Lutheran Participants Note
Progress of 2008 March for Life
By Joe Isenhower Jr. (LCMSNews, January 31, 2008)
 Judging
from comments and the level of enthusiasm of Lutherans who joined
tens of thousands at this year's "March for Life" January 22 in
Washington, their resolve to end abortion may be buoyed by reports
of abortion declines in recent years.
But they also say their quest is far from over, as they continue
praying that God changes more hearts and minds, especially those of
young people who face such decisions as ending unwanted pregnancies.
In the news last month was a report of the Guttmacher Institute,
which found in a survey of abortion providers that 1.2 million
abortions took place in the United States during 2005—the lowest
abortion rate since 1974.
"There has been slow and incremental progress in the pro-life
movement as a whole," Dr. James I. Lamb, executive director of
Lutherans For Life (LFL), said after this year's march. "The
pro-life movement with its steady, persistent message has been
effective."
LFL is a pro-life, pro-family ministry based in Nevada, Iowa, with
the mission to "witness to the sanctity of human life through
education based on the Word of God." It provides resources including
Bible studies and information on an array of life issues;
LifeDate, a free quarterly journal; and an annual national
conference.And just as it has
every year since 1999, LFL invites people to gather under its banner
for the annual March for Life marking the anniversary of the U.S.
Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized
abortion. The 2008 LFL delegation included 50 marchers, who along
with 50-some others started the day with a worship service at
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Alexandria, Virginia, for which Lamb
delivered the sermon.
"Sometimes it seems like death wins," Lamb told those worshippers,
citing examples of "society point[ing] the pregnant teenager to
death through abortion . . . the chronically ill to death through
embryonic stem-cell research . . . those with severe disabilities to
death through euthanasia or assisted suicide . . . as something good
that will help."
"Not true," Lamb said. "Life wins! . . . Jesus defeated our
enemy—death . . . and gives us that victory . . . The victorious
message that life wins is tailor-made for addressing the life issues
as they affect God's people."
That service and Lamb's sermon were highlights of the day for Rev.
Mark Luecke, a hospital chaplain from Canton, Ohio, who was in town
for his second march.
"Dr. Lamb made it clear that abortion and other life concerns are
not only moral issues, but spiritual issues," Luecke said. "For me,
participating in the march makes a statement that I—along with other
Lutherans—have a strong, faith-connected commitment to life."
The day also began with breakfast at the White House for about 200
march organizers, including Dennis Di Mauro, president of LFL's
Northern Virginia chapter and coordinator for the organization's
march-related activities.
President George W. Bush spoke during the breakfast, and later by
audio feed to all the marchers gathered for a rally on the National
Mall that also featured speeches from other government leaders.
"As I look out at you," Bush said as he drew laughter from the White
House guests, "I'll see some folks who have been traveling all night
to get here. You're slightly bleary-eyed. I'll see others who are
getting ready for a day out in the cold."
With temperatures in the 40s, thousands of marchers arrived in town
after hours of travel via highways, rail, and air. Washington was
overcast with periods of light rain that day.
"But mostly, I see faces that shine with a love for life," Bush
continued.
"I see people with a deep conviction that even the most vulnerable
member of the human family is a child of God. You're here because
you know that all life deserves to be protected. And as you begin
your march, I'm proud to be standing with you."
"Today we're heartened," Bush said, "by the news that the number of
abortions is declining. But the most recent data reports that more
than one in five pregnancies end in abortion. America is better than
this, so we will continue to work for a culture of life where a
woman with an unplanned pregnancy knows there are caring people who
will support her; where a pregnant teen can carry her child and
complete her education; where the dignity of both the mother and
child is cherished.
"We aspire to build a society where each one of us is welcomed in
life and protected in law," the President said. "We haven't arrived,
but we are making progress."
Di Mauro said that the LFL march delegation this year came from at
least nine states, and represented a range of ages, including some
30 who are college-age or younger.
He had arranged housing for many of them among D.C.-area host
families who opened their homes, and had coordinated local travel to
and from the march sites, as well as meals and arrangements at
Immanuel.
Di Mauro also said he would like to see more Lutherans march with
the LFL delegation in years to come. For information, contact him
at dimauro.dennis@gmail.com.
