The University Chapel opened its doors this weekend for Princeton's first "Respect Life Sunday," an interfaith service aimed at spreading awareness of the pro-life cause.
Though some may associate the pro-life movement specifically with abortion and euthanasia, Ashley Pavlic '07, president of Princeton Pro-Life, said in an interview that the event wasn't meant as a form of protest. Rather, it was to "reaffirm life from conception to natural death," and to appreciate life, which is "beautiful at all stages."
The service was organized by Princeton Pro-Life with co-sponsorship by a number of campus religious groups, including Athletes in Action, Chabad Jewish Student Group and Princeton Faith in Action.
The service, which was open to all members of the Princeton community, featured a number of speakers.
They included Father Richard John Neuhaus, editor-in-chief of "First Things"; Rabbi David Novak, chair of Jewish Studies at the University of Toronto; Pastor Matt Ristuccia '75, pastor of the nondenominational Christian Westerly Road church; Betty Jean Wolfe, who works with the Urban Family Council and Imam Mubasher Ahmad, Imam of the Baet-Ul-Jaamay Mosque in Illinois.
A number of musical groups performed at the service, including For His Glory, the Princeton University Gospel Ensemble, the chant group SCOLAand a number of string players. Prayers were also given by students from multiple faiths.
Additionally, a bone marrow drive was conducted at a reception after the service to help people with cancer. Pavloc said the drive reinforces the main idea of the service, which is that the pro-life cause is about "fighting for life in general."
Though Princeton Pro-Life is not affiliated with a religion, Pavlic, the group's president, said she felt inspired by the different religious services.
"We acknowledged the fact that this is an issue that many religious groups feel strongly about," Pavlic said.
Reverend David Kim, who participated in Sunday's service, said in an interview before the service that he was happy to see "Respect Life Sunday" taking place because it brought a diversity of views to the University.
"The University campus should be a pluralistic society including a religiously involved base that can express itself and practice on campus," Kim said. "It's good to see students taking the initiative."
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