Pro-Life Demonstration on Campus PART I: What Happened

Yesterday I was on campus a littl earlier than I needed to be. My internship started at 10am, but I scheduled to meet with my advisor at 8am to discuss courses that I need to take for next year. We wrapped up around 8:30 and I started heading across campus to the department where I am interning. I knew I'd have some spare time so I figured I'd pull out a book (A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller) and find a spot somewhere along The Green, which is a stretch of grass that slices through a number of academic buildings. Imagine The Mall in Washington D.C. on a much smaller scale.

While walking under the brick archways to enter The Green, I noticed some minor construction taking place. Somewhere near the middle of the stretch of grass, pipes and posters were being assembled. Leading up to this were bright orange signs reading "Caution: Genocide Pictures Ahead". At this point I had a strong inkling on what I would be seeing. Before I reached Pro-Life display, a former professor and current "higher-up" at the University came walking away from the set-up and asked if this was something I was interested in (most of my professors have at least an inkling of my faith). I responded yes and he continued on expressing rumors he had heard about a counter-protest right around noon. My lunchbreak that day was noon, so I quickly realized where I'd be spending it.

The adminstrator was obviously busy, so he went back to his office and I continued on to the exhibit which was being setup by The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform (. The presentation included three sides facing sidewalks, then an open area facing the open space of grass. Each side of it large pictures including babies in the womb, aborted babies, and body parts of the deceased babies, as well as images from the genocides in Rwanda, the Holocaust, and lynchings of African-Americans. I met a man named John who was a gentleman from the area who was volunteering to help the organization prepare this demonstration. He explained who the group was and how they were invited on campus by the Pro-Life Vanguard. It's a traveling exhibit that goes from college to college, with their next stop at Temple University on Monday and Tuesday of the following week. My univesity was allowing them to be present on campus, but restricted them in not allowing them to present a large-scale speech. I found this fairly reasonable. I gave John the heads up on the counter-protest, but he seemed pretty nonchalant about it; surely he's used to such groups coming up, but he appreciated the shared knowledge of a time frame.

Not too much seemed to be going on at this time. I found a spot away from The Green to read before heading over to my internship. I would come back around noon and then would pass it a second time when I left for the day. My second post will discuss my obersvations and reflections from the affair.

The Tomb is Empty!

Those might be the four most meaningful words in my relationship with Christ: The tomb is empty. Also love the, "Why do you seek the living among the dead" line! REJOICE! The Lord has created a new covenant with us. One that leads to eternal life. HE IS RISEN! He has conquered death! He has given us life.

Yes, I just threw a whole bunch of Christian cliches at you, but they are all true. Today is a beautiful, beautiful day. The most important day to those who follow Christ.

Again, REJOICE! For the tomb is empty!

Good Friday

"See, my servant will prosper; he will be highly exalted. But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man. And he will startle many nations. Kings will stand speechless in his presence. For they will see what they had not been told; they will understand what they had not heard about." ~Isaiah 52:13-15


"So they took Jesus away. Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha). There they nailed him to the cross...And Pilate posted a sign on the cross that read, 'Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.' The place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek." ~John 19:16-20


"At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock. At about three o'clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, 'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?' which means 'My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?'" ~Matthew 27:45-46


"Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, 'I am thirsty.' A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it to his lips. When Jesus had tasted it, he said, 'It is finished!' Then he bowed his head and released his spirit." ~John 29:28-30


"Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross." ~Philippians 2:6-8


"When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, 'This man was truly the Son of God!'" ~Mark 15:39


"As his body was taken away, the women from Galilee followed and saw the tomb where his body was placed. Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments to anoint his body. But by the time they were finished the Sabbath had begun, so they rested as required by the law." ~Luke 23:55-56




"How Deep the Father's Love for Us" performed by Joy Williams