to follow the club on Instagram through @tu_for_life.
