Special Prayer Request
File this one under 'you have got to be kidding me':
As most of you know, I am a volunteer escort for Planned Parenthood. I spend a few Saturdays a month escorting clientele from their cars, past the protestors, to the clinic. It is a very rewarding experience, although a difficult way to start a day – being taunted and chastised by an angry mob. I have been called everything under the sun and believe it or not, I feel no ill-will towards the protestors. As I’ve said before, they are standing up for what they believe in the same way that I am. To them, yelling profanities at someone they don’t know in the hopes they won’t show up the following Saturday is an act of kindness in the end. I wonder if I might feel the same way were I on the other side of the fence.
But I’m not – I am squarely on this side – the side that believes that while abortion is an evil, it is a lesser evil than forcing a woman to endure an unwanted pregnancy.
A few Saturdays ago, there was a lull in arrivals and I found myself standing next to one of the protestors from the Houston Coalition for Life. We were far away from the protestors whom I have learned to identify as the particularly harassing ones and from watching this individual, I had a notion she was a bit more likely to talk to me rather than at me. I took a chance and asked her a question:
“Do you think that if I were to ask you a question, we might have a debate without any shouting or name calling?”
She responded quickly, “Yes – of course” - so I continued. “One of the things about which you speak most often is the alternatives to abortion. Every Saturday when I come here, I see dozens of people who are obviously very passionate about this issue taking time out of their days to stand here and make it clear that they disagree with what goes on behind those doors. My question is this – wouldn’t it be more effective to take that energy, that passion, that time and channel it towards working to make these alternatives more readily available? Instead of sitting here and protesting Planned Parenthood, you could be working at an adoption facility or a crisis pregnancy center which doesn’t perform abortions.”
Her response was simple and honest – “I do volunteer at those places – I come here to make sure that people know they exist.”
From there, we engaged in a beautiful debate. It was calm, educational and completely void of aggression. I would be lying if I said that it was all fruitful – much of it was spent convincing her that she didn’t need to waste time throwing emotional arguments at me. “I know abortion is a horrible thing” I kept reminding her, “we can stop with the tear-jerking sound-bites.” I wanted to show her that I and the other volunteers aren’t monsters – in fact, we aren’t so different from those on the other side of the fence.
Before long, four of her friends joined us in our discussion. As we leaned up against the walls of the clinic and discussed, the barriers between us quickly collapsed – we moved closer to one another, our demeanor changed – we were no longer enemies – we were equals, colleagues – perhaps even friends. It was one of the most rewarding hours of my life. What began as five people coming together to battle ended with an exchange of e-mail addresses and a promise to continue this discussion over lunch someday.
Now, with this in mind, imagine my surprise and slight annoyance when the volunteer coordinator of Planned Parenthood sent me this except from the Houston Coalition for Life newsletter:
SPECIAL PRAYER REQUEST
Please shower your prayers upon a Planned Parenthood worker who seems to be on the brink of conversion. During a time when there was a very large prayer presence at the Planned Parenthood abortion mill, a worker began a meaningful dialogue with a prayer warrior and seems to be having a change of heart!
As most of you know, I am a volunteer escort for Planned Parenthood. I spend a few Saturdays a month escorting clientele from their cars, past the protestors, to the clinic. It is a very rewarding experience, although a difficult way to start a day – being taunted and chastised by an angry mob. I have been called everything under the sun and believe it or not, I feel no ill-will towards the protestors. As I’ve said before, they are standing up for what they believe in the same way that I am. To them, yelling profanities at someone they don’t know in the hopes they won’t show up the following Saturday is an act of kindness in the end. I wonder if I might feel the same way were I on the other side of the fence.
But I’m not – I am squarely on this side – the side that believes that while abortion is an evil, it is a lesser evil than forcing a woman to endure an unwanted pregnancy.
A few Saturdays ago, there was a lull in arrivals and I found myself standing next to one of the protestors from the Houston Coalition for Life. We were far away from the protestors whom I have learned to identify as the particularly harassing ones and from watching this individual, I had a notion she was a bit more likely to talk to me rather than at me. I took a chance and asked her a question:
“Do you think that if I were to ask you a question, we might have a debate without any shouting or name calling?”
She responded quickly, “Yes – of course” - so I continued. “One of the things about which you speak most often is the alternatives to abortion. Every Saturday when I come here, I see dozens of people who are obviously very passionate about this issue taking time out of their days to stand here and make it clear that they disagree with what goes on behind those doors. My question is this – wouldn’t it be more effective to take that energy, that passion, that time and channel it towards working to make these alternatives more readily available? Instead of sitting here and protesting Planned Parenthood, you could be working at an adoption facility or a crisis pregnancy center which doesn’t perform abortions.”
Her response was simple and honest – “I do volunteer at those places – I come here to make sure that people know they exist.”
From there, we engaged in a beautiful debate. It was calm, educational and completely void of aggression. I would be lying if I said that it was all fruitful – much of it was spent convincing her that she didn’t need to waste time throwing emotional arguments at me. “I know abortion is a horrible thing” I kept reminding her, “we can stop with the tear-jerking sound-bites.” I wanted to show her that I and the other volunteers aren’t monsters – in fact, we aren’t so different from those on the other side of the fence.
Before long, four of her friends joined us in our discussion. As we leaned up against the walls of the clinic and discussed, the barriers between us quickly collapsed – we moved closer to one another, our demeanor changed – we were no longer enemies – we were equals, colleagues – perhaps even friends. It was one of the most rewarding hours of my life. What began as five people coming together to battle ended with an exchange of e-mail addresses and a promise to continue this discussion over lunch someday.
Now, with this in mind, imagine my surprise and slight annoyance when the volunteer coordinator of Planned Parenthood sent me this except from the Houston Coalition for Life newsletter:
SPECIAL PRAYER REQUEST
Please shower your prayers upon a Planned Parenthood worker who seems to be on the brink of conversion. During a time when there was a very large prayer presence at the Planned Parenthood abortion mill, a worker began a meaningful dialogue with a prayer warrior and seems to be having a change of heart!
posted by Nicholas at 11:07 AM
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