“What are you doing Thursday night? Are you coming?” senior theater major Melissa Locke excitedly asked her friends in the SUB hallway.
Locke, president of Union’s pro-life organization, Life 139, has worked all semester partnering with the Student Activities Council on a movie showing in the Bowld gym that will be held Thursday, Nov. 19, at 8 p.m. SAC will provide free popcorn, candy and drinks.
They will be showing “October Baby,” a movie about a young woman who discovers she is a survivor of a failed abortion.
“The woman still survives, and there is healing after it.” Locke said.
Locke said abortion, an ongoing problem, is heartbreaking and impacts a lot of people.
Life 139 partnered with SAC to show the movie two years ago.
“There were many tears, so it must have been a success,” Locke said.
To raise money to buy the $200 rights to the movie and “so more babies can have birthdays,” Life 139 baked cupcakes and sold them during Family Weekend. However, they did not sell enough cupcakes to cover the cost. During the event, a man who had been hanging around nearby came up and said if they didn’t raise enough money, he would send them a check for the difference.
Locke just stood there and “was in awe and made this weird squeaky noise,” she said, remembering the moment. Other Life 139 members took the man’s information.
Then, Locke realized “this movie is supposed to happen.” She still has no idea who the man was—he walked away after giving his information. The unknown man made good on his promise and sent the club a check for $110.
Even after raising the money, Locke and SAC had scheduling issues. Twice, Locke planned for a date that didn’t work.
Finally, Paul Mayer, Life 139’s faculty adviser and director of Health Services, set up a meeting with Locke and Jared Dauenhauer, assistant director of SAC, and they set a date.
“We care about what Union cares about,” said Reeves Garrett, president of SAC and senior biblical studies and languages major.
The goal of SAC is to build community, and they value partnering with other organizations and fellow students that support causes Union cares about, like infants’ rights to life.
Locke hopes the event will raise awareness of the organization, named for a biblical scripture from Psalm 139:13-16.
Life 139 is a group where people can discuss important pro-life issues and learn how to address them. They focus on encouraging each other to learn how to approach a delicate issue without “guilt tripping” anyone, Locke explained.
While most students support the organization, Locke has met a few students at Union who say they are pro-life, yet don’t understand what it means. She said some are silently pro-life and others may be selectively pro-life, while Life 139 members talk about what it means to be pro-life.
To learn more about Life 139 or discuss the movie, contact Locke at melissa@thelockefamily.org or Paul Mayer at pmayer@uu.edu.
Those interested in Life 139 can visit Life 139 on Facebook or come to their meetings Thursdays at 8 p.m. in Bowld 221.