"I was deeply moved by the thousands of people who showed up for the
march on a cold, damp work day," observed Jackie Vezina, a march
participants with the LFL delegation for the first time, along with
her husband of 35-plus years, Fred. They are members of Good
Shepherd Lutheran Church, Florence, Kentucky.
She said a number of Roman Catholics stopped during the march to
thank her—"a Lutheran, for participating in what seems to be a
predominantly Catholic march. They hugged and thanked me for coming
and showing that Lutherans support the sanctity of life too. It was
a very humbling experience for me.
"I only wish that more Lutherans could have been there to witness
this amazing March for Life," Vezina said.
"It is something of a relief to be in a place where you can 'come
out' as pro-life without apology," Rev. Matthew M. Hummel, an
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) pastor from Bellmore,
Delaware, wrote in an e-mail after he, his wife, and their two
children marched with this year's LFL delegation.
Hummel said that before their first march in 2005, he and his wife
"would sit around and decry the fact that no one in the ELCA seemed
to be doing anything. So we reached the conclusion it had to start
somewhere with someone, so why not us."
"The sight of the tens of thousands of young people thronging the
march is inspiring," Hummel said in his e-mail. "I think even given
the minimal and skewed coverage it gets, you cannot hide the fact
that there are so many people who are pro-life."
Among those young pro-lifers at the march were groups from two
Lutheran schools -- Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW) at Mequon,
and Lutheran High School (LHS) of St. Charles County at St. Peters,
Missouri.
"I was raised to understand God's great gift of life and have been
involved in pro-life activities my whole life," said Elena Wolters,
a sophomore and administrative assistant for CUW's Students for Life
(SFL), an LFL-affiliated campus group with 12 members at this year's
march. Last year, 11 from the CUW-SFL marched in the nation's
capital.
Wolters said the student group has several projects throughout the
year, including volunteer work at A Place of Refuge—a women's
shelter in nearby Milwaukee, sidewalk counseling at an abortion
clinic there, sponsoring a "baby shower" for local crisis-pregnancy
centers, as well as spreading word on the university campus about
"important news and laws concerning legislation."
Alex Post, another leader with the Mequon group in D.C., said he
considers it "especially important for men—young and older—to be
active in pro-life work.
"I believe that men have a great responsibility in terms of
relationships," Post said. "God's Word tells us that men are
responsible for being godly leaders."
The 2008 march was the 12th time that students from Lutheran High
School of St. Charles County have been in Washington for the March
for Life and related activities.
The group has worked with a local LFL chapter on activities such as
talks about chastity for confirmation classes at local
congregations.
In recent years, members have developed presentations for their
school's chapel; sponsored a fall "Life Week"; and developed
resources for their campus on abortion, chastity, and other
hot-topic issues such as stem-cell research, invisible children,
suicide, drinking and driving, drug abuse, and domestic abuse. The
group also has organized toy and diaper drives, and encourages
donations for a local pregnancy-resource center.
Renee Gibbs of St. Louis, a teacher there at the time, helped start
the high-school pro-life group in 1995—serving as faculty adviser
for 10 years—and has accompanied students at the Washington march 12
times, including this year.
Gibbs, now a full-time volunteer and student in the Master of Arts
program at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, also served as a presenter
at two recent national LFL conferences.
"Teens are upset that one-third of their generation is gone," Gibbs
said, "and they appreciate the opportunity to try to end abortion."
The St. Charles group spent four days in D.C. this year, according
to Gibbs—marching, praying in front of abortion clinics,
participating in candlelight vigils in front of the Supreme Court
building, visiting the Holocaust Museum to "connect them with
America's holocaust of abortion," attending conventions of two
Christian youth organizations and workshops sponsored by a third,
and hearing "first-hand stories from men and women who have
experienced abortion."
"The march, the LFL service, and all the various other activities
motivate the teens as part of a huge youth movement," Gibbs said.
For Janice Nihill, a 17-year-old senior and a leader in the student
pro-life group at LHS, this year's was her second March for Life.
She said she became involved in the pro-life cause two years ago, at
a time when she had been a Christian for just over a year. Since
then, she also has participated in two national LFL conferences.
"Above all things," Nihill said, "my faith motivates me to do as
much as I can and strive to do more in the pro-life movement. As a
child of God, I know a truth that is stronger than anything the
world can throw at me -- the power of eternal life through Christ. I
cannot, because of who I am as a child of God, keep silent as my own
generation is denied the chance to exist." |
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