EFFINGHAM — Later this month, in a long-time annual tradition, Effingham County Right to Life will host Crossroads Walkers — college-age people who are walking coast to coast to defend life.
The Crossroads Walkers are made up of several groups of young people who walk from the West Coast to Washington, D.C., all the while wearing T-shirts with Pro-Life written on them in large letters. The T-shirts both identify them and call attention to their cause.
For 20 years, walkers have been speaking at parishes, talking to the media and with others they meet along the way. They also attend Mass on a regular basis and peacefully pray outside of abortion clinics.
The group that will stop in Effingham are known as the "central" walkers. They left California on May 24 and will be in Washington on Aug. 16 for a pro-life rally at the Capitol. Walks are also held in several other countries as well.
The dinner in Effingham will be held in the Sacred Heart Parish Center and will be attended by the walkers, their host families, members of the Effingham Right to Life group and several priests, says Loretta (Mrs. Jack) Koester, a long-time leader of that area's Right to Life organization.
"They will arrive here on Tuesday, July 22 and we will host a dinner for them along with the host families," says Koester. "After dinner the students will have the opportunity to share some of their experiences before leaving for a good night's rest. Early the next day they will continue their journey across America to help bring about the culture of life."
Koester says she and one her daughters came across the group by accident many years ago. "We just happened to be going home and went by the church. We saw their van and so we went in to see what was going on. They were in there praying. We talked to them and I told them, 'Next year you will be our guests.' They've been coming back ever since.
"We get the food from a local restaurant and I make the pies, which they always seem to like," Koester says. "In all my 40 years of working for Right for Life, I can honestly say that the night those Crossroads Walkers come is always my favorite night of the year."
The walkers spend the night with a local host and then attend early morning Mass, eat breakfast and continue on their trip. Although the group is walking, they have a van that travels with them for safety purposes, says Koester.
"Think about it. Those young people give up their entire summer in order to defend life," Koester says. "You have to admire them. They are walking all that way and it is so hot. They are just a wonderful group."
For more information about the Crossroad Walkers go to the website www.crossroadswalk.org.