Kemper Inspires Members at Annual Meeting
Bryan Kemper's trip to Sidney for the annual Right to Life membership meeting was one of his shorter journeys.
The Troy resident travels around the world promoting a Christ-centered pro-life message to youth. He has shared his message in Ireland, Australia, France, and many other countries. He's been featured on MTV and in the New York Times. Friday, April 8, he was at the American Legion Hall in Sidney to keynote the Right to Life meeting.
Kemper detailed a childhood of hardship, filled with family break-up and abuse. He became addicted to drugs and other destructive practices, at one point attempting suicide. A hospital stay after a drug overdose was the occasion for a dramatic change. Within the space of two days both a doctor and a rescue worker told him, "You have value. God loves you." He gave his life to Christ and started to treat both himself and others with respect.
Now he travels the world trying to persuade others of the value of the people he sees as most in need of the same kind of respect: unborn children. Drawing analogies to slavery and to the Holocaust, Kemper recounted a visit to the Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz. Overwhelmed by the horror of what happened there, he looked outside the camp at a nearby house, wondering what he would have done to help if he had been a local resident. Then he realized, "that's my house." "That's your house," he said, pointing at the audience. "Every day 4000 babies die from abortion. What are you doing to stop it?"
Kemper reaches out to youth through his organization, Stand True Ministries.
Other speakers at the membership meeting included Connie McEldowney, who presented a speech for her daughter Chloe, the 2010 Shelby County Right to Life Oratory Contest champion. Kim Poeppelman shared information about the local youth group, Teens for Truth, whose mission is to "spread the truth about abortion." Dr. Courtney Slonkosky, an Ob/Gyn of WilsonCare, Inc., described her work with NaPro Technology, which provides "a consistently pro-life approach to women's health." Right to Life treasurer, Mike Monnier, presented a brief financial report.
Right to Life Meeting Highlights Members' Work (2010 Meeting)
The Alpha Center in Sidney was the scene of Shelby County Right to Life's Membership Meeting, Friday, March 12. The event, open to all members of RTL, featured presentations by local members and representatives of Ohio Right to Life, based in Columbus. Emcee Kevin Schmiesing, co-director of RTL, described the evening's purpose as as "recharging" attendees' "pro-life batteries."
Sidney teen and 2009 National Right to Life Oratory Contest champion, Elizabeth Trisler, opened the program with a presentation of her award-winning speech, followed by a summary of her experience as the national winner. An area nurse offered a moving testimony of her own experience of abortion, stressing that its negative effects are long-lasting.
Connie McEldowney of Russia recounted the true story behind her children's book, "Josiah's Journey," which follows the development of an unborn baby. Gillian Stechshulte and Elyse Putnam, outreach and media officers at Ohio Right to Life, updated the county group on state-level activities and explained the importance of membership in right to life organizations.
Board member Mary Schmiesing offered a brief history of Shelby County Right to Life. "It began as all great movements do," she quipped, "around a kitchen table." The program closed with a summary of the organization's accomplishments in 2009: 1800 visitors to RTL's downtown thrift shop; 25 individuals referred to the Sidney Women's Center; and 200 students and adults reached through educational programs.
Sidney resident John O'Neill was one member in attendance. "It was wonderful to see the right-to-life people of Shelby County come together to meet and to share their stories," he said. He said he was "amazed at the impact that people from Shelby County have had on a national level."