Mercy forever.

As in past years, Lutherans are invited to join the 39th annual “March for Life” Jan. 23 in Washington, D.C., which includes the offer of free lodging for travelers in the homes of Washington-area Lutheran church members.

The march is held to protest the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion and it attests to the value of human life.

Events for Lutherans include a 9 a.m. Divine Service for worship at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Alexandria, Va., with the Rev. Christopher Esget delivering the sermon. After a complimentary brunch at the church, the group will travel to downtown Washington for the rally and march.

Esget is a pastor at Immanuel, Alexandria, and also serves on the LCMS Sanctity of Human Life Committee under the direction of LCMS Life Ministries.  Maggie Karner, director of LCMS Life Ministries, and Ed Szeto, Life Ministries special projects coordinator, will accompany Lutherans that day.  Immanuel Lutheran Church and Dennis DiMauro, leader of the Lutherans For Life (LFL) chapter in northern Virginia, are organizing the events for the Lutherans.

For detailed information or to arrange for free lodging in the Washington, D.C., area, contact DiMauro at 703-568-3346 or dimauro.dennis@gmail.com.

In addition, Lutherans are encouraged to start planning now to attend what Karner refers to as “the biggest LCMS pro-life event ever” in January 2013. A Lutheran pro-life conference in conjunction with the 2013 National March for Life and the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision will take place Jan. 25-26, 2013, in Washington, D.C. 

LCMS Life Ministries is in the planning stages of the conference that was mandated by Res. 6-02A of the 2010 LCMS Convention. That resolution asks that a “conference be convened by the sanctity of life ministry that will provide encouragement to all LCMS members currently involved in elective and legislative processes and help them to be more vocal about pro-life issues, and that will equip and encourage more LCMS members to become involved in the governmental process of our country.”

The conference, titled “Lutherans and Pro-Life Politics — Good and Acceptable Service,” is based on 1 Tim. 2:1-4: “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people — for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”