February Blog 02/01/2010
 
Dear Brothers and Sisters In Christ,

             Back in January, I took a trip with my older sons Oscar and Simon to Washington DC.  This was not a pleasure trip, though we did have fun on the trip, too, and saw a few sights while we were there.  This trip was for a very important matter--a matter of life and death.
             We’ve encountered death recently in the news.  Not as those in the nation of Haiti have encountered it, but we’ve had some small glimpse of the devastation they’ve experienced.  In the face of such agony, we wish that there had been some way we could have stopped this, but we can’t.  We offer our prayers and our monetary, physical and spiritual support through relief agencies like LCMS World Relief and Human Care--we try to help now, but we can‘t stop what already happened (at the time of my writing, I see that the estimated deaths from the earthquake in Haiti have reached 200,000 people).  200,000 people dead.  If only we could have done something to prevent this.
             We could not prevent Haiti’s earthquake, but we can try to prevent an equivalent earthquake every season in our nation.  Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall…  Each season in the United States more babies die from abortion than those who died in Haiti from the earthquake.
             Both in Haiti and in the US, both in the face of the earthquake and in the face of abortions, people are wounded, too.  So many die, yet so many are wounded and grieving.  Will you join me in opposing this devastation?  One simple, yet helpful way is in signing the Manhattan Declaration.  In addition to life issues, marriage/family and conscience issues are also Biblically and compassionately addressed in the Manhattan Declaration.  You may read and sign it at manhattandeclaration.org, or ask to read and/or sign it at church.  There are well over 400,000 signatures there in support of life, marriage, and conscience already.
             Unofficial estimates range from 250,000 to 400,000 pro-life marchers at the March for Life. You can see some of them below. I just held the camera over my head, aiming backwards for the shot of some of my fellow marchers.  The sign visible in a couple of the pictures shows “Men Regret Lost Fatherhood,” and on the other side of each of those signs was “Women Do Regret Abortion.”  May God bless our witness, help those wounded by abortion, and save those whose lives have not yet been killed.

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Gary