The Diocese of Arlington is always well represented at the annual March for Life in Washington. Many take for granted the proximity of the diocese to Washington, but although Arlington County is just across the river, the outlying parishes of the diocese are more than a hop, skip and a jump from the district.

Parishioners from the perimeters of the diocese including Kilmarnock, Fredericksburg, Madison and Winchester have made it a tradition to travel into Washington to "march for life" with the rest of the country.

On the southwestern side of the diocese, Susan Wingate, a parishioner of Our Lady of the Blue Ridge in Madison, said that she and her family have attended the March for nearly 20 years. She does not see the distance as an impediment to participating in the March. When she thinks of the people who come from New England and other parts of the country, she said there is really no excuse for her not to go to the March.

"It so painless for us to go — we live so close," said Wingate.

Wingate is not concerned about the negative press the March attracts or the way the media distorts the numbers in attendance because, she said, that is not why she marches.

"We don’t do this for the sake of the press," she said. "Even if they choose not to see us, the Lord sees us. We still have to do what we can do and it is very encouraging and edifying to see thousands of people come to stand up for life."

Wingate traditionally has taken her nine children to the March and now her oldest daughter, Maggie Willson, continues the tradition by taking her six children.

Representing part of the southeastern part of the diocese, Father Christopher M. Buckner, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Fredericksburg, rides on one of six buses filled with his parishioners. Father Buckner tries to make the March accessible to all parishioners by paying for the trip with parish funds.

"It is important for people to stand up to take visible witness," said Father Buckner. "The March is a good opportunity for people to put their faith into action."

As pastor, Father Buckner would never "ask his people to do anything he wouldn’t do" and so he always makes the trek to the city himself.

Father Edwin Thayer Tewes, St. Mary’s associate pastor and head of the pro-life activities at the parish, also goes to the March annually. He said that this year, with the help of the Knights of Columbus, the parish promoted the idea of fathers taking the day off work to accompany their sons to the March.

"Obviously with the way things are going these days we need to keep the issue alive because it is too easy to let it die, too easy to surrender," said Father Tewes. "We make it easy on people to go and thank God people take advantage of it."

"It can be so hard to get people involved in pro-life work because they have no spare time, but this is one event we can really get people involved in."

Father Tewes believes that no matter how the secular media skews the numbers of marchers, people still see the thousands of people in attendance and he believes it makes an impact on the media and those who witness it.
 

In the northwestern corner of the diocese, David and Rosemary Jaswa, parishioners at Sacred Heart Parish, have done more than march every Jan. 22, they also pass out literature to other marchers. As members of the Couple to Couple League, the Jaswas hand out pamphlets containing information on Natural Family Planning and the link between contraception and abortion.

Rosemary said that she attends the March to "show the nation that abortion is wrong," and to let people know that understanding the problem of contraception is an important part of fighting abortion.

At the southernmost point of the diocese, parishioners of St. Francis de Sales in Kilmarnock and St. Paul’s Mission in Hague are not daunted by the three-hour bus ride to the March. Led by Father James C. Bruse, pastor, 52 people attended the March from the two churches.

"We go to take a stand on abortion and to show the government and the country that St. Francis de Sales and St. Paul’s (Parishes) are committed to standing up for life," said Father Bruse.

According to Father Bruse, his parishioners are active in the pro-life ministry. They participate in the annual Life Chain in Fredericksburg with hopes of starting their own soon. A pro-life memorial grotto was created last year at St. Francis de Sales with a tombstone for the unborn and a statue of the Infant of Prague overlooking the monument.

The parish prepares for the March at the Fall Festival by collecting donations to pay for the bus trip to Washington which costs over $800. Father Bruse said that the parishioners come through every year with their donations.

"The people here are very generous and supportive of the pro-life movement," he said. "Those people who cannot come to the March pray for us while we are there."

Also in the north, in the central part of the diocese, two parishes combined efforts to get to the March. Parishioners from St. John in Leesburg and St. Francis de Sales in Purcellville pooled their resources to send 45 people to Washington. According to Father Jerry A. Wooton, associate pastor at St. John, this is the second
year that a group has gone to the March from St. John and the first time they have coordinated with the Purcellville parish.

As a chaplain for the Knights of Columbus in Purcellville, Father Wooton knew that several people from St. Francis de Sales were looking for a way to get to the March and decided to combine transportation for the two parishes.

"Combining both parishes to get to the March worked out well," said Father Wooton. "Next year we hope to have two buses."

Father Wooton said that it is important to have a Catholic presence and especially a parish presence at the March.

"It is part of the evangelical call as Catholics to stand up for the rights of all persons," he said. "It is part of the moral teaching we follow as Catholics and thus it important to have a presence at the March as a Church community."
 

Send a pro life letter (letter is preferable) or an email to your  Senators and representatives using the Directory at the Congressional Email Directory.  Point and click here to surf to their web site.

Copyright ©1999 Arlington Catholic Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.

This article was published in the Arlington Catholic Herald,
200 N. Glebe Rd., Suite 607, Arlington, VA 22203; Vol. 24, No 4;
page 10, dated Jan. 28, 1999.
E-mail: letters@catholicherald.com
Fax: 703/524-2782;
Editorial: 703/841-2590;
Advertising: 703/841-2594;
Circulation: 703/841-2565

A note from the Web Master:

It is noteworthy and honorable that some folks are willing to stand up for a ban on Partial-Birth Abortion.  Let us not forget that ordinary everyday Abortion is also murder.  We must understand that murder is murder no matter the method.  Because one method of abortion seems to be horrible does not justify the other methods.  We should be horrified and sickened by any Abortion regardless of the method.  The Fifth Commandment spells it out clearly: "Thou shalt not kill."  A fetus is a person, a human being with a God given soul.  Imagine the pain the Lord must feel when any Abortion occurs.  Please contact both of your Senators and Representative, via letter or phone,  to let them know how horrified you are that Abortions are legal and to stop Partial-Birth Abortions and all other Abortions as soon as possible. (It has become apparent that they do not respond to email therefore you will have more of an impact by writing or telephoning.)

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