By Lindsay Steele
The Catholic Messenger
FAIRFIELD — The uniform, white wooden crosses stretch across the lawn of Immanuel Lutheran Church in orderly rows, reminiscent of gravestones at a military cemetery.
For Jefferson County Right to Life President Karen Crossland, the wooden crosses serve as memorials for unborn children.
“We don’t want them to be forgotten,” said Crossland, a parishioner of St. Mary Parish in Fairfield. “They should be accorded that honor of a memorial. … The rows upon rows of white crosses each represent a life.”
On Sept. 23, in honor of 40 Days for Life, Jefferson County Right to Life members set up the 135-cross display on the lawn of Immanuel Lutheran Church, with the blessing of its pastor Mark Brase. To prepare, Right to Life members marked the spots with small flags where the 135 crosses would go, and volunteers used hammers and mallets to pound the crosses into the ground. It took about 30 minutes to install the crosses.
After installation of the display, they enjoyed “birthday cupcakes” as another way to commemorate unborn children. “Every child deserves a birthday,” Crossland explained.
The ecumenical group has set up the display once before in an effort to remind people of the prevalence of abortion; the locale is ideal, organizers said, because the lawn borders a heavily traveled road. St. Mary parishioner Teresa Mottet said, “It’s in an eye-catching spot where it can be seen by travelers on the highway.”
Mottet, who helped set up the display, noted that they chose the number 135 because it is a rough estimation of the number of abortions performed in the United States each hour.
In addition to the crosses, a 40 Days for Life banner was installed, along with five Burma Shave-style signs reading “Every hour,” “More than,” “135 lives lost!” “Pray to” “End Abortion.” The double- sided signs can be read in both directions, Mottet said.
The display will be in place until Nov. 2.
