A woman’s day off becomes a day to remember at second annual March for Life in Bloomington

Cindy Lee holds her 5-month-old son, Simon, as she prays outside the Planned Parenthood clinic in Bloomington during the March for Life on Jan. 24. They are members of St. Paul Catholic Center in Bloomington. Holding the poster is Patrick Faulkenberg, a member of St. John the Apostle Parish. (Photo by Kamilla Benko)

By Kamilla Benko (Special to The Criterion)

BLOOMINGTON—When she first heard about the Bloomington March for Life, Marcie Faulkenberg supported it, but she had no intention of participating. After all, she noted, she works as an accounting coordinator at Indiana University.

“And then I thought, why can’t I take a full day off? I take days off for other things,” said Faulkenberg, 54, a member of St. John the Apostle Parish in Bloomington. “Work is just another excuse.”

And that’s how Faulkenberg came to march from St. Charles Borromeo Church to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Bloomington on Jan. 24.

Despite temperatures that hovered around freezing and sidewalks slippery with ice, 50 people trekked alongside Indiana University’s Bloomington campus during the second annual March for Life.

Among the crowd were IU freshmen Laura Zetzl, 18, and Nick Ivers, 19. Both have attended the national March for Life in Washington, D.C., but could not make it this year.

“Since we’re missing it, we thought marching in Bloomington would provide a similar experience,” said Ivers, a member of St. Christopher Parish in Indianapolis.

Although they were unable to attend the Mass that preceded the procession due to their class schedules, both college students said that it was well worth their time to be a part of the pro-life march.

“It is very important to stand up for the rights of those who can’t defend themselves and [to] defend the sanctity of life,” explained Zetzl, a member of St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish in Indianapolis.

Monica Siefker felt that God was calling her to take a stand against abortion when she organized the first local March for Life last year. She was also the coordinator for this year’s procession.

“And I will do it again next year since I feel this is what God wants me to do,” said Siefker, a member of St. John the Apostle Parish in Bloomington.

The participants, led by Franciscan Father Elias Mary Mills, prayed the rosary and sang songs until they arrived outside the Planned Parenthood clinic. There, the marchers stood outside the facility with pro-life posters and prayed the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.

The three-mile march concluded with Benediction at St. Charles Borromeo Church.

For Faulkenberg, taking the day off from work was worthwhile—a day to deepen her faith and her certainty that prayer can make a difference.

“I think prayer changes the world,” she said. “Prayer can make the changes that God deems necessary.” †