Archdiocesan students win pro-life art contest
By NADIA MARIA SMITH
CS&T Staff Writer
The Art for Life contest sponsored by the Pro-Life Union of Southeastern
Pa. is an innovative way to get young people involved in the pro-life
movement, according to Joyce McLane, the art teacher at St. Bernard School
in Philadelphia and a Pro-Life Union board member.
The contest aims to use art “as a vehicle and tool to spread the
powerful message of pro-life,” she said. “Art speaks volumes
and it can penetrate deeper feelings when students can express it without
words.”
All the Catholic schools in the Archdiocese were invited to submit the
original work of one student which conveyed the theme: Mother and Child.
There were two categories — one for 6th to 8th grade students
and another for 9th to 12th grade students. The first place winners got
cash prizes, and the second and third place winners received gift cards.
All entries were entered in a raffle for a free iPod.
For 13-year-old Andrew Parrish of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish
in Hilltown, the contest was a way to express his values. He sketched
a pregnant Madonna that won him second place in the junior high category.
Parrish belongs to the pro-life youth group of the National Shrine of
Our Lady of Czestochowa, which regularly prays outside of abortion clinics.
“We are the new generation and what happens over the next 30 or
40 years will be what we do, as the older generation retires,” Parrish
said. “I think people should really be educated on this issue ...
It really is terrible killing babies in the womb. We’ll see if we
can end this abortion problem once and for all.”
Beth Adams, a senior at Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Pendergast High
School was the first-place winner in the high school category.
She believes it’s important to stand up for life so that other young
people can see that their voices will count and be recognized.
Parrish and Adams were chosen by the Pro-Life Union board members and
announced as winners of the contest at their annual Stand Up for Life
dinner, during which the winning art work was on display for the 1,500
attendees.
“It’s good to encourage students to use the talents God has
given them to advocate for life,” said Edel Finnigan, the director
of the Pro-Life Union.
In preparation for the contest, McLane encouraged fellow teachers to focus
discussion on pro-life values across the curriculum. One way she did that
in her own school was by having a semester of her eighth grade religion
class dedicated to the sanctity of life, she said.
During that time, students learned about Marian apparitions and the role
of Mary as mother and defender of life. Students also learned about the
development of a child in utero, and had members of Generation Life —
an organization of young people that share the chastity and pro-life message
with their peers — speak to her class.
At the end of the semester, McLane had a prayer service for the preborn
babies each student had “adopted” at the beginning of the
semester. They also had a baby shower and collected items for the Pro-Life
Union to distribute to area crisis pregnancy centers. Parents were involved
with the program and helped throughout the semester, she said.
CS&T staff writer Nadia Maria Smith can be reached at npozo@adphila.org
or (215) 965-4614.
Art For Life Exhibit
Grades 6-8
1st Place:
Cathleen Donnelly
Grade 8
Maternity B.V.M. School
2nd Place:
Andrew Parrish
Grade 8
Home schooled
3rd Place:
Melonie Perez
Grade 8
Saint Gabriel School
Grades 9-12
1st Place:
Beth Adams
Grade 12
Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast High School
2nd Place:
Daniel Dickson
Grade 9
Franklin Town Charter High School
3rd Place:
Kathryn Buglak
Grade 9
Archbishop Ryan High School
iPod Winner
Colin Robinson
Grade 7
Mother of Divine Grace School