Looking for a meaningful way to volunteer this summer? Consider working a shift or two at Oregon Right to Life Education Foundation’s booth at your local county fair! Why? So you can:
• Better understand your own views. You understand your own beliefs best when you share them with others. Engaging in pro-life advocacy pushes you to think through the ins and outs of your beliefs. Why are you pro-life? Sharing your views with others helps you clarify those beliefs and share them.
• Engage with pro-choice people. At ORTLEF fair booths, informal polls about abortion law in Oregon provide conversational openings. Why did you vote that way? Do you think there should be any restrictions on abortion? Why or why not? Other tools, such as fetal models and the heartbeat phone, help us educate the public about the beginning of life and the humanity of the preborn.
• Practice pro-life apologetics. There’s only one way to get better at pro-life apologetics: practice! At fair booths, you can practice apologetics strategies, see how they work and gain confidence in talking about life issues. Need some apologetics training? Contact the ORTL office to get set up with a free Equipped for Life online course.
• Be encouraged. Spending time at a fair booth means spending time with fellow pro-life advocates. You support each other as you have conversations and practice apologetics. But that’s not all! As you speak with pro-choice people, you’ll be encouraged to see people reconsider or even fully change their minds about abortion. Sometimes, it’s an immediate change; other times, you’re sharing new information and asking them to think about it. Either way, it’s encouraging to see people consider the pro-life view.
