Lutherans for Life from around the Nation Come to March for Life

By Dennis Di Mauro

I brought along this old, yellowed clump of thread, the beginning of some tatting actually. It doesn’t look like much and it certainly isn’t useful for anything. So when I took it down from the heritage box in our living room to bring it along, why did my wife say quite sincerely, “You be careful with that. Put it in a baggie.” What’s so valuable about an old clump of thread?

Well, we found this clump of thread on a little table next to grandma’s rocking chair after grandma died and went to heaven.

So, you see, the value is not in what it looks like or how useful it is. The value lies in who made it. So it is with every human being.

As I listened to Dr. James Lamb, executive director of Lutherans for Life, deliver this message at our local service, I remembered why we had all come – to protect the unborn, those innocent children who were created and are deeply loved by God. Our service was hosted by Immanuel Lutheran Church in Alexandria, Virginia, the church which has sponsored the event for many years.

The service began at 9AM, and the sermon was delivered to the 160 attendees who had traveled from around the nation (Pennsylvania, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa), and of course, from Metropolitan Washington, DC, to stand up for life. It was followed by a delicious brunch prepared by the women of Immanuel Lutheran Church, and the marchers then carpooled to the National Mall to march under the Lutherans for Life banner.

Lutherans have attended the March for Life since it began in 1974. Since 1998, Lutherans for Life has maintained an organized presence at the march, beginning with a communion worship service at a local Lutheran Church.

Participants at this year’s march included student groups from Concordia University in Mequon, Wisconsin, and Lutheran High School South in St. Louis, Missouri, as well as local students from Trinity Christian School in Fairfax, Virginia. Also attending was a delegation from the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod’s Life Ministries office, led by their director, Maggie Karner.

The marchers were encouraged by the good weather, the large participation of young people, and the support of so many members of Congress, including the Speaker of the House, John Boehner, who encouraged the crowd in a pre-march speech and promised that the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion bill would be a top legislative priority for the new Congress. All these events energized the marchers to do more in their churches and communities to defend the unborn and to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to their parents and grandparents.

By marching, they followed a proud tradition of Lutheran pro-life awareness started by the reformer Dr. Martin Luther in the 16th Century. He wrote, ““He [God] is not hostile to children, as we are. But God emphasizes His word to such an extent that He sometimes gives offspring even to those who do not desire it, yes even hate it . . . How great, therefore, the wickedness of human nature is! How many girls there are who prevent conception and kill and expel tender fetuses, although procreation is the work of God.”[1]

Lutherans for Life continues the strong pro-life passion of its denominational founder. Its mission today is to equip Lutherans to be Gospel-motivated voices For Life. The March for Life is a way of publically proclaiming that message to assure life for those who are most vulnerable. And the march is also about sharing of the gospel of Jesus’ forgiveness to all, including those men and women who have lost hope through their involvement in an abortion.