People of all faith backgrounds are welcome to attend. Courtesy | Facebook 

St. Anthony’s Catholic Church is hosting a conference “On Marriage and Human Sexuality”  Saturday, April 6 at the parish.

The Diocese of Lansing Commission on Catholic Social Teaching is supporting this conference to foster “charitable but informative” dialogue on marriage and the family, according to Kelly Cole, the event’s main coordinator. 

The conference will begin with Mass at 8 a.m. followed by a light breakfast. The talks will begin at 9 a.m. 

“Marriage is often the deciding factor for the stability of our society and happiness and transmitting the Christian faith,” said Elizabeth Schlueter, one of the conference speakers. “We really want to help people at St Anthony’s understand it and live it and to make the point that marriage has social ramifications.”

According to Cole and Schlueter, the conference will teach attendees how to think and talk about topics such as gender ideology and decline in marriage with their children or those struggling with these teachings.

There will be three talks throughout the conference. Cole said Nathan Schlueter, professor of philosophy and religion, will give the first talk titled “Sexuality and Social Justice.” She said the conference was partially inspired by his course, “Philosophy of Love, Sex, and Marriage.”

Greg and Stephanie Schlueter, Nathan Schlueter’s brother and sister-in-law, will speak on “Becoming His Image: God’s Plan for Marriage.” According to the church’s advertisement, the couple directs the national Catholic family movement Mass Impact and co-hosts the podcast and radio program “IGNITE Radio Live!”

“Every church is concerned about these things and is in its own way trying to strengthen marriage and give its members the best information it can,” Elizabeth Schlueter said. 

Cole said the conference is open to Catholics and non-Catholics. 

“When it comes to basic teachings on marriage and family, there’s a lot of common ground among Christians and not shared in the common culture,” Cole said.

Schlueter said she hopes to take “a positive approach of hope” and help people understand and live out the Catholic Church’s teachings.  

“We have to be creative about ways of living these teachings. That’s the hopeful part of living in a culture that is opposed to these things,” Schlueter said. “The truth is life-giving and helpful for flourishing, and it’s good news. That’s the silver lining to the struggles we’re all aware of.”