MWCFC Friday Night

Theater of the Word

This ministry was inspired by a clandestine theater company called Theater of the Word run by Karol Wojtyla, later Pope John Paul II, in Nazi-occupied Poland.  In 2007, actor and playwright Kevin O’Brien teamed with Father Joseph Fessio of Ignatius Press and Archbishop Raymond Burke, then archbishop of St. Louis, to launch a production company to spread the Gospel message through stage, film, television, audio recordings and the internet.

Today this new company, also called Theater of the Word, seeks to evangelize through drama. The actors of Theater of the Word bring to life a host of powerful biblical and religious themed stories, including The Passion Narrative, The Great Adventure of Faith, The Call, The Journey of St. Paul and Socrates Meets Jesus.

Headquartered in Florida, the mission of Theater of the Word is to incorporate or "flesh out" the word of God in entertaining and engaging ways through the dramatic arts. The company offers children’s theater workshops, touring shows and main stage productions in St. Louis, Missouri, in southern Florida and in various locations across the country.

For more information on Theater of the Word, go to www.thewordinc.org

   Abby Johnson’s life was changed on October 6, 2009. That was the day she resigned from Planned Parenthood.

Abby worked and volunteered for Planned Parenthood for eight years. For the last year of her employment, Abby had begun to question her work and the motivations of the company she had dedicated herself to for eight years. In September 2009, Abby was asked to assist in an ultrasound guided abortion procedure. On the ultrasound screen she saw a 13-week baby in the womb fight for its life…only to lose the battle in the end.

Confused, Abby turned to a local pro-life resource group, The Brazos Valley Coalition for Life. She explained the events that she had witnessed and swore that she would begin to advocate for life in the womb, instead of destroying it. Even though she had not intended on being a public figure, God had different plans.

When Planned Parenthood found out about Abby’s change of heart, they were frightened that others would hear her story and then change their minds on abortion. Their defense was to silence her with a temporary gag order and eventually take her to court. They also decided to inform the media of their gag order. On November 10, 2009, Planned Parenthood faced off with Abby in the courtroom. After an hour of testimony from Planned Parenthood, the judge dismissed the case on the spot.

Since her departure from Planned Parenthood, Abby has been traveling the country sharing her story and motivating others to continue the pro-life fight. She is the author of Unplanned, and also works on projects for the national 40 Days for Life team.

For more information on Abby Johnson, go to www.abbyjohnson.org.