|
| Walk for Life draws more than 160 |
|---|
| Pro-Life event makes impact locally |
|---|
 | | Free Press / Lorie Palmer | | More than 160 people in all participated in the recent Walk for life walk and event held May 12. |
|
By Lorie Palmer - community editor, ICFP
GRANGEVILLE -- "It is wonderful that we have come together today to show solidarity as a community against abortion," said Pastor Matthew Claridge, Mt. Idaho Baptist Church. "But I submit to you another 'Walk for Life' that is even more effective."
Claridge spoke to more than 160 people at Grangeville High School Saturday, May 12, who walked and met in support of the Hope Pregnancy and Clearwater Valley pregnancy and life skills centers' (Grangeville and Kamiah) annual Walk for Life pro-life event.
"Those who volunteer their time at places such as Hope Pregnancy Center will change lives," Claridge went on. ""It is easy to be passionate about a cause -- sometimes we are so passionate we don't see the needs of people right in front of us."
Claridge encouraged the audience to not simply "throw out opinions, but offer a helping hand, and not just one day, not just to help a child make it out of the womb," he said, "but to help that child and his or her family thrive in our communities."
The annual walk included 140 participants who set out for GHS from Pioneer Park. Additional volunteers were at the school ready with water, chilidogs, chips and encouragement.
"I am so please and thankful for this turnout," said centers director Nancy Connolley.
Bob Ackerman, with the Knights of Columbus, spoke briefly about the group's mission, one of them being the placing of crosses behind Sts. Peter and Paul Parish.
"These crosses represent lives lost to abortion and also provide a voice for those who were not allowed to speak," he said.
Ackerman also discussed the need for ultrasound machines at pregnancy clinics.
"In general, a women who sees her unborn child on a an ultrasound will choose life," he said. Ackerman also gave the statistics that in 2009, 94 percent of abortions in Idaho were in Ada County, and of those, 90 percent were performed by Planned Parenthood.
Center volunteer Angela Riener said she will participate in Grangeville's third annual National Life Chain on Oct. 7. Area residents will meet to form a silent prayer chain up and down Main Street, holding signs and praying.
"It's a time to reflect and remember God values all life," she said. Riener added that a life is taken by abortion every 26 seconds, making 3,288 "heartbeats stopped each day."
Pastor Charlie Stefani, Pleasant View Baptist Church, White Bird, spoke from the Bible, Jeremiah 1:5: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart."
He then told the story of the famous "Hand of Hope" photography from 1999 where photographer Michael Clancy took the photo of 21-week-old fetus Samuel Armas who had surgery in his mother's womb.
"That photography in now pro-life and spreads the message of what he saw that day," Stefani said. "And when Samuel, now 12, was asked by Fox News what he thinks of that photograph, he responded, 'I feel special and lucky to have God use me that way.'"
Kathy Ackerman, volunteer youth leader and Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, asked the audience to think on two things.
"Where were you when your own pro-life journey began?" she asked. "And what are your pro-life prejudices?"
She told of a time in her life in 1983 when a friend discussed having an abortion.
"Something inside me stirred, and yet I could not find my voice," she said. Years later, she still thinks of that friend.
"I want to help give high school kids the voice I could not find," she said.
Ackerman also told of her own experience with prejudice when she found herself expecting a third child at age 41.
"We were often met with criticism," she said. "I have learned that God plans all children. Set aside your judgments and support all life."
Kerry Uhlenkott, Right to Life of Idaho legislative coordinator, spoke about the ultrasound bill that was not passed by the Idaho Legislature.
"As Bob [Ackerman] alluded to, the abortion industry is a multi-billion dollar business," she said. "The bill would require an ultrasound prior to an abortion."
Uhlenkott said District 8 Senator Sheryl Nuxoll, Cottonwood, fought for the bill but the abortion right moved "called this a 'war on women.'"
"The opponents of pro-life are afraid if a woman sees her baby, she will change her mind -- and they are right," she said.
Uhlenkott said half of all aborted babies are girls.
"This," she emphasized, "is the real war on women."
To contact the Hope Pregnancy and Life Skills Center in Grangeville call 983-0093. To contact Clearwater Valley Pregnancy and Life Skills Center in Kamiah call 935-0376.
|
| Go to top. |
| Click here to Subscribe |
|
