Amarillo—Tim Staples of Catholic Answers will be the keynote speaker for the 22
nd annual Respect Life Banquet, Sunday, Sept. 15.
The banquet, which benefits the Family Life Office of the Diocese of Amarillo, will begin with social hour at 4:30pm, with dinner served at 5:30 in the Grand Plaza of the Amarillo Civic Center, 401 South Buchanan.
Tickets are $50 per person, or $500 for a table of eight, which includes a prime rib dinner catered by the Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, according to James Schulte, director of the Family Life Office.
Staples was a fallen-away Southern Baptist who as a teen came back to Faith in Christ through the witness of televangelists. During his four-year tour with the United States Marine Corps, Staples became friends with a Marine well-versed in his Catholic Faith who challenged him to study Catholicism from Catholic and historical sources. That sparked a two-year search for the truth.
Immediately after his tour of duty, Staples attended Jimmy Swaggart Bible College and became a youth minister in an Assembly of God community. He was determined to prove Catholicism wrong, but he studied his way to the last place he thought he would ever end up: the Catholic Church. Staples converted in 1988 and spent six years in formation for the priesthood, earning a degree in philosophy and studying theology at the graduate level. Realizing that his calling was not to be a priest,
Staples left the seminary in 1994 and has been working in Catholic apologetics and evangelization ever since.
“The Family Life office encompasses a number of programs for the diocese, including Pro-Life activities, Natural Family Planning, Engaged Encounter, Marriage Encounter and coming next year, a retreat for grieving parents,” said Schulte. “We must continue to promote a pro-life, pro-marriage, and pro-family message in this country, which has been so blessed by our Savior, Jesus Christ, and your support of our annual banquet assists us in these efforts.”
The evening will also include Silent and Live Auctions. For more information, to purchase tickets, or to donate items for the Silent and Live Auctions, contact Schulte at 806-414-1059. Tickets can be purchased through the Family Life Office and can also be purchased online at www.amarillodiocese.org/rlm-banquet.