The LIFE CHAIN is a peaceful, prayerful public witness of pro-life Americans standing in honor of 56 million lives lost to abortion. The Life Chain is an opportunity to pray for our nation, for people in crisis situations, and for an end to the killing of unborn babies. The Life Chain is a visual statement of solidarity by the Christian community that abortion kills children and that the Church upholds the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death. Ours is one of the longest of over 1500 Life Chains taking place across the U.S.A. and Canada on the first Sunday in October, proclaiming the pro-life message.
The annual Life Chain of Melbourne, Florida, was held on Sunday, October 6, 2019, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. We held signs for this one special hour along the north side of U.S. 192 in Melbourne and West Melbourne to silently, prayerfully, and peacefully show our support for the innocent unborn babies and their mothers. We stood, sat, or knelt, as we displayed to the community our dedication to the sanctity of human life. Thus, the Life Chain is one Sunday afternoon event where kneeling is strongly encouraged!
A big THANK YOU goes out to the numerous volunteers who worked very hard for a successful 2019 Life Chain! Many people helped out as points of contact for their churches, making phone calls, sending emails, spreading the word, networking, capturing the event on video (coming soon!), and many other ways.
Dedication: The Life Chain team would like to dedicate this year's Life Chain to James Carroll, who passed away earlier this year. He was a tireless supporter of the Life Chain at his church, Immaculate Conception, as well as the Pro-Life cause in general. We miss you, Jim!
What is our Pro-Life Message?
We had a chain of about 5 miles mapped out along the heart of Melbourne's busiest thoroughfare, New Haven Avenue and Strawbridge Avenue (U.S. 192). The Life Chain team provided plenty of signs so that everyone could proclaim one of the following messages to thousands of passers-by:
- Abortion Kills Children
- Adoption, the Loving Option
- Jesus Forgives & Heals
- El Aborto Mata Niños
- Pray to End Abortion
- Life - The First Inalienable Right
- Pregnant? Need Help? 800-712-HELP
Some of these messages may sound harsh, but as we know, abortion is a serious matter, and it does indeed kill children. We also request that the "Jesus Forgives and Heals" signs be reserved for clergy.
What is *not* a Life Chain?
The LIFE CHAIN is not a "March for Life". These are huge and very uplifting events held every January near the anniversary of the infamous Supreme Court decision that took away the right to life of innocent unborn babies. Washington, D.C. holds the largest of these Marches, as does (closer to home) St. Augustine, Florida. All Pro-Life people are encouraged to attend these Marches, as they greatly energize everyone involved with the the Pro-Life cause. Here are the links:
The LIFE CHAIN is also not a "Walk for Life". These are fundraising events organized by various pregnancy care centers that raise much-needed donations to help babies and mothers.
What does a Life Chain look like?
Like this -- Here is a link to a video of the 2018 Melbourne Life Chain (opens in new window). For best results, be sure to set Speed=0.25 and Quality = 1080p. The video of the 2019 Life Chain is being prepared and will be uploaded very soon.
Click here for a photo gallery of the 2018 Life Chain.
Our local newspaper, Florida Today, had a reporter and a photographer on hand to cover our Life Chain -- thank you for the great coverage, gentlemen!
Our Life Chain also received kudos from LifeNews, a prominent Pro-Life web site. Melbourne was one of five Life Chains, out of 1600 nationwide, to be covered by this excellent site. Thanks and God bless you!
Last, but not least, the Life Chain was featured as the Picture of the Week on page 9 of the Holy Name of Jesus Church Bulletin on October 13, 2019. Thanks for your awesome support, HNJ!
Promote the Life Chain: The Life Chain team also developed a 30-second video suitable for promoting the Life Chain at your church. If you would like a copy for 2020, please email your request to:
Where to go to be a link in the Life Chain:
The Melbourne Life Chain extended about 5 miles along the north side of U.S. 192 (Strawbridge and New Haven Avenues) from 1/2 mile east of U.S. 1 (west end of Melbourne Causeway) to about 1/2 mile west of Wickham Road. To adopt a section, a church needed to have produced large turnouts in the past, or obtain significant commitments for this year. Participants from other churches, and anyone not affiliated with a church, were invited to gather in front of the Melbourne Square Mall.
The map will open in a new window or tab. It starts out small, but click your mouse to magnify it to full size. Then move the scroll bar back and forth to view the entire Life Chain route.
The churches that "adopted" sections at the 2019 Melbourne Life Chain (east to west) are listed in the following table. Next to the name of each church are the section boundaries and approximate location for picking up signs so that we were able to spread the message of LIFE to our community!
