Sidewalk Counselors: The Front Lines of the Pro-Life Movement (Part Two)

Sidewalk counselors are the unsung heroes of the pro-life movement. In rain, snow, hail, sleet or the hot sun, they are on-duty to share life.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (Catholic Online) - [Editor's Note: Having stood outside abortion mills to pray and give witness to life, I know first-hand that Planned Parenthood, and other similar groups, do everything in their power to insulate mothers and fathers from hearing the truth about abortion as they approach these facilities. That's why sidewalk counseling is so important.

One sidewalk warrior, Fredi D'Alessio, issued an earnest invitation to become involved in this fulfilling ministry in Part One of this series. In Part Two, he offers some practical guidance for becoming involved. - R. Sly]

How does one strive to maintain a Christ-like demeanor while engaged in such a ministry?

• By following the way of Christ Jesus, using the overwhelming power of love and prayer, not anger, confrontation, scorn or abuse.
• By going to the site with love for everyone we encounter and with hope to save lives and souls.
• By being centered on prayer for the conversion of mothers, fathers, abortionists and their staff and everyone who supports or enables abortion in any way.
• By resisting temptations to talk unnecessarily with one another, respond to ridicule from passersby or the abortion center's staff or engage in debate with anyone.
• By adhering to the local laws, avoiding standing on any portion of the abortion center's property or blocking its entrance or the path of anyone, including passersby, on the sidewalk, and staying clear of driveways.

People of faith can be most effective if their manner is that of a prayerful contemplative while awaiting the next outreach opportunity. The mothers and fathers to whom you wish to reach out should be able to feel confident that you are sincerely there for them and their child, not to make a public statement about your position on abortion. This is a very important point.

For the past seven years I have been engaged in this ministry on the sidewalks, reaching out to thousands of abortion minded parents. One day, I hope there will be someone engaged in this ministry at every abortion center in the world, where the freedom to do so exists, during every hour of every day when these places of death and destruction are open. Toward that goal, I try to promote sidewalk counseling worldwide through my websites and as well as my personal witness.

Sidewalk counselors must have a passion for the personhood of the child in the womb and for the parent in the midst of a decision.

On my website "CHILDREN DESERVE BIRTH" we intentionally chose to use the term "Children" rather than "Babies" since, for many, that word may more effectively connote the idea of "personhood" of the young life in the womb as well as the vitality of that person. We also chose "Birth" rather than "Life" because the unborn child is already alive and awaiting her/his birthday. So these three little words make three profound statements:

1) The occupant of a pregnant woman's womb is not a "product of conception" or "blob of tissue" or "wad of cells" - she/he is a "person"
2) That person has "the right to life"
3) That "life" already exists and no one has a right to exterminate it.

This mindset also means being concerned about life issues from conception to natural death. I also have a website titled "Serious Health Care and End of Life Decisions." But one can't have a natural death or end of life decisions to make if one is deprived the right to be born.

Sidewalk counseling, as I said earlier, is conducted on days when abortions are being committed and/or days when pre-abortion evaluations or pregnancy tests are provided. Some groups only minister during the hours when abortions are being committed, but it's very important to encounter those who are getting pregnancy tests or abortion consultations as well.

Even if they make an appointment for an abortion, they will have the time to read the literature given to them, give more serious thought about their decision and perhaps seek counseling from one of the referrals included in the literature. No one should be neglected and wouldn't be if all hours of the abortion centers' operation are covered.

Those of us who also do outreach on the non-abortion days don't always get to witness, and be consoled by, the reversals that would otherwise be obvious, which bring us joy and help us to persevere in our ministry. But those six glorious words that I shared with you at the beginning of this article prove that they do indeed occur. Only God knows how often. All we need do is persevere.

For sure, not everyone can make time for this ministry, but I personally don't believe anyone is above engaging in it. We are all servants and not one of us is greater than our Master, Christ Jesus.

Every time we reach out with love to parents contemplating or planning abortion, we perform an act of mercy. We act as instruments of God's love, mercy and peace. Even if we are rejected, we can be consoled in the fact that we did what we came to do, serve God and our neighbor.

There isn't enough space in this article to give you all the reasons why sidewalk counselors are needed or tell you what it's like to be on the sidewalk doing outreach. We cannot fully instruct you on what techniques should and should not be used when doing outreach. We could also fill pages sharing heartwarming stories about parents who changed their minds and chose birth for their children

If you do some research on the internet, including my website, you will come across all of the resources you need. Regarding techniques, you will have to make some crucial decisions and guidance concerning those areas is also available.

Two other very important ministries include The Gabriel Project and Creatd4Life. You will find a link to each of them listed under "Other Organizations" on my website.

I hope at this point you are at least interested in finding out more about sidewalk counseling. Do your homework before making a decision to become involved or determining how you will go about it. I invite you to visit my website, CHILDREN DESERVE BIRTH (http://children-deserve-birth.blogspot.com), and email me with any questions - you'll find my email address on the site.

Take the time to find out where the abortion centers are to be found in your area. If you encounter already existing ministries at these locations, you can expand the hours of coverage at them. It's not likely that there would be a need to have more than two counselors at the same location at the same time and it's more important to cover more hours (thus reaching out to more parents in need) than to have more counselors present than needed. If no organization is present, consider establishing a new one.

My prayer is that many of you will focus on being involved in pure prayerful sidewalk counseling. But, whatever you decide, dear Christian, I hope you will not be one of the indifferent passersby.

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Fredi D'Alessio is a defender of those who have no voice but ours, our first neighbors in the womb of their mothers. He has been on the front lines of the great human rights struggle of our age, the pro-Life movement.

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