By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer
PINEVILLE, La. (LBM) – More than 100 CENLA Life March participants braved the chilly temperatures to proclaim their love for life as they continue to fight for the rights of the unborn.
David Jeffreys, vice president of denominational and church relations with Louisiana Christian University, welcomed the crowd at the starting point of the march, Jan. 31. He thanked them for their commitment to the pro-life movement.
“We have made many strides in the right to life movement through the last few years, but we have a long way to go,” said Jeffreys, who recently was elected the next president and CEO of the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home and Family Ministries. “And you being here shows commitment to that. We, as Louisiana Baptists, partner with our other brothers and sisters in Christ, to say that we love the unborn. We love the mothers and the fathers, and we are here to do and to help to everything we can to make sure those babies are taken care of and see life.”
In his prayer before marchers began their 1.4-mile journey from LCU to the banks of the Red River, Jeffreys asked for God’s continued hand on the fight for life.
“Lord, we just continue to pray for the state of Louisiana and our nation that we would just continue to fight for the unborn, and that you would change hearts and minds,” Jeffreys prayed. “Lord, that’s truly the only way that change can take place in our nation. So, we pray for the revival of hearts and minds to you. We just pray that others will see Christ in us, Lord, just in the simple way of how we want to help and provide for mothers and for the unborn in any way that we can. Father, we just pray that there would be hearts turned and hearts strengthened towards what you consider just precious – life in the womb.”
The life march was the last of four held in the state in January. While Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Lake Charles hosted marches, marches scheduled to take place in Monroe/West Monroe and Shreveport/Bossier City were cancelled because of inclement weather. “Love them both” was the theme.
“Facing cold weather across the state, pro-life citizens continued to show their love for both mother and baby at marches and other events,” Louisiana Right to Life Executive Director Ben Clapper told the Baptist Message. “We must now march every day through our prayer and action to protect life and help moms.”
Outside Louisiana, thousands gathered near the US Capitol for the 53rd annual March for Life, Jan. 23. This year’s theme was “Life is a gift.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, also a member of Cypress Baptist Church, Benton, told the crowd that the right to life is an unalienable gift from God and highlighted recent legislative victories as a turning point in protecting the unborn.
“We measure our success on the number of lives we save and the lives we improve and uplift with common-sense, life-affirming policies,” he said. “It’s you, my friends, who will help us to usher in America’s new golden age, as President Trump says.”
Johnson shared that he was the product of an unplanned pregnancy and was thankful his parents chose life.
“We all have a reason that we march,” he said. “We all have a reason that we believe so strongly in this principle. And my life story is that one. And in two sentences, I was the product of an unplanned teen pregnancy exactly one year before Roe in January of 1972. And a lot of people try to convince my very young parents that they should just take care of that problem. But I am eternally grateful that they allowed me the chance at life.
“I think of the millions of children that did not have that same opportunity,” he continued. “And every single child deserves the opportunity to fulfill their God-given potential. And it is up to us to defend that freedom and that right, that essential freedom to be born, the inalienable right to life that is imperiled in our generation. And we’re so grateful that you are willing to march and stand and speak for that issue.
“Every single one of you has the power to change hearts and minds and ultimately to save lives,” he said. “And we can never forget that. And I know that you won’t. I want to thank you all for coming out, braving the cold and the weather that’s on the way. It’s worth it. We’re going to save lives together.”
Johnson, who is the product of an unplanned pregnancy, expressed gratitude to his parents that they chose life.
Gary Hollingsworth, interim president of The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, emphasized why Southern Baptists believe in the pro-life cause.
“Every year, tens of thousands of people from across the world take to the streets of our nation’s capital, standing shoulder to shoulder to send a powerful message: life is a gift,” Hollingsworth said. “As Scripture tells us, from the moment of conception, every person is a gift from above, made in the image of God and worthy of protection.”
