Update: Pictures of the caroling day are up! Click here to check them out.
What a joyful occasion our “Empty Manger” caroling day was! Today we toured four abortion facilities across DuPage County bringing the light of Christmas and the love of Christ to those darkest of places.
As Eric continually reminded us, the abortuary is the opposite of Christmas. Christmas welcomes life into the world, the Life that was the Light of men. The abortionist destroys the life that is so desperately trying to enter the world. This poignant contrast pervaded our day. We began in Hinsdale at the ACU Health Center. About forty people gathered to offer praises and sing. The next stop was the Aanchor facility in Glen Ellyn. Around 70 people braved the cold and the dangerous proximity to the traffic on Rt. 38. Next we headed south to Downers Grove to visit the Access Health Center. Access shares a parking lot with Women’s Choice Services, a crisis pregnancy center run by our very own top-notch attorney Peter Breen. Peter was kind enough to provide us with coffee, donuts, and a tour of their center before we once again braved the cold. After Downers Grove we headed to that most ubiquitous of facilities, Planned Parenthood Aurora. And boy were we in for a treat. Since they read our e-mail, they were ready for us. Four surly looking deathscorts were there as we arrived with a boombox playing all manner of oddly chosen music. Some of it seemed Christmas oriented, some of it not. All of it was clearly intended to drown us out. But try as they might, one paltry boombox didn’t stand a chance against over 100 hearty pro-life voices! Our carols rang out loud and proud, and were definitely heard by several women entering the facility. After PP we headed to Warehouse Church on Galena Rd. where the folks there had been kind enough to lend us use of their space. We had a lovely gathering over homemade cookies and hot chocolate. For my part I was very pleased to meet Dan the Methodist face to face and many other pro-lifers who I hadn’t had the privilege to meet yet. As a convert to Catholicism from Presbyterianism, I know well and firsthand how tense things can be between Protestants and Catholics. I was even more encouraged today as I saw and was part of this beautiful cooperation between two parts of Christendom united by our common call from the Trinity itself to stand up for life and to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God for the miraculous work He is doing here in Aurora and thanks to everyone who offered their time and their voice this morning! A Merry Christmas to everyone, and I’ll see you all in 2008!