CHURCH |
Section EAST to WEST |
Sign Pick-up / Parking (approximate) |
GPS (approximate) |
More Info |
|
Strawbridge Ave.: West end of Melbourne Causeway to Riverfront |
West end of Melbourne Causeway; park at Kiwanis Park or Front Street Park, south side of causeway |
(Melbourne Causeway shoulder) |
|
|
Strawbridge Ave.: Riverfront to U.S. 1 |
1 block east of U.S. 1 (near Sooner Investments) |
1228 E. Strawbridge Ave. |
|
|
Strawbridge Ave.: U.S. 1 to Waverly Pl. (Morgan & Barbary) |
1 block west of U.S. 1 (near railroad tracks / City Hall) |
1002 E. Strawbridge Ave. |
|
|
Strawbridge Ave.: Waverly Pl. (Morgan & Barbary) to McQuaid Av. (Valavanis Financial) |
Between Livingston St. and Waverly Pl. (near Trinity Towers East) |
650 E. Strawbridge Ave. |
|
|
Strawbridge Ave.: McQuaid Av. (Valavanis Financial) to New Haven Ave. fork (Med Fast) |
Vacant lot at Hickory St.; park at church 3 blocks north |
500 E. Strawbridge Ave. |
|
|
New Haven Ave.: Strawbridge Ave. fork (Med Fast) to Babcock St. |
Vacant lot at Bryan St., 2 blocks east of Babcock St. |
102 E. New Haven Ave. |
|
|
New Haven Ave.: Babcock St. to Airport Blvd. |
Vacant lot at Elizabeth St. (near Singer O'Neill), 2 blocks west of Babcock St.; park at church 3 blocks north |
114 W. New Haven Ave. |
|
|
New Haven Ave.: Airport Blvd. to Central Blvd. (Berube Dental) |
2 blocks west of Airport Blvd. (near Florida Prep Academy) |
616 W. New Haven Ave. |
|
|
New Haven Ave.: Central Blvd. (Speedway) to Dairy Rd. (Eyeglass World) |
Vacant lot at Poinsettia Blvd. (near Tranquilo Cigars), 3 blocks east of Dairy Rd. |
900 W. New Haven Ave. |
|
|
New Haven Ave.: Dairy Rd. (Cumberland Farms) to Court St. (UHaul) |
Knights of Columbus hall on Dairy Rd. 1 block south of New Haven Ave. |
2150 Dairy Road |
|
|
New Haven Ave.: Court St. (UHaul) to Melbourne Square Mall (Shells) |
A la iglesia, 1/2 cuadra al sur de New Haven Ave. |
79 Park Hill Blvd. |
|
All others |
New Haven Ave.: Melbourne Square Mall (Shells) to Evans Rd. (Chase) |
Melbourne Square Mall: East Table (near Outback) and West Table (near Gourmet Burgers) |
1600 / 1900 W. New Haven Ave. |
|
|
New Haven Ave.: Evans Rd. (Friday's) to Woodland Dr. (Cheddars) |
Northwest corner of Evans Rd. and New Haven Ave. (near Best Buy) |
2000 W. New Haven Ave. |
|
|
New Haven Ave.: Woodland Dr. (Cheddars) to Maybeck Pl. (Wendy's) |
1/2 mile west of Melbourne Square Mall at Pentecostal Lighthouse Church (between Arby's & Salvation Army) |
2330 W. New Haven Ave. |
|
|
New Haven Ave.: Maybeck Pl. (Wendy's) to Wickham Rd. |
East Table: 1/4 mile east of Wickham Rd. (near Target); West Table: East side of Wickham Rd. (near Walgreens) |
2790 / 3000 W. New Haven Ave. |
|
|
New Haven Ave.: Wickham Rd. to Hickory St. (Jason's Produce) |
1 block west of Wickham Rd. (near Thunderbolt Fireworks) |
3286 W. New Haven Ave. |
|
|
New Haven Ave.: Hickory St. (Sky King Fireworks) to Katherine Blvd. (Patio Depot |
3 blocks west of Wickham Rd. (near Antonelli's Furniture) |
3401 W. New Haven Ave. |
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Other Brevard County, Florida, Life Chains:
There were two other Life Chains in Brevard County, also on October 6, at 2 p.m. For information on the Cocoa Beach and Titusville Life Chains, please visit these links:
How to be a link in the Life Chain next year:
Welcome! It's as simple as:
- Find the location for your church in the above table. If it is not listed, please meet in front of the Melbourne Square Mall.
