Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Let's hijack this hashtag...

So, Planned Parenthood’s twitter account, @PPact is collaborating with The National Women’s Law Center to host a “blog carnival” on Thursday, July 21.  Check out http://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/positions/birth-control-matters-blog-carnival-1081.htm for details.  

It’s a little unclear what a “blog carnival” is, but it appears the point is for bloggers to share why they think there should be no co-pays for birth control and wax eloquently on all that it’s done for women.

You can apparently sign up to participate in the “blog carnival” here:  http://action.nwlc.org/site/Survey?ACTION_REQUIRED=URI_ACTION_USER_REQUESTS&SURVEY_ID=12441 and it’s probably worth entering your blog information, but I have a feeling they’ll be screening for content.  However, they are publicizing the “event” under the hashtag #BCBC.  They are also publishing the adventures of “Birth Control Girl” on a YouTube channel with the hashtag #BCGirl and the generic hashtag #birthcontrol.  

So, I propose that we hijack the hashtags.  Here’s how:

  1. Write about why you disagree with Planned Parenthood’s stance on Birth Control—it can be a personal testimony, link to something you’ve already written, link to an article you agree with, etc.  The point is to give a voice to the truth.     If you need some ideas, visit    http://www.thepillkills.com/, www.onemoresoul.com, or my personal fave, Father Chris’s homily on contraception:  http://teamcatholic.blogspot.com/p/father-chriss-homily-on-contraception.html
  2. Tweet your link on Thursday as much as you can. Be sure to include the hashtag #BCBC, #BCGirl and #birthcontrol.  This way, those searching twitter and the internet for blogs about birth control will find more than Planned Parenthood’s propaganda.  
  3. Spread the word to bloggers—it doesn’t have to be a new post—but let’s flood the internet with links to the truth about what birth control has done to women’s health, relationships and marriages.  And remember, preach the truth in love.  Winning souls is far more important than winning arguments.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

I don't know about the rest of you all, but I find summers in youth ministry to be the equivalent to Christmas in retail...  The Triduum for Liturgists...  Finals week for College students...  You get the idea...  So, so much to do in so little time.

While blogging inevitably suffers, I'm still writing for The Catholic Miscellany and The Island Packet
(and, to demonstrate my diversity, even interviewed Chris Butler and Josh Barrett for the Hilton Head Monthly) so here's links to the latest columns:

"Confession Helps the Bullied, Too" (from The Miscellany)
"Messages about who we are apparent in Everything" (from The Bluffton Packet)
"Teaching modesty about much more than clothing" (from The Bluffton Packet)
"Summertime worship critical for children, teens" (From the Bluffton Packet)

Also, check out my Teen Tips and Parent Tips at Family Honor.  It contains advice for teens and parents on issues like the internet, media and health issues.

Stay cool!