#ProtestPP Seattle

This last weekend I joined the crowd of people outside Seattle’s Planned Parenthood. At 320 other locations around the country many others did likewise, protesting the country’s most well-known abortion provider. It was wonderful seeing all my friends from around the country posting their pictures on Facebook.

Much like last time in Seattle, the counter-protest presence was rather weak. I counted maybe six people who were identifiably there in support of Planned Parenthood. In contrast, the pro-lifers covered most of the city block:

As you can hopefully see, as usual there was a real cross-section of people present, both men and women, young and old.

Singing belongs to one who loves…

There was singing! I have long thought that singing is something which should happen more often outside abortion clinics. Songs have the ability to unite people together, to lift the spirits of those singing and to present something beautiful to the world.

All the songs were all good ol’-fashioned hymns. The first one we sang was even written by GK Chesterton! Respect to whoever whose that! I had no idea that England’s “Apostle of of Common Sense” had written any hymns, although on reflection I really shouldn’t have been surprised.

As good as the hymns were, I did find quite a few of them rather hard to parse and the language a little difficult to understand. I thought of my own parish’s musical tradition, Byzantine chant, and how well it might serve in this situation. The melodies are simple and easy to follow and, more often than not, we’re chanting God’s word, the Psalms. I can’t help but imagine that those hurrying past to get an abortion would easily relate to the psalmist as he laments that all his friends have scattered and that his very life is on the brink of the grave. The beauty of the psalms, however, is that they also offer hope, that “Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Psalm 30:5).

Who knows? Maybe next time we’ll do some chant 🙂

…that the world might believe…

There was something else rather wonderful about Saturday that I should mention before signing off. The ecumenical nature of the protest was very heartening. On occasion, it feels like the Catholic Church stands alone against the pro-choice movement. I certainly have had this feeling at some pro-life events back in San Diego.

However, there was no doubt this weekend of the Evangelical resolve to defend life. I’m not sure exactly what the breakdown was, but there was definitely a considerable non-Catholic Christian presence at the rally, particularly from Carnation Bible Church. “How good and how lovely it is when brothers dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1)