Mary Kate Metrvier, a sophomore at Immaculata High School in Leavenworth, cheers a speaker at the annual March for Life in Topeka. Many Catholic schools throughout the state sent students to the rally, held Jan. 22.

The March for Life, commemorating the 37th anniversary of the Roe V. Wade decision that legalized abortion, passes in front of the state capitol in Topeka on Jan. 22. Because the capitol is undergoing renovations, the rally was held at the supreme court.

Many people came from around the state, bringing their children to the March for Life, which was preceded by a Catholic Mass at the Topeka Performing Arts Center. Around 1,600 people attended the Mass.

Topeka March for Life draws 2,500

By Paula Glover
TOPEKA – More than 800 enthusiastic young people from Catholic Schools were the highlight of the annual March of for Life in Topeka on Jan. 22. Because the number of people attending the Mass preceding the march had outgrown the Mater Dei – Assumption Church, the Mass was held at the Topeka Performing Arts Center. Following the Mass where around 1,600 were in attendance, marchers assembled for the walk to the Kansas Supreme Court building, where the rally was held, with around 2,500 on the march, led by Knights of Columbus from around the state.
Father Jarett Konrade, vocation director for the Diocese of Salina, met with 45 college students from seven different colleges during a retreat the previous evening.
“It is wonderful to see college students making sacrifices to be here,” Father Konrade said. “It is invigorating and renewing. This is one of the most important causes they can be a part of.”
Father Konrad’s father, Reg Konrade, director of the Diocesan Family Life office and member of St. Andrews parish in Abilene, said he has come to the marches for more than 10 years, because it is an important part of the pro-life movement.
Ron and LaVonna Brown, from Delphos, were also on hand for the march. “There is strength in unity and marching forward together to make our voice heard,” LaVonna said. The couple was most interested in encouraging pastors and church leaders to speak out against abortion. “This is the time to ‘be not afraid’,” she said.
Kathy Martin, an elected representative to the State Board of Education and a member of Sts. Peter and Paul Church, Clay Center, said that she was there to “stand up for children all the children of Kansas, and this includes children who are not born yet.” She added that she was pro-life before her election to the board, and fully intended to continue as a pro-life advocate.
Robbie Kramer of Herington, wife of Deacon Dick Kramer, said she believes that people need to be awakened to the truth of abortion, even if it means using graphic signs. Graphic signs, showing the baby following an abortion, are not used at the March for Life, but she believes they have a place, in showing people the truth of abortion. “We need an awakening,” she said. “We need to for people to awaken compassion in their hearts, even if it shocks you into the reality of what abortion really is.”
Mary Kate Metivier, a sophomore from Immaculate High School in Leavenworth, attended the march with her school.
“I know that as soon as the baby is conceived it is a life,” she said. “I’ve been to other youth events, and I really wanted to come to the march,” added, in between cheering the speakers.
David Gittrich, state development director for Kansans for Life said he’s been involved with the pro-life movement since 1980. He said, while the numbers at the Topeka March for Life have waxed and waned, the numbers were increasing, primarily due to the young people who attend with their schools.
“These young people know that abortion is wrong, no matter what the government says,” he commented following the march. “They can see how abortion has affected their friends. Young people are really ‘getting it’.”

Appeared in the The Register, newspaper for the Diocese of Salina.

Rev. Robert "Cam" McConnell, First Presbyterian Church, Manhattan

Dr. Wesley Paddock, professor of Old Testament, Manhattan Christian College

Kansans rank high in religion survey
By Paula Glover
MANHATTAN – In a recent survey released by the Pew Forum on Religion in Public Life, Kansans ranked number 13 in the nation in placing religion as important in their lives. Utah was number 12 and the top ranked states, with the exception of Oklahoma, were all in the Deep South.
The Pew Forum measured four factors considered important to measure the level of religious commitment. Sixty-one percent of Kansans ranked “religion as very important”; 62 percent said they prayed daily; 77 percent said they had a “strong belief in God; but only 48 percent said they attended weekly church services.
There may be several factors contributing to the importance of religion in Kansas, local experts speculated. One might be that the state was settled by religious groups or that a small town Midwestern ethic promotes continues to promote the value of religion. But, despite the high ranking, there are still challenges facing religious groups in Kansas.
Wesley Paddock, a professor of the Old Testament at Manhattan Christian College and Father Frank Coady, director of liturgy for the Diocese of Salina and pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish in Salina, both mentioned that the state was settled by religious groups and that influence remains.
“Until about 30 years ago, each community maintained their religious identity,” Coady said. “Where the culture and religion coincide, it is easier to maintain that religious emphasis.” He noted in western Kansas in particular, the population is dropping, and no different ethnic or religious groups are coming in that might challenge the religious identity.
Paddock said he witnessed supportive interaction between a town and church when he was in Washington recently on a Sunday evening, and found the only place for a bit to eat was the local Lutheran church’s soup supper. “It was a fabulous soup supper, and I found out about it from a sign in the center of town,” he recalled. “When you arrive at a town in Kansas, you generally see a grain elevator, a water thank and a church’s spire,” he noted, often a Catholic Church. “It says something about the people who settled here, that they were willing to put such a commitment into building a church.”
Rev. Robert “Cam” McConnell is the senior pastor at Manhattan’s First Presbyterian Church. He has previously lived in Illinois, Minnesota and Michigan. He said the “heartland’s religious values are reflected in the faith and work ethic” of members of the church in Manhattan. “There are talented and accomplished people here, with a deep humility.” Particular to Manhattan, he sees a strong connection between the faith community and the university, for the betterment of both.
“Even in the lowest ranked state, I’m sure you find religious vitality and vigor,” McConnell said. “Our lowest state is probably better than any European nation” in terms of placing importance on religion, he added.
When it comes to attending church services, all three men said it was important, but it represents a challenge facing religious groups today.
“When you talk about spirituality in the country, people think they can go for a walk on the prairie and that is time with God,” McConnell said. However, “as a pastor, I also believe that you find true spirituality in community, in the church, in helping people beyond your own walls, in the Body of Christ.”
While support from the community remains a positive factor, there is also competition from the greater culture that is a challenge.
“The religious scene now is completely different than when I was younger,” Paddock, age 70, said, “with multiple services each week and two week revivals. The attitude was if the church was open, you were there.” He noted it used to be that there were no Wednesday evening or Sunday school activities, and now that has changed. “The sports emphasis is so broad that it has crowded out a lot of other things,” he said.
Coady said that the social aspects are often more important than church and it is fruitless to fight against the greater culture. “It is better to work within the cultural forces,” he said.
“National statistics show that people believe in God, but don’t belong to an organized Church,” Coady said. “People distrust organizations in general, and they want to believe in God, but on their own terms.”
The state is only 20 percent Catholic, Coady noted, but it is still “religiously dishonest as a Catholic to say you want to be Catholic, but not belong to the church.”
While Manhattan Christian College benefits from the more religious emphasis of the state, Paddock said that students often come with a limited knowledge of the Bible, another deficit he’s noted over the years.
Just asking about belief in God is inadequate, Paddock said. He believes a better way of measuring the importance of religion is biblical literacy, and the answer to the question “Does your religious faith change your lifestyle?”

The Pew Forum survey measured 35,556 households in the United States, including all faiths, Christian and non-Christian. For more information on the survey, go to www.pewforum.org

Appeared in the Friday/Saturday edition of The Manhattan Mercury, Jan. 16.