[Dr Thomas Williams wrote this sad =
report this week – the same time of year we celebrate Equality/MLK =
Day and the anniversary of Roe v Wade – and I felt the need to include =
this in the serious weekend edition of the Blog. Such a sad =
commentary on ‘religion’ in America embracing all that is =
anti-God, anti-moral, and anti-humanity.]
More than 20 religious =
leaders of different faiths assembled Tuesday to bless Planned =
Parenthood’s new abortion mega-clinic in Washington, DC, praising =
its ‘sacred work.’ “In almost every message to our =
staff, I talk about our doing sacred work,” said Dr. Laura Meyers, =
president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington. =
“This confirms the sacredness of the work we =
do.”
The event was =
organized by the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, and =
included “leaders from different Christian denominations, a rabbi, =
abortion providers, a Planned Parenthood patient, Hindu priests, an Imam =
over Skype, visual art, and a liturgical dance.”
Rabbi =
Michael Namath of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism led the =
faith leaders in prayer, invoking their obligation to make the world to =
‘whole and holy.’ “May the ones who bless our =
ancestors bring healing on all in need,” Namath said after =
reciting a text in Hebrew. “God, let your spirit rest upon these =
caregivers, who serve as instruments of your =
hands.”
A number of Christians participated as well, offering =
‘progressive voices’ to counter the orthodox Christian =
understanding of abortion as the sin of murder. “I’ve been a =
Christian longer than I’ve been an abortion provider,” said =
celebrated pro-choice activist Willie Parker. “Women have been =
made to think that this is some evil place, where God is =
not.” Parker denounced those who would criticize women for =
making “sacred decisions,” referring to the choice to abort =
their children. “Our answer to the curse is to bless,” he =
said.
“The conservative voices are big,” said =
Rev. Dr. Christine Wiley of Baptist United Church of Christ. “It =
drowns out the progressive voices, but it’s not that progressive =
voices aren’t there.”
Dr. Serina =
Floyd, the medical director at Planned Parenthood, said that =
“patients express shame, guilt, or fear about how God will =
perceive them.” Underscoring the importance of a change in =
perception, Floyd said: “Now I can tell patients that this is a =
blessed space.” Floyd says she looks forward to telling patients =
that “those of faith also support your =
decisions.”
The faith =
leaders were joined over skype by Imam Daayiee Abdullah, reportedly =
America’s first openly gay imam. Two Hindu priests, Venkatesh =
Vadhyar and Bragadeesh Balasubramanian, also joined in the blessing, =
chanting to provide “a good vibration to the building” so =
that anyone coming in “will be healed =
soon.”
Rev. Christine Wiley, an African American, tied her =
support for Planned Parenthood to the historic struggle of blacks in the =
U.S. “African Americans have been used to a sense of adversity and =
oppression, so this is just another thing,” she said. =
“We’ve been in worse places than =
this.”
Last fall, however, a group of 26 leading black =
Christian clergy and intellectuals wrote an “open letter” =
to Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, noting that =
abortion-on-demand has had a “catastrophic impact” on the =
black community in the U.S. The black Christian leaders, including =
eight African American bishops, said that black babies “are dying =
at terrifying rates,” and asked: “Don’t black lives =
matter?”
In their =
letter, the leaders noted that the rate of abortion among blacks is far =
higher than among whites, with “365 black babies aborted for every =
1,000 that are born.” “Blacks account for roughly 38% of all =
abortions in the country though we represent only 13% of the =
population,” they said, citing statistics that have led black =
Christian leaders to speak of a “black genocide”=
; occurring at the hands of abortionists.
At =
Tuesday’s blessing ceremony, the group sang “This Little =
Light of Mine,” a hymn taken from Christ’s words to His =
disciples, “You are the light of the world” and His call to =
them to provide light to those around them.
They did =
not, however, sing another hymn inspired by Christ’s words: =
“Whatsoever you do to the least of My brothers, that you do unto =
Me.”
~~
Dr Bob Griffin =
[email protected] www.grif.net =
"Jesus Knows Me, This I =
Love!"