Preparing To Defend Life

Special Report - January 13, 2011

Pro-life North Carolinians will gather in Raleigh this weekend to begin commemorating the 38^th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion on demand in the United States, in anticipation of the national March for Life to be held on January 24^th in the nation’s capital. On Saturday, January 15, pro-life North Carolinians will participate in two events to mark the anniversary—the 12^th Annual “Prayer Breakfast for Life” and the Annual “Rally and March for Life.” The Prayer Breakfast begins at 9:30 AM at the Holiday Inn Brownstone Hotel and Conference Center in Raleigh. It offers attendees a chance to hear from pro-life elected representatives, as well as state and local leaders in the pro-life movement.

Later in the day, pro-lifers will gather at Nash Square in downtown at 1:00 PM for the Rally and March for Life where attendees will hear from the following speakers: the Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh; Wayne Cockfield, a retired Marine who successfully helped lobby Congress to prevent taxpayer funding of anti-life measures; Reverend Bryan C. Tysinger, Pastor of Mt. Pleasant Community Church in Asheboro; and singer Alyse Player. More information on both events can be found at www.ncrtl.org.

In related news, churches across the state and country are preparing to participate in Sanctity of Human Life Sunday (SOHLS), which is scheduled for January 23^rd this year. SOHLS was established by President Reagan in 1983 as “a special day to focus on the intrinsic value of human life and the fundamental right to life, as recognized by the American Founding Fathers.” Participating pastors and churches can incorporate a variety of activities into the day, including holding a prayer service, ringing church bells, giving a special life-centered sermon, teaching life-centered Sunday school lessons, and encouraging prayer and fasting. Churches may also wish to explore ways to support local pregnancy centers that provide free services to women facing unplanned or crisis pregnancies and rely heavily on churches for volunteers, prayer, financial, and material support. Care Net and Frontlines Publishing have partnered to create quality informative brochures in English and Spanish to educate churches and communities on the important work done by pregnancy centers. These and other resources can be accessed at www.sohls.org.

The North Carolina Family Policy Council has also prepared a video that can be shown at church services. To download the video, right-click the video link above and save the file to your computer. The video is free to use.

Finally, on Monday, January 24^th, hundreds of thousands of Americans will converge on Capitol Hill for the 38^th Annual March for Life. This year’s theme is “Thou shalt Protect the Equal Right to Life of Each Innocent Born and Preborn Human in Existence at Fertilization. No Exception! No Compromise!” The March will begin with a rally on the National Mall at 12 PM, followed by the March down Constitution Avenue to the steps of the Supreme Court, where men and women from the Silent No More Awareness campaign will share their personal testimonies of choosing abortion.

There are several other pro-life events taking place  January 22-24, including:

• Life and Justice Conference in Colorado Springs, CO on Saturday, January 22^nd
• Rally in front of the White House from 3:00-5:00 PM on Sunday, January 23^rd
• Students for Life of America National Conference in Bethesda, MD on January 23^rd
• National Prayer Vigil for Life at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. on January 23^rd
• The 29^th Annual Rose Dinner with keynote speaker Rep. Michelle Bachmann (MN–6) at 6:00 PM on Monday, January 24 in Washington, D.C.
  

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