In 2003 the Pro-Life Action League conceived the idea of the "Empty Manger" Christmas Caroling Day. On a Saturday morning in December, we visited four abortion facilities in the Chicago area singing carols [PDF] around an empty manger. The empty manger was a symbol both of the hope that a little baby can bring and of the empty space that is left when a little unborn baby is killed by abortion.
The "Empty Manger" concept was so effective that it has become an annual event. In 2004 our caroling saved a baby from abortion. We will carol again this coming Saturday, December 17 with our carefully selected carols [PDF].
The idea has caught on around the country, with groups in Mississippi, Florida, Maryland, New York, Kansas, Texas and California visiting abortion facilities to sing carols, many gathering around an empty manger as we do. Some visit only one or two abortion centers; others like us travel to several.
I invite all pro-lifers to participate in this powerful activity, so worthwhile that we have included it in the revised edition of CLOSED: The Pro-Life Activists Manual by Joe Scheidler. Download the sheet of carols [PDF] (designed to be printed double-sided and folded into a four-page booklet) and visit a local abortion facility with a friend or a larger group (we do not advise visiting an abortion facility alone).
Help bring Christmas hope to these places of utter despair.
