Sheila Pursell, executive director of the Northwest Arkansas Catholic Respect Life Council, gives directions to participants for the first Northwest Arkansas Respect Life March Friday, Jan. 22. Bob Pierson (left) of Bella Vista braved the cold temperatures to participate in the 2.9-mile walk. (Alesia Schaefer photo)

The 2.9-mile march began at St. Joseph Church and ended at the Planned Parenthood facility in Fayetteville. Father Jason Tyler (foreground) celebrated Mass before the march. (Alesia Schaefer photo)

Sheila Pursell talks to march participants near Planned Parenthood where they prayed at the end of the march. (Alesia Schaefer photo)

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Pro-life march is first for northwest Arkansas

Catholic council organizes three-mile trek to Planned Parenthood in Fayetteville

Published: January 28, 2016

By Alesia Schaefer
Rogers Correspondent

Alesia Schaefer

Catholic pro-life supporters bundle up Jan. 22 for the first Respect Life March in Fayetteville from St. Joseph Church to the Planned Parenthood clinic three miles away.

Alesia Schaefer

Catholic pro-life supporters bundle up Jan. 22 for the first Respect Life March in Fayetteville from St. Joseph Church to the Planned Parenthood clinic three miles away.

FAYETTEVILLE — The inaugural Northwest Arkansas Respect Life March proved supporters in the area are not fair-weather fans.

Despite wind chill temperatures in the single digits, the march drew about 76 participants who walked peacefully from St. Joseph Church to a grassy hill near the Planned Parenthood facility in Fayetteville the morning of Friday, Jan. 22.

Prior to the march, Mass was celebrated at St. Joseph Church with students of the school. Pastor Father Jason Tyler spoke to both students and marchers of the significance of this date in history. In his homily, he reminded everyone that the day marked the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision on Roe vs. Wade making abortion legal.

“But faith is not a spectator sport and we are all asked to put love into practice in our own lives,” Father Tyler said. “We are all asked to get into the game, to recognize the presence of God in each person and pray for a culture that values life.”

Following Mass, marchers did just that. After donning cold weather gear, participants briefly met outside for directions and then began a 2.9-mile rosary and prayer procession. The course laced through neighborhoods and along busy streets until reaching the parking lot of Planned Parenthood.

The facility in Fayetteville is one of three clinics in the state that performs abortions. Although it was the first march, Sheila Pursell, executive director of the Northwest Arkansas Catholic Respect Life Council, voiced her hope that it would be the last one.

“We want people to know that there are people standing for the sacredness of life,” Pursell said. “We honor and remember the 4,273 unborn who died by abortion in Arkansas in 2014.”

Rusty Adams of St. Stephen Church in Bentonville was happy to be able to participate in a walk that was closer to home.

“For the past three years we have gone to Little Rock (for the March for Life),” Adams said, “but I am glad we had a peaceful and prayerful walk in the area.”

Kathy Fakult and her three children all attended the march.

“We went to Tulsa last year,” she said. “We wanted to pray and support the kick-off march here.”

Lance Dufour attended the Mass with his wife and two children, but the frigid temperatures ensured Dufour would be making this walk solo.

“This is my eighth walk,” said Dufour, who has been a member of the Northwest Arkansas Catholic Respect Life board for two years. “My wife and I have always been involved with pro-life efforts, but this one has local impact.”

“Sometimes you just feel like you have to do something,” said Maureen Suchy, who had been following the Respect Life Council on Facebook and decided to attend the march.

For senior Jessica Nyden, even skipping an Advanced Placement class was not a deterrent for missing the area’s first walk. Nyden who is the president of Students for Life at Bentonville High School, recognized the importance of the event and came with her parents and sister.

“I have been to a walk in Washington, D.C., two walks in Little Rock, but this is the first here, and I am glad I did not have to travel to attend a walk.”

Once arriving at Planned Parenthood, parishioners and supporters congregated on a grassy area and prayed the Divine Mercy chaplet.

“We pray for God’s mercy upon our country,” said Pursell, “and we pray for the closing of this clinic. We are not there to judge or condemn but to offer support to women to keep their baby or offer assistance in adoption.”

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