By Thaddeus M. Baklinski
KELOWNA, BC, November 23, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Well over 100 people, the vast majority youth, “stood in the gap” and prayed for an end to abortion in front of Kelowna General Hospital on Saturday morning.
The BC Interior Health Authority has run a weekly abortion clinic inside Kelowna General Hospital since 2001.
Organizer Dusty Reid reported that 132 people came out to line the sidewalk across from Kelowna's abortion facility wearing red duct tape bearing the word LIFE over their mouths and praying for an end to abortion and a spiritual revival for Canada.
Reid, founder of Bound4LIFE Kelowna Chapter, said that Saturday's turnout exceeded all expectations and reflects a growing desire among young Christians to stand up against the evil of abortion. “The vast majority, perhaps as many as 90%, of participants were under the age of 30, a statistic that offers hope and encouragement for the future of the pro life movement everywhere,” Reid said.
“We're not protesting anything, the tape kind of stops anyone from doing that,” Reid told a Kelowna.com reporter.
“We're out here praying and interceding on behalf of our nation and also unborn babies that don't have a voice.”
She said the concept of a prayer siege is based on Ezekiel 22:30. “I look for a man who will build a wall, stand in the gap on behalf of the nation,” quoted Reid. “That's what we're doing. Standing in the gap and praying.”
Marlon Bartram, the Executive Director of The Kelowna Right to Life Society, said Kelowna has become known as a hotbed of pro-life activism, and the inclusion of regular prayer sieges will only add to that reputation. “Several other pro-life initiatives are in the works for the Kelowna area as well, not the least of which is a recruitment drive to host a 40 Days for Life next Spring,” he said.
Other efforts of Bound4LIFE Kelowna Chapter include “No, Not This One,” wherein a mass text message is periodically sent to subscribers asking them to pray for women in crisis pregnancies and their unborn children.
“No, Not This One” was developed by Lou Engel, co-founder of Bound4LIFE, after a woman told him of an experience she had while waiting to go in for an abortion years ago. The woman told Engel that she repeatedly heard a voice telling her simply, “No, not this one” and eventually got up and left the clinic. She gave birth to her daughter a few months later.
Reid said Bound4LIFE is also planning additional pro-life events and Silent Sieges will be held every month in Kelowna. “The event promises to attract church-goers from neighbouring communities such as Vernon and Penticton,” she told reporters.
The next siege is scheduled for December 20th at 5:00 pm at the “Sails” sculpture in downtown Kelowna, and is being billed as a “Candlelight Prayer Siege.”
“Expectations are high for another solid turnout that evening,” Marlon Bartram said.
Visit the Kelowna Right to Life website here for pictures of the Silent Siege Kelowna event.
See previous LSN coverage:
B.C. City Proclaims “Protect Human Life Week”
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/sep/09090903.html