By: Canon Georgette Forney

Last October I got a phone call from Fr. Keith Hartsell, a priest from Grace Anglican Church, Oceanside, California, who said that he was bringing a group of teenagers to Washington, D.C. to attend the March for Life events. He wanted information about the Life Forum that we were hosting and wondered if his group was welcome. Obviously, I said YES!

I heard back from him in early January, and he let me know that their group had grown to 22 students and 9 adults! While I was excited to host the students, I did wonder if the topics would bore them or be over their heads! My fears were allayed as they thanked me after the first presentation on fertility, expressing how much they learned and how their eyes were opened to concepts like embryo adoption.

When I got back from Washington, D.C., an email from Fr. Keith, was waiting for me, along with five video clips of the students discussing the Life Forum along with these comments:

My name is Genevieve, I am a high school senior, and I am so grateful for the opportunity I was given to attend the 2026 March for Life and Anglican bioethics seminars. The biggest question on my heart since then has been: What does it really mean to be consistently pro-life? When it comes to having a consistent pro-life ethic, I have been strengthened in some beliefs and challenged in others —whether they be embryo adoption, pro-life legislation, or the application of the Imago Dei principle. Reflecting on my time in DC, the speakers I learned from, and the ideas I’ve wrestled with, has affected my pro-life worldview and will affect my actions and advocacy as I grow into adulthood. I am thankful for the ability to go on this trip and inspired to keep learning more about bioethical issues facing my community and culture. 

The bioethics seminar was incredible! I learned so much, especially about organ donors and the moral laws surrounding them. My entire group is still debating about those topics and  about IVF, which not all of us knew much about beforehand. My mind and heart were challenged when learning about and understanding the emotions surrounding IVF and why so many turn to it for help. Thank you so much!!

The trip to Washington DC was AWESOME!! I have learned so much about abortion and life, and about all the options that people can turn to for assistance. My lungs have grown from all the time we got to explore DC and check out museums, and my heart has as well, because the girls’ room gathered to watch Unplanned, which helped us to understand the why behind women going in for abortion. We also got to go to a seminar on bioethics and a Pro-Life convention, and we are all motivated to actively support life. Thank you so much!!

The videos are now an extraordinary 10-minute travelogue of their trip which you can view here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XotxcDmfrU 

I applaud Fr. Keith and the chaperones who ensured the students had this incredible opportunity to learn about life and experience an adventure with God and fellow Anglicans. I hope more people will start planning trips with students to Washington, D.C. during the January March for Life and Life Forum events that Anglicans For Life hosts. The Church must ensure students have access to biblical teachings on life and death matters, given their exposure to propaganda on the internet.

The Life Forum, ended with a Prayer Service that also featured a testimony by Diane Pyle, who recounted the devastation, loneliness and shame of aborting her baby as a teenager, and her long, painful journey back to God. Her story was recently turned into a book titled, “She Smiles at the Days to Come.” 

The presentations and panel discussions from the Life Forum were outstanding and all the videos from the 2-day event are now available on our website. I encourage you to visit AnglicansForLife.org/LifeForum and view them. 

For His Glory,