Pro-life advocates from throughout the Diocese of Davenport are preparing to mark the 36th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion.
Other events are planned this month to mark Sanctity of Life Sunday and other activities.
Here is a roundup provided by parishes and pro-life groups:
• Jan. 22, noon, Albia: St. Mary Parish will participate in a Day of Penance for the violation of the human person. The rosary will be prayed at noon. Faith formation students will have an activity that evening.
• Jan. 22, 6 p.m., Bettendorf: The Women’s Choice Center will host a rosary, worship and praise and prayer service. Vicki Tyler, executive director of the pro-life center, said Father Bill Kneemiller, pastor of Sacred Heart parishes in Lost Nation and Oxford Junction and St. James Parish in Toronto, will lead the rosary in the center’s chapel at 6 p.m. After praying the rosary, supporters will walk up the hill to nearby Heritage Church for a welcoming ceremony and praise and worship service inside. A video regarding Roe v Wade will be shown, along with “Blue Eyed Janey.”
Participants will walk back down the hill to pray in front of Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa’s Bettendorf clinic. Refreshments will be served afterward at the Women’s Choice Center.
• Jan. 22, 7 p.m., Iowa City: St. Mary Parish will host a holy hour for life in the church.
• Jan. 22, 7-8 p.m., Iowa City: Informed Choice of Iowa Corp. will sponsor a vigil and the clinic will receive a blessing. Tours of the new facility, which is still being remodeled, will be available as well as an opportunity to meet members of the pro-life center’s staff. A prayer vigil and blessing of the clinic will take place from 7-7:30 p.m. Tours and staff meetings are available from 7:30-8 p.m. IC3 is located at 821 S. Gilbert St. For more information, call (319) 541-4241 or (319) 337-0575.
• Jan. 22, Muscatine: Eighteen people, including Father Joseph Sia, parochial vicar at Ss. Mary & Mathias Parish in Muscatine, will travel to Washington, D.C., for the annual March for Life to be held that day.
• Jan. 22, 5:30 p.m., West Burlington: Ss. Mary & Patrick Parish will hold a pro-life Mass. The Knights of Columbus will sponsor a soup supper immediately after Mass in the parish center with proceeds going to the vocations fund.
• Jan. 24, 10:30 a.m. Fort Madison: The annual March for Life will start at 10th Street and Avenue F. Participants will follow an established route and end at McAleer Hall.
• Jan. 25, 4:30-6:30 p.m., Hills: The annual St. Joseph Parish soup supper will be held in the parish center. Cost is $5 for adults, $3 for children. Money will be donated to Informed Choice of Iowa Corp.
Also in January, St. John Vianney Parish in Bettendorf took up a second collection at all Masses Jan. 10-11 for Birthright, and St. Mary Parish in Davenport held a Mass for peace and justice and pleaded for the right of the unborn. At Masses for the Feast of the Epiphany, parishioners collected gifts for infants to donate to Birthright.
St. Mary’s in Albia put up its sanctity of human life crib in early January in the church. Parishioners were encouraged to donate baby items, which were distributed to women’s shelters, Birthright and the local Nest Program. Parishioner Marge Pasut donated prayer cards to be handed out throughout the month of Our Lady of Guadalupe and a prayer for the intercession of the unborn. Parishioners also are encouraged to spiritually adopt and pray for an unborn child. Candles for life also are available.
