Parishioners of St. Joseph’s Parish endured cold, wet temperatures as well as abuse from motorists and passersby as they held a peaceful pro-life vigil along Port Moody’s main arteries Saturday.
Although police were called twice to investigate threats and accusations against parishioners, the 40 Days for Life vigil also received “a lot of honking of horns and good conversations of support,” in addition to “a lot of venom,” said pastor Father Mark McGuckin.
Groups of parishioners wore fluorescent green t-shirts and held signs saying “Abortion Hurts Women” or “Adoption, a Loving Option” as they took one-hour shifts through the day and evening.
Parishioner Alex Fantillo, who helped organize the vigil, said while the group received some honks of approval, they were also met with shouting, obscene gestures, and public threats of bodily harm on a Facebook group called I Love Port Moody. Someone also called police to accuse the group of not following pandemic protocols regarding distancing and mask use.
“We were spaced. We had masks on. We were off the sidewalk. We were not blocking the intersection,” said Fantillo. The constable who checked on the situation told him the complaint was clearly false.
Whoever called police “did not like the end-to-abortion idea,” Fantillo said.
In a few incidents, passersby shouted obscenities at participants, in one case targeting the youngest member of the group.
Fantillo had a volunteer escort the young girl back to the church to remove her from verbal abuse, and tried in some cases to deescalate the shouting.
“If they want to talk, we will talk to them,” he said. “One person ended up with hands together saying, ‘carry on. We don’t support you.’”
Others, he said, seemed only interested in shouting.
Despite the negative attention and the cold, wet weather, Fantillo said it was a successful event.
“Everybody has a point of view. We also have a point of view,” he said. “We understand that you can’t get everybody to support you.”
The prayer vigil was the parish’s way of participating in 40 Days for Life, an international movement of pro-lifers who pray for 40 consecutive days for an end to abortion. In the Archdiocese of Vancouver, parishes typically sign up for a 24-hour time period within the 40 days and invite parishioners to spend one hour praying and holding signs outside B.C. Women’s Hospital in Vancouver.
The vigil outside the hospital was cancelled due to pandemic-related bans on gatherings. So, as St. Joseph’s came up with its own plans to pray and share a message to the public in their own backyard, Fantillo was pleased to see attendance jump to 150 participants from 20-30 regulars.
About 100 parishioners participated in the outdoor prayer vigil on the streets of Port Moody in one-hour shifts between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
During the darker hours another 50 people participated by praying from home.
“It sure was a blessed day. A fair bit of drama, but that was to be expected,” said Father McGuckin.
Parishioner Venita Kwan said she had a moving encounter during the vigil with a counter-protester with a sign saying “Pro-Choice.”
The counter-protester was “starting to raise her voice and shouted aloud to me saying we were ridiculous. She said she had a friend who was raped by her father and that she had a choice for abortion. As she was pretty anxious and screaming with grief, I left her alone and started to pray for God’s wisdom to handle the situation,” said Kwan.
Soon, Kwan found herself walking toward the woman and trying to find the right words to say.
“I started by asking if I could talk to her. She said I could try,” Kwan said. “I said I felt very sorry for her friend’s experience. We were not there to judge people. We were trying to let people know that we treasure life… we wanted people to know that abortion was not the ultimate solution or the best option, and not even the only option.”
She added that she has compassion for women who have experienced mental or psychological pain after abortion and hopes to prevent other women from facing the same pain.
Kwan had been holding a sign saying “Jesus forgives and heals.” The counter-protester asked her: “Jesus forgives who?”
“I responded by saying ‘everyone.’ She paused a while, and then said, ‘but he does not heal us.’ I said, ‘he does, at the right time.’ Then she calmed down quite a bit.”
The two women talked about a lack of education about sexuality and morality and how families and schools could better support families, and Kwan said eventually they seemed to come to some common ground and the counter-protester folded up her sign.
“Before I left, I thanked her for allowing me to listen to her. I also encouraged her to come to our church whenever she wanted to talk again or had any questions,” said Kwan.
“I thank God for allowing our paths to cross in such a unique way. I have been praying for this family.”
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