Youth4Life

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Have you wondered what it might be like to be a birth doula? Do you have questions about midwives versus OBGYNs? What does it look like to be in a vocation that upholds life at birth? We'll explore all of these questions and more in this special edition of the Youth4Life Podcast! April Ann Wofford, a birth doula, joins us at the table this week to talk all things midwives, doulas, and more.

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Chad Bird joins us on the podcast this week to talk about when families face loss. He tells us about his son Luke, who died unexpectedly as a young adult, and the changes it brought about for his family. Chad will tell us about the ways that he finds strength in the midst of grief and how we can comfort and support those who are experiencing the loss of a family member.

Chad Bird is a Scholar in Residence at 1517. He has served as a pastor, professor, and guest lecturer in Old Testament and Hebrew. He holds master’s degrees from Concordia Theological Seminary and Hebrew Union College. He has contributed articles to Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, Modern Reformation, The Federalist, Lutheran Forum, and other journals and websites. He is also the author of several books, including The Christ Key & Limping with God. Learn more about 1517.

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This week, we head back to the table to discuss stories in the news, except this time, we're joined by two of our Y4Life college leaders! Emma and Anna join us this week as we discuss abortion laws, IVF, and the modern U.S. family.

Emma is a student at Concordia University Nebraska and is active with the Bulldogs 4 Life Y4Life chapter on campus.

Anna is a student at Concordia University Wisconsin and is active with the Students For Life group on campus.

Emma's news story: Right to Life sues to block Michigan abortion rights law

Anna's news story: First IVF baby born in the UK with DNA from three parents in major trial to avoid defective genes

Cori's news story: Almost 90 % of Americans think families should have multiple children, but it's increasingly expensive to raise a child

Michelle's news story: Beautifully moving song about brother with Down syndrome

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What does a family look like at its beginning? What does a couple do to prepare for the gift of a newborn? What are the gifts and joys a new baby brings? What are the difficult realities?  Emilyann Wert, deaconess and teacher in Grand Rapids, Michigan, joins us to help answer these questions.

Emilyann Wert teaches 1st and 2nd grade at Our Savior Lutheran School and also serves as Deaconess at Our Savior Lutheran Church. She graduated with her BA in Liberal Arts and Culture from New Saint Andrews College in Moscow, Idaho and graduated in May of 2021 from Concordia Theological Seminary with her MA in Deaconess Studies. Emilyann is passionate about instilling a love of learning into her students, and introducing them to the wonderful world of great books. She lives in Grand Rapids with her husband, Jake, and daughter, Ella. She enjoys reading (everything), exploring farmers markets and thrift stores, and the Pacific Ocean when she can get there. She is thankful for the opportunity to teach the students God has entrusted to her care, and excited to learn and grow alongside them in the knowledge and love of their Creator! (Emilyann's bio is from the Our Savior Lutheran School website.)

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We often think about the right that all children have- the right to life. But what about a child's right to his or her biological parents- both mother and father? Katy Faust, author of Them Before Us, joins us this week to discuss the life issues that surround children, marriage, and families.

Katy Faust is the Founder and President of Them Before Us, a global movement defending children’s right to their mother and father. She publishes, speaks, and testifies widely on why marriage and family are matters of justice for children. Her articles have appeared in Newsweek, USA Today, The Federalist, Public Discourse, WORLD Magazine, The Daily Signal, the Washington Examiner, the American Mind, and the American Conservative. She is on the advisory board for the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship. Katy helped design the teen edition of CanaVox which studies sex, marriage and relationships from a natural law perspective. She detailed her philosophy of worldview transmission in her book, Raising Conservative Kids in a Woke City. She and her pastor husband are raising their four children in Seattle.

Find Katy's book Them Before Us: Why We Need a Global Children's Rights Movement here.

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Have you ever been involved with your local pregnancy resource center? Would you like to be involved with your local center? Join us as we talk with Katie Willman, pregnancy resource center director in Indianapolis. She'll teach us about the gift of pregnancy resource centers and how they serve moms, dads, and babies, especially in our Post-Roe world. ⁠

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Have you ever thought about participating in foster care? Rev. Robert Franck, pastor at Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Duluth, Minnesota, joins us to teach about the importance of foster care in our society today. He gives us a variety of ways that we can serve foster children, whether it is becoming a foster parent, supporting foster parents and children in your communities, or praying for foster families. 

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Pastor Dennis Di Mauro joins the podcast to teach us about how life has been viewed by the church for the past 2000 years. He will use his book “A Love for Life: Christianity’s Consistent Protection of the Unborn” to guide us through the timeline of how society has viewed abortion and how the church fathers responded.

Find Pastor Di Mauro's book here.

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How can we prepare for dating and marriage in a society that doesn’t prioritize either? Pastor Jonathan and Christa Petzold, co-authors of “Male & Female: Embracing Your Role in God’s Design” join the Y4Life Team this week to help answer that question. The group will discuss the societal views of men and women, sex, and love, then contrast that with what God has to say about those things. The group will also give tips for how young men and women can prepare to be life affirming spouses when the time comes.

Read the Petzold's book "Male & Female: Embracing Your Role in God's Design"

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What is sidewalk counseling and how can we as for-life Christians get involved? Rachelle Highley, Chief of Staff with Coalition Life, and Pam Nielsen, Director of Community Engagement with Coalition Life, join the Y4Life Team this week to answer that question. Rachelle and Pam will help us navigate sidewalk counseling, how to engage with the women who are seeking abortions, and how we can support sidewalk counselors. They will also give guidance as to how you can get training to become a counselor yourself!

Learn more about Coalition Life and training to be a sidewalk counselor.

Support the show

Discover your Gospel-motivated voice 4 Life at Y4Life.org.