Print Issue: January 16, 2003

Overnight Pro-Life Event To Be Held For Teens Jan. 21

Father Kevin Peek

By Priscilla Greear, Staff Writer

ATLANTA - An entire night of prayer and education for teens focusing on the pro-life movement will be held Tuesday, Jan. 21 at the Cathedral of Christ the King.

Archbishop John F. Donoghue will celebrate Mass at 8 p.m. in the Cathedral.

Following Mass, the group will move to the Hyland Center for events, including a praise and worship session, pro-life talks, prayer and adoration. Chaperoned teens will be permitted to stay overnight in certain sections of the Hyland Center.

In the morning, Mass will be celebrated in the parish hall by Father Kevin Peek, pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul Church, Decatur, followed by breakfast.

Then the group will travel by MARTA to the state Capitol where they will visit their individual legislators to support pro-life positions. They will also join in the Georgia Right to Life "Together for Life" rally, memorial service and silent march through Atlanta, which begins at the Capitol at 11:30 a.m.

The event, initiated by Father Peek and sponsored by the Babies for Life Foundation, is a statewide effort targeted at teens, but is open to any supporter of the pro-life movement. Teens must be chaperoned, whether by their youth minister or a parent.

"I think it will prepare them both spiritually as well as intellectually with what needs to be changed so that life becomes sacred the way God intended it to be," said Kari Beckman, the organizer and a high school teacher at Victory Academy in Mableton. "We want everyone that we possibly can (get) to be praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament to end this atrocity" of abortion.

The evening begins with registration at 7 p.m. Mass will be followed by exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and the praise and worship concert. Speakers will address abortion, stem cell research, cloning and euthanasia.

Participants will attend a session where they'll learn about pro-life legislation, how they can support the pro-life movement, and write letters to their legislators.

There will be a game room with Catholic trivia and other activities, and the rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet will be prayed throughout the night. Persons should bring sleeping bags and toiletries. Sinks, but no shower facilities, are available.

Father Fabio Sotelo-Peña, a native of Colombia, is expected to be among priests who attend. Hispanic teens are encouraged to attend.

The morning Mass will be at 7:15 a.m. Afterward people, who are responsible for their own transportation, will depart for the Capitol to drop off their letters with legislators or their aides.

Plans are to park at the Lindbergh MARTA station, which is the closest to the Cathedral, and take MARTA to the Five Points station to visit the Capitol and join the pro-life rally and march. Snacks and drinks will be provided throughout the night. A $5 donation per person is requested to offset expenses. The Cathedral is located at 2699 Peachtree Road, NE, Atlanta.

To register, youth ministers and all others should call Beckman at (770) 253-3683, and specify how many are in their group and their home legislative districts.