Lutherans are invited to mark the 40th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion by participating in the national “March for Life” on Friday, Jan. 25, in Washington, D.C. Since that decision in 1973, more than 50 million children have been aborted in the United States.
Events on the day of the march include a 9 a.m. LCMS Divine Service of worship at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City Hotel at Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Va., with LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison delivering the sermon.
Participants will then proceed as a group to the National Mall in Washington to walk in the March for Life.
In conjunction with this year’s national march, LCMS Life Ministries is holding the first-ever LCMS Life Conference, set for Jan. 25-26 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City Hotel. The conference title is “Lutherans and Pro-Life Advocacy — Good and Acceptable Service,” based on 1 Tim. 2:1-4.
Open to all, the conference will offer tips for individuals, groups and congregations on pro-life advocacy at the local, state and national levels and discuss theological motivation, encouragement and practical suggestions for becoming more active in the public arena.
Speakers on the second day of the conference will be Harrison; Dr. Robert Benne, author of the book Good and Bad Ways to Speak about Religion and Politics; Mollie Hemingway, Lutheran journalist and blogger; and other Lutherans involved in pro-life advocacy. A youth track with special breakout sessions for high-school and college students will be offered on the second day.
“We have an individual vocation as citizens and Christians to speak for those who can’t speak for themselves, but we don’t always know how,” says Maggie Karner, director of LCMS Life and Health Ministries. “This conference will serve as a primer for how best to speak about the sanctity of life, both as a church and as individuals.”
Registration is $175 for adults and $100 for students and youth groups. To register for the conference, visit www.lcmslifeconference.org. A special lodging rate is available at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City for participants who mention the LCMS Life Conference when making reservations. For reservations, call 800-633-7313 or go to www.crystalcity.hyatt.com.
Those attending the national march and not participating in the LCMS Life Conference may contact the Lutherans For Life (LFL) chapter in northern Virginia, which is organizing free lodging in the Washington, D.C., area for travelers in the homes of Washington-area Lutheran church members. For more information, contact Dennis DiMauro, leader of the LFL chapter, at dimauro.dennis@gmail.com.
Posted Nov. 15, 2012