- Bring water, sunscreen, and a chair to sit in if you like.
- Please car-pool to the Life Chain, as parking is often limited along the route.
- Go to a table where the Pro-Life signs are handed out. The Life Chain committee will provide all the signs.
- Sign in on one of the clipboards (helps us in planning the 2020 Life Chain); all information is kept confidential!
- Pick up a Pro-Life sign to hold. And a drink of water, if available, as Life Chain Sunday temperatures are often in the mid- to upper- 80s!
- Spread out 20 feet apart along the north side of New Haven and Strawbridge Avenues. The better we cover the entire route, especially near major intersections, the more people will see our life-affirming messages!
- If you can, please walk to the east or west end of your section (see links to maps in the above table), to prevent gaps in the Life Chain. Standing near major intersections (Safely!) is very effective as this promotes our Pro-Life message to north-south traffic.
- Stand, sit, or kneel, for one prayerful hour, and trust in God to use the Life Chain to increase respect for human life, from conception to natural death, in our community.
What not to do:
- Please do not respond to hecklers, except with smiles and prayers.
- Please do not politicize the Life Chain; we are there to support unborn babies, not parties nor candidates. (Though feel free to block the view of any campaign signs for pro-abortion candidates!)
- Please do not stand in intersections, entrances, or construction areas.
- Please do not park in tow-away zones.
- Please do not stand in the median nor on the south side of the street.
- Please do not "bunch up", but instead try to fill in your entire section (see links to maps in the above table), especially in spots visible from major cross streets. We do not want anyone to miss our Pro-Life message due to gaps in the Life Chain!
- Please do not bring your own signs, unless the message is the same as, or similar to, the list at the top of the page. Graphic images of aborted babies have their place. But in the interest of safety on a busy street, we ask that the Life Chain consist only of signs with simple 3- or 4- word Pro-Life statements.
History and Background of the Melbourne Life Chain:
Melbourne Life Chain Timeline: The Melbourne Life Chain began in the early 1990s. During these years, we lined up along the Melbourne Causeway. In 1993 the organizer took a new direction when the Lord led him to do missionary work abroad. Unfortunately, that meant the Life Chain went dormant for a few years. It was re-started in 1999 with a new team of organizers and has been going strong ever since. We decided that the most passers-by could be reached by holding the Life Chain in front of the Melbourne Square Mall on West New Haven Avenue (U.S. 192). The 1999 Life Chain saw about 100 people gathering in front of the Mall. In 2007, we expanded the Life Chain eastward and westward by letting churches with high attendance "adopt" their own sections of the Life Chain. Now we have one of the longest Life Chains in Florida, with about 5 miles of dedicated people lining up in support of the protection of human life.
Life Chain on the Radio: Our local Catholic radio station, WDMC Divine Mercy Radio 920 AM has been kind enough to feature the Life Chain in interview programs over the past couple of years. Below are links to their podcasts.
Congratulations to the 2019 Top Ten Churches in Life Chain turnout, based on sign-in sheets, photos, and on-site reports:
Place |
Church |
Count |
1 |
Holy Name of Jesus |
139 |
2 |
St. Joseph |
38 |
3 |
Ascension |
34 |
4 (tie) |
Immaculate Conception |
26 |
4 (tie) |
St. John the Evangelist |
16 |
6 |
Holy Family |
25 |
7 (tie) |
Calvary Chapel Surfside |
24 |
7 (tie) |
Our Lady of Lourdes |
24 |
9 |
Lighthouse Assembly of God |
21 |
10 (tie) |
Calvary Chapel Melbourne |
19 |
9 (tie) |
Community Bible |
19 |
It should be noted that many of the churches with relatively small memberships often bring a larger percentage of their congregations to the Life Chain than do some of the larger churches. Big or small, we welcome everyone!
Contact us:
Please feel free to contact the Life Chain Committee with any questions or suggestions! Here is our E-mail address:
Inspiring words from Scripture:
- "You knit me in my mother's womb" (Psalm 139:13)
- "From my mother's womb you are my God" (Psalm 22:11)
- "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you" (Jeremiah 1:5)
- "God ... from my mother's womb had set me apart and called me through his grace" (Galatians 1:15)
- "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves" (Proverbs 31:8)
- "The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government." (Thomas Jefferson, 1809 -- OK, this one is not from the Bible, but how right he was!)
Links for more information:
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