Basin parishioners link for life

A chain-link fence surrounds the Planned Parenthood of West Texas in Midland, but the weave of metal wire doesn't silence the pro-life message being preached on the street.

Linked together by a common purpose - to pray for the stop of abortions - parishioners of varying denominations hold signs of protest and distribute educational literature to women entering the center.

The practice happens each Friday - prayer in the garden across the street and conversations on the sidewalk as a last-gasp attempt to prevent women from following through with the scheduled termination of their pregnancy.

On Sunday, pro-life efforts will be vamped up for Life Chain - an annual hour of prayer for the nation and a peaceful, public witness on behalf of the unborn at risk of abortion

According to the event's website, participants across more than 1,000 U.S. cities will hold signs and pray on sidewalks - the Midland event is from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

Organizer Mike Banschbach of St. Michael the Archangel Traditional Catholic Church said his peaceful activism is rooted in the belief that life begins at conception and he feels a moral obligation to speak out for those who can't - the unborn.

"Abortion's a sticky thing - there's not very many people who want to talk about it," he said. "We attempt to engage people in conversation down at the clinic - not in accusatory or judgmental tones, but just trying to get them to think a little bit."

Banschbach said local pro-life advocates refer pregnant women and girls to the Life Center in Midland as an alternative to abortion.

"A lot of people will come over and talk - you'd be surprised at some of the things they open up about," he said. "Some people start to realize that what they have done or what they're contemplating doing is not the right thing to do.

"At some point people have to realize that sex is meant for marriage and the procreation of marriage - outside of that, it just leads to problems," he said.

Along with Sunday's Life Chain event, many pro-life supports are participating in the nationwide "40 Days for Life" campaign from Sept. 24 through Nov. 2. The campaign stresses prayer, fasting and peaceful vigils outside abortion clinics for 40 days prior to the presidential election.

Gail Blaylock, office manager of True-Lite Christian Fellowship, said the church participates in Life Chain each year, and she personally signed up for a time slot in the 40 Days campaign. Participants devote an hour one day a week for prayer.

"Our pastor and his wife are great supporters of pro-life, too, and they go every Friday to the Prayer Garden," Blaylock said.
Raised to be against abortion, Blaylock said that God could use her church's peaceful presence to help change women's minds about having an abortion.

"They have no point of reference to make decisions on," she said.
"It's so hard to know if you're doing something for the good of the nation, but when you're standing out there, you actually feel that you're contributing to the positive part of our country," she said. "It may seem a small way, but it makes a great statement about God in our country - a way to express that we need to get our morals back and knowing the laws of the Lord."

who's signed up?

Here are some of the churches participating in Life Chain on Sunday.
>> St. Ann's Catholic Church.
>> St. Stephen's Catholic Church.
>> Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church.
>> Our Lady of San Juan Catholic Church.
>> St. Michael the Archangel Traditional Catholic Church.
>> Providence Presbyterian Church.
>> True-Lite Christian Fellowship.
>> Crestview Baptist Church.

want to go?

>> Local pro-life supporters will participate in Life Chain from 2 p.m. to
3 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of Andrews Highway and Midkiff Road in Midland.
>> ‘40 Days for Life' is a national pro-life campaign from Sept. 24 to Nov. 2 which encourages prayer, fasting and peaceful vigils outside of abortion clinics leading up to the general election.
>> Call Michael Banschbach at 686-7709.

ON THE NET:
>> Life Chain Network: www.lifechain.net