Pro-life service mourns 35 years of legal abortion

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
Jan. 17, 2008

The 35th anniversary of the legalization of abortion is Jan. 22. With that in mind, the Siouxland Pro-life Interfaith Prayer Memorial will be held at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 27 at Central Baptist Church, 4001 Indian Hills Drive, Sioux City.

"We are mourning 35 years of legalized abortion and the fact that we have lost 50 million of our young people, our link to the next generation," said Marge Stanek, a member of the planning committee for the event. "Not only does it affect the fact that we have lost 50 million, but the loss also affects the mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings and everyone in the family."

One out of three babies in the United States is aborted, according to Stanek.

"I believe that abortion is the greatest injustice that this nation is facing," she said. "Someday I think we are going to recognize that we need to solve this problem. There is no other injustice greater than the killing of the innocent unborn."

The memorial service was started by local Catholics 14 years ago.

"The reason we have gone interfaith is because we think we need to unite all Christians together for the cause," she said. "There are so many good people of other faiths who are very strong in wanting to defend life. We need to pray first and then prayer leads us to action to do other elements to defend life. We first have to rely on our Lord to come and help us."

The Knights of Columbus will present an honor guard for the entrance and exit for the service.

The welcome will be delivered by Pastor Don Craig of Central Baptist Church. Bishop R. Walker Nickless will give the opening prayer. The master of ceremonies will be Dr. Don Cork from Central Baptist Church as well.

Julie Tebbe of Mater Dei School in Sioux City will lead a group of students in song during the service.

The presentation of roses will take place again this year with the addition of another rose. The procession will start with a 35-year-old and end with a baby.

"They are a representative of the living," said Stanek. "They represent that we have lost about 1.3 million of our young people per year. They will bring a red rose to a vase at the front of the church."

During the procession, Larry Walsh will provide narration - pro-life messages and Scripture readings.

The keynote speakers will be Mike and Cheryl Wells of Le Mars. The theme of their talk will be "Open Your Eyes." They will share their pro-life story.

Mike and Cheryl have been married for 30 years and have four children and two grandchildren. Mike is the CEO/President of Wells' Dairy Inc., a business that has been in his family for 94 years. Cheryl serves on the National Board of Youth for Christ/USA. Cheryl also has a speaking ministry called Cheerful Heart. She speaks for women's events, and she and Mike speak together as well.

Mike and Cheryl opened a ministry center in Le Mars called The Living Center five years ago as a resource for the body of Christ, connecting people to life, abundant life in Christ.

"We are glad that we have someone of this stature in the community that will come forth with their story," said Stanek. "We feel this will be good for our community."

The closing prayer will be recited by Pastor Gene Stockton of Heartland Community Baptist Church. A freewill offering will be taken at the end of the service. Following the service, there will be a coffee social.

Later in the afternoon, about 3:45 p.m., Pastor Ralph Shorey of Faith Lutheran Church will be at the Tomb of the Unborn at Trinity Heights, 33rd and Floyd, in Sioux City for a ceremony to present the roses to the tomb. The Knights of Columbus will also be present.

"The roses are to wither and die in the cold as babies are dying from abortion," said Stanek.

Everyone is invited to attend the prayer memorial.

"We definitely want people who defend life to unify and show our unity and solidarity," she said. "We are all going to work with continued efforts. We also want the curious and people who say that they are pro-choice. We welcome them to come."

The program coordinators are The Alpha Center, Queen of Peace, Inc. and Siouxland Right to Life. At the time of the interview, there were about 12 sponsors donating money to help with the details and expenses of the service.

For more information call Judy at (712) 276-8032 or Marge at (712) 276-6380.