November Ministry of the Month: St. Luke Antiochian Church - Garden Grove, CA
Ministry Leaders: Karen Kinan and Pamela Kouri

Tell us about yourself!

Karen:
I’m a retired educator and have taught for 36 years. I’m a grandmother of three, with a fourth on the way. The OCLife ministry is dear to my heart. I feel blessed to have been raised Orthodox, to have such a rich faith that has directed my life. The additional blessing of the church community and my life-long involvement with church school, camping programs, SOYO, Special Olympics, Parish Life Conferences,  and National Conventions have all worked to shed light on the world around me.

Pam:
I am also a retired educator and I taught for 34 years. I have been married to my husband Frank for 32 years. We have four beautiful daughters and I have four adorable grandchildren, with fingers crossed for additional ones in the future. I am blessed to participate at St. Luke’s in a variety of ways. I sing in the church choir, serve as our ladies' coffee hour coordinator,  and participate in our ladies group.  I am also serving as the secretary for the Antiochian Women of the Diocese of the West.

Have you always been pro-life?

Karen:
I have always been pro-life. I guess I never thought there was any other way. I remember in high school, I had a girlfriend who got pregnant, and she was considering abortion. I said we could go abroad, or anywhere, if she wanted to keep the baby. She ended up having an abortion and I was heartbroken. She was never able to get pregnant after that. I remember seeing her later and she said that she had never forgotten my offer and she wished she had taken me up on it. 

Pam:
I knew that abortion would never be an option for me, but in high school and early in college I was a little bit gray on the issue. I thought that maybe that’s something other people do, but I never would. It saddens me now that I even ever had those gray thoughts. As I got older, it just became more and more clear to me that abortion was not the answer.

Put in your own words why OCLife and the pro-life cause is important to you

Karen:
I’m really surprised by the number of people that are Orthodox and consider themselves pro-choice. Those things seem contrary to me. I think that it’s much easier for me as an older woman to to have a very defined perspective on abortion, but I think it’s important to encourage our own community. A big mission is to encourage our youth. . .  We also think it’s really important for this ministry to be for both women and men and encourage participation in whatever way they are capable of being a part of things.

Pam:
The pro-life cause is important to bring awareness so people can realize the magnitude of their actions. The soul is gravely impacted by these decisions. I believe people would flee from it, if they only understood.

What words of encouragement do you have for other parishes thinking about getting involved with OCLife?

Karen:
Just start with baby steps. Just like prayer begets prayer, I think awareness and action beget more awareness, more action. It doesn’t have to be earth-shattering or huge, because we never know what impact we have, even if it’s just one person.