The weather might have been cool and rainy, but that didn’t stop Moose Jaw from once again coming out to support the annual Life Chain pro-life demonstration on Sunday afternoon.
More than 60 participants took part in the event, which saw folks carrying signs with pro-life messages lining Main Street near the Victory Church for one hour. It’s all part of a venture that takes place on the first Sunday of October each year and involves communities all over North America.
“It’s in over 300 cities now, and we do this every year just to bring awareness to people that life is valuable and to support the dignity of human life, from conception to natural death,” said Jean Landry with Moose Jaw Right to Life, local organizers of Life Chain.
While it could have been easy to have a far smaller turnout than past years given the inclement conditions, many participants consider the event too important to miss and would have shown up regardless of the weather.
“We’ve stood out here in worse weather than this,” Landry said with the laugh. “It’s nice to see younger people out, too, and some of the new families who are in town as well. It’s really good to see.”
With one of the goals of Life Chain being to show communities that pro-life organizations are available where they live, Moose Jaw Right to Life has continued to thrive in the city.
“It’s wonderful, and with the signs we have here, too, we mean it when we say ‘if you need help, call us’,” Landry said, referring to the organizations phone number, (306) 694-4111. “We’re not counsellors ourselves, but we can advise who to call if they need a counselor. And if anyone needs to talk, we’ll try and help any way we can.”
The centrepiece of Moose Jaw Right to Life is their store in the basement of the First Baptist Church at 1010 Main St. North. There, families in need of clothing and items for their babies can browse racks of clothing and all sorts of helpful items and take what they need, all free of charge.
“People come in and take what they need and when the baby outgrows it they bring it back,” Landry explained. “Then there’s things like cribs coming in and strollers, not just clothes, and it’s getting more and more popular as the word spreads. There’s no pressure, no condecension, and it doesn’t matter what walk of life you are. It’s for the community and the community really supports it.”
You can find out more about Life Chain 2022 by visiting their website at https://www.campaignlifecoalition.com/life-chain and for more on Moose Jaw Right to Life, check out their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/RightToLifeMooseJaw/.a
