March for Life

IRD Joins in Pro-Life March Events Declaring “Love Saves Lives”

on January 16, 2018

Institute on Religion and Democracy Press Release
January 16, 2018
Contact: Jeff Walton Office: 202-682-4131, Cell: 202-413-5639, E-mail: jwalton@TheIRD.org

“Christians are called to spearhead a movement that emphasizes love, compassion and justice for the least among us.”
-Chelsen Vicari, IRD Evangelical Action Director

Washington, DC—Tens of thousands will gather in Washington on Friday, January 19 to commemorate nearly 60 million unborn lives lost to abortion in the United States since 1973 and celebrate the inherent dignity of the unborn. Before the official March for Life – which IRD is a co-sponsor – gets underway, several church affiliates are hosting pro-life events.

United Methodists gather every year on the morning of the March for Life for a prayer and worship service hosted by the unofficial pro-life caucus of the United Methodist Church. IRD will join Lifewatch and other pro-life Methodists at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, January 19, at the United Methodist Building located at 100 Maryland Avenue in Washington, D.C. The Rev. Dr. David F. Watson, professor of New Testament and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Academic Dean at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, OH, will give the sermon.

The third annual Evangelicals for Life conference is a pro-life gathering for evangelicals in conjunction with the March for Life. Sponsored by the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) and Focus on the Family, the gathering at the J.W. Marriott Hotel January 18-20 will hear from ERLC President Dr. Russell Moore, Disability Activist Joni Eareckson Tada, Focus on the Family’s Jim Daly, and more than 40 pro-life experts and advocates.

Anglicans continue to kindle a strong public pro-life witness with the third-annual Summit 2018: Mobilizing the Church for Life, which IRD will participate in on January 18. Among the many pro-life experts and activists, speakers will be Wesley J. Smith, Author and Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism, Rev. Clenard Childress, Founder of BlackGenocide.org, and Stephanie Gray, Pro-Life Author and Acclaimed Speaker.

IRD Evangelical Action Director Chelsen Vicari commented:

“We live in a deceived society where even professing Christians succumb to pro-abortion arguments. This reality should push us to speak up, prepare a defense, and keep marching for the sanctity of life.

“When talking about abortion, I’ve seen a trend among liberal Christians to stereotype pro-lifers as single-issue voters consumed with the unborn, but not the baby, or mother, or any other injustice.

“I join the March for Life year after year. Last year, I marched for the dignity of my unborn daughter. Other years I’ve marched in support of post-abortive women left wounded by abortion. This year, I march in protest of the notion Christianity supports abortion as a ‘God-given right.’

“Every year, I march as a witness of the One whose love offers salvation to the world. That love includes the unborn.

“Christians are never permitted to advance or belittle the murder of innocent lives. Instead, we are called to spearhead a movement that emphasizes love, compassion and justice for the least among us.”

www.TheIRD.org

No comments yet

The work of IRD is made possible by your generous contributions.

Receive expert analysis in your inbox.