By Holly Smith
NRL Field Coordinator
Every year, the five-week span from Thanksgiving through Christmas and on to New Year's turns into a hiatus of sorts for pro-lifers. Among all the festivities and football on January 1, it's important to remember that it is then only three weeks before we solemnly commemorate the 1973 decision that legalized abortion on demand.
Teamwork is as natural to pro-lifers as taking up the cause of life. And it is teamwork that explains how only the contributions of about a dozen individuals have been able to plan a very successful observation of Roe each year since 1996 in New Hanover, North Carolina. And you can do the same!
In January 1996, the New Hanover Pro-Life Council hosted its first prayer vigil to memorialize the lives of the innocent unborn lost to abortion. It has done so faithfully every year since.
Fittingly, the vigil is held at Wilmington Riverfront Park located directly across from the Federal Courthouse in Wilmington, North Carolina. The park is a central and well-known location, visible to passersby and easy to find for first-time participants.
Its location adjacent to the federal courthouse reminds us that it was the United States Supreme Court that wrongly decided that women have a constitutional right to kill their unborn children. In light of pro-abortion Senate Democrats' resistance to President Bush's well-qualified judicial nominees because they refuse to pledge support for abortion, the courthouse is more than a reminder of past judicial decisions. It is also a symbol of the work that lies ahead.
Bev Jolly, the group's president, outlined for me a typical January 22 commemoration. She began by saying that its goal is "to create an awareness and activism about abortion, the local Planned Parenthood and abortion [facilities], and to encourage prayerful, peaceful vigils and their effectiveness, and finally to announce the positive accomplishments."
Accordingly, the group plans a full program that is a mixture of music, educational and inspirational talks, patriotism, and prayer. Gospel and traditional music is followed by the Pledge of Allegiance, then speeches by grassroots activists, college students, pastors, and doctors. The crowd is updated on the current status of pro-life legislation, educated about issues such as abortion's impact on minorities, and how a pro-life doctor approaches the abortion issue.
It never fails to inspire when participants hear from the president of the local university's pro-life group or from the winner of the high school essay contest. And they are reminded of the sad significance of the occasion by the preachers and pastors who speak about abortion's toll on our culture and pray for our success in building a culture of life.
Having such a full program and attracting a good crowd is no small feat and requires hard work by the nearly dozen members of New Hanover Pro-Life Council. Immediately after last year's vigil, for example, the council met to determine what had worked best, and to tentatively begin planning for this year's commemoration. "More detailed planning stages come about in October with finalization in December," according to Jolly.
The council has made it a goal to enable local pro-lifers to participate in as many memorial events as possible. Thus, the prayer vigil has been moved to the Saturday immediately following the anniversary to allow North Carolinians to participate in the North Carolina Right to Life Rally and March in Raleigh the Saturday prior to the January 22 and the March for Life in Washington, D.C., on the 22nd.
To attract good crowds and alert the media, the council sends out press kits and e-mails, contacts local news and radio stations, and also relies on the traditional methods of communication: word of mouth, phone calls, and postcards.
You may be asking yourself, what can my organization do when it doesn't have the luxury of months of planning? You still have time to plan a vigil.
You may not be able to do all that you like with short notice and a compressed time period. But even having a small turnout is a good start and lays the foundation for future years. More importantly, your community is reminded how significant is the decision that has resulted in the deaths of over 44 million unborn babies.
Planning this type of public event isn't without some difficulty, of course. But there are such great rewards - - the cooperation and coordination of the chapter's membership, the positive reaction of the community and the press, and the participation of the community as a whole.
If you need help, feel free to call me at (202) 626-8809, or contact me by e-mail at chapters@nrlc.org