Rev. Dr. Stephen Rankin preached at the 29th Annual Lifewatch Sanctity of Life Service of Worship at the United Methodist Building in Washington, D.C. The service occurred on January 27, 2017, before the March for Life. Additionally, Rev. Paul R. Crikelair and Rev. Paul T. Stallsworth participated in the service.
Below is video of Rev. Rankin’s sermon, in addition to photos from the event. Videos of the entire service can be found on the Institute on Religion and Democracy’s Facebook page. In the audience were United Methodist General Board of Church and Society General Secretary Susan Henry Crowe and IRD President Mark Tooley, pictured below.
Lifewatch published the following notes for the service:
Welcome to the Annual Lifewatch Sanctity of Life Service of Worship. Our preacher today is The Reverend Dr. Stephen Rankin, who has been involved in higher education for more than 20 years, as a professor and a campus minister at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas, and now, as a Chaplain to the community at Southern Methodist University in Dallas Texas. Prior to this work, he served as a pastor in three United Methodist congregations, and provided leadership for an expatriate congregation in Rome, Italy. As Chaplain, Steve’s passion is helping students, professors and campus ministers engage in thoughtful practices that integrate faith and learning. Steve and his wife Joni have four grown children and one grandson and one granddaughter.
By way of explanation, Lifewatch provided the following information about its background:
This 29th Annual Sanctity of Life Service of Worship is sponsored by the Taskforce of the United Methodists on Abortion & Sexuality (TUMAS), publisher of the informative Lifewatch newsletter. Founded in 1987, TUMAS has a mission “to work to create in church and society esteem for human life at its most vulnerable, specifically for the unborn child and for the woman who contemplates abortion.” The goal of TUMAS is “to win the hearts and minds of United Methodists, and to engage in abortion-prevention through theological, pastoral and social emphases that support human life.”
Make sure to visit www.lifewatch.org to find out about Lifewatch, as well as Rev. Stephen Rankin’s blog to learn more about his work. Also, check back at Juicy Ecumenism for when his sermon notes become available.
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