March on the Arch: St. Louis area Lutherans turn out for life

Pro-life advocates walk in the annual March on the Arch on Saturday, April 12, in St. Louis. (LCMS/Frank Kohn)

By Brianna Dehn

Pro-life supporters from a variety of organizations participated in the St. Louis March on the Arch on Saturday, April 12. They gathered in downtown St. Louis and, after an hour-long rally with multiple speakers, made the one-mile trek toward the Gateway Arch.

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) was represented by two booths at the rally: LCMS Life Ministry and the LCMS Recognized Service Organization Lutherans For Life (LFL). “[Marching for life] is an example to let people know life is important because [God] created it, sent His Son to redeem it and sent the Holy Spirit to bring us into salvation through Baptism,” said retired Lutheran school teacher Diane Albers, who was manning the LFL booth with her husband, Mike.

The need to rally for the pro-life cause and protect unborn babies has increased in Missouri since Amendment 3 was passed in November 2024. The amendment restored access to abortion in the state, which has a strong pro-life history. The bill passed with 51.6% of the vote.

“I think that we definitely need more of a culture of life in America, and abortion is clearly wrong and clearly against the Bible,” said Joshua Maichel, a participant in the march and a member of Hope Lutheran Church, St. Louis. “I think it’s wrong for abortion to be legal in America and in Missouri.”

The Rev. Andy Becker, manager of family discipleship for the LCMS Office of National Mission (ONM), spoke at the pre-march rally. Becker said, “We worship a God who has not only created us, but has sent His Son to be conceived, grow in His mother’s womb, be born, live, die and rise again to redeem us from sin. This is the message of hope that we have received and that we carry in all our work.

“A lot has changed in Missouri in the last year. We have individual and corporate failings. But we have a God who never fails. In Jesus, He restores us, and He sends us back out to care for others, to teach and to advocate. We get to speak for Him, to represent Him and to serve Him. He remains faithful. So, we remain faithful to Him.”

As the participants walked down Market Street toward the arch, Lutherans sang hymns to be a witness to Christ for the city of St. Louis.

“I like when we have good Lutheran representation and have our Synod leadership [present at the march],” said the Rev. Joseph Schlie, pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville, Mo. “It shows that we as a church body are united on this issue.”

Schlie added, “All life matters, and God cares for all life. He wants us to protect those who can’t speak for themselves. … In Missouri, now more ever with Amendment 3 [being passed], we have to be vocal about the sanctity of human life and our duty to protect it.”

“For us as LCMS Lutherans, it is so important that we come out in the public sphere [and] acknowledge the life we profess to care for,” said Deaconess Marissa Kroenke, social media specialist for the ONM. “It’s one thing for us to pray for life. … It’s another for us to actively show up and show that we care for life. One of the ways we do that is marching. [We also] do that every day in our congregations as we care for our brothers and sisters in Christ.”

Learn more about LCMS Life Ministry at lcms.org/life.

Brianna Dehn ( brianna.dehn@lcms.org ) is a staff writer for LCMS Communications.

Posted May 1, 2025. Updated May 2, 2025.