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From
LifeDate - Spring 2005.
Lutherans join 100,000 in March for Life 2005
Despite a weekend storm that dumped up to two
feet of snow over much of the East Coast and Midwest, an estimated
100,000 people—including a delegation from Lutherans For Life—took
part in this year’s “March for Life” January 24 in Washington DC.
Dennis DiMauro, president of the LFL’s
Northern Virginia chapter, blamed the weather for a lower turnout
than last year. But he added, “It is still overwhelming to be among
so many who respect God’s gift of life.”
The march is held annually in conjunction with
the anniversary of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that
legalized abortion in the United States.
On the morning of the march, nearly 40
Lutherans from six different states joined DiMauro for worship at
St. Paul Lutheran Church in Falls Church, Virginia, to prayerfully
observe the 32nd anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision that
legalized abortion.
In his sermon, based on John 1:1-5, LFL
Executive Director Rev. Dr. James Lamb explained why Christians
should be involved in life issues.
“We have a positive message of life, a message
of help and hope and healing,” Dr. Lamb said. “It is a message that
can make a difference in the lives of people dealing with the
difficult issues of life and death.
“There is no time for indifference when we
have the only message that can make a difference—Jesus, the Word of
Life.”
Dr. Lamb said later that he considers the
pre-march worship service as the “best part” of March for Life
activities.
“It emphasizes what Lutherans For Life is
really all about—witnessing to the sanctity of human life based on
the Word of God,” he said.
Dr. Lamb said he views the march as an
opportunity for Lutherans to take their Word-based convictions into
the public square.
“It is an opportunity to be reminded that we
are not alone in the pro-life movement and the pro-life movement is
not going away,” he said.
Most of those who attended the morning worship
service also attended the march. Among the group were six pastors.
Also included were some two dozen teenagers from Lutheran high
schools in St. Louis and St. Charles, Missouri.
Kelly Carter, a student at Lutheran High
School South, St. Louis, and a first-time marcher, said, “I just
think it’s awesome to see so many people gathered for such a great
cause.”
Carter was one of three Lutheran South
students who attended the march with teacher Mike Albers.
Albers, who has marched before, said he brings
students with him “so they can experience what I have
[experienced].” He takes part in the march to “support the gift of
life myself in this way,” he said.
Speaking via telephone from Camp David,
President George W. Bush assured marchers that his administration is
working with members of Congress “to promote a culture of life, to
promote compassion for women and their unborn babies.”
Addressing the crowd at the beginning of the
pre-march rally on the Ellipse, Bush highlighted laws passed during
his first term, such as the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act and the
Unborn Victims of Violence Act.
“The America of our dreams, where every child
is welcomed in law [and] in life, and protected in law may still be
some ways away,” he said, “but even from the far side of the
river we can see its glimmerings.”
Lamb said the president reflected the focus of
LFL when he told pro-lifers that they are on the road to “change
hearts and minds” of those who favor abortion.
Since its legalization 32 years ago, abortion
has ended the lives of more than 44 million unborn babies in the
United States, according to Lamb. “That horror continues at the rate
of over 3,250 every day,” he said. “God’s people need to do all they
can to bring an end to the atrocity of abortion and restore a sense
of the God-given dignity and value of human life.”
(Adapted from LCMS Reporter Online,
1/27/05) |
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