The 2018 Alberta March For Life

The Alberta March For Life

The 2018 Alberta March For Life took place the afternoon of Thursday, May 10th, beginning and ending in front of the the Alberta Legislature Building. While in past years the Alberta March For Life began in Sir Winston Churchill Square and went to the Alberta Legislature before returning to Churchill Square, this year was different due to construction around Churchill Square.

This year was also different because I attended the March under the omophorion, and with the blessing, of His Grace Iov, Bishop of Kashira, Administrator of the Parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate in Canada. The organizers of the March were aware that I was there with the blessing of an Orthodox bishop, so 2018 marks the first time there was an official Orthodox presence at the Alberta March For Life. Undoubtedly Orthodox Christians have attended this March in the past, Bishop Iov has even placed information about the March at the back of his cathedral parish in past years, but this time the Orthodox presence was known to the Alberta March For Life Association.

Many of the people attending this March are people I know, including a few of the speakers, and I am privileged to call them my friends. David MacKenzie, a pastor of the Congregational Christian Churches in Canada and the Master of Ceremonies for this year’s event, posed for a photo with me in front of the doors of the Alberta Legislature. Since I don’t have a phone/camera, we used his and he emailed the photo to me later that day. Pastor David became a friend of mine while we served together on the board of directors for the Alberta March For Life Association last year. The person who took the photo was another friend of mine, Ania Ivanovic, on whose invitation I have attended the Benefit for Life Banquet in past years.

Orthodox in attendance at March for Life 2011. USA. In the center – Metropolitan Jona (OCA)

As I was assisting Ania with her bicycle, Archbishop Richard Smith of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton happened to pass by and recognized me. After exchanging greetings, I told him that Bishop Iov had originally planned to attend, but was unable due to pastoral obligations and other circumstances, and gave me his blessing to come. He replied, “Well, it’s good that you came.”

The cold weather became a bit much for Ania, who had given both of the pairs of gloves she had with her to others who had cold hands, so she gave her bicycle to her brother and I stopped one of the minibuses for those unable to walk the whole route of the March. This was the first time I didn’t walk the whole route, but the warmth of that bus was sure welcomed for that last couple of blocks.

I was going to wear my white cotton hat to the March this year to reduce how sunburnt I usually get, but I left it at home due to the cloudy weather. Once I was there, I began wishing I had brought my black wool hat with me as it was quite cold and damp. Although the rain was rather light throughout, I did have to finally get out my umbrella as we were leaving the grounds of the Legislature because the wind and rain began to pick up just as David MacKenzie finished his closing remarks. I’ve been told that this is the first time there was weather like this at an Alberta March For Life.

2018-05-10. Russell Grigaitis & David MacKenzie

The rain, particularly when it became more pronounced at the end, reminded me of something Abbot Tryphon of All-Merciful Saviour Monastery on Vashon Island in the Puget Sound mentioned in one of his podcasts. It is a tradition among the Russian Orthodox that rain on the day of a funeral is seen as a good sign. Given the reason we were gathered at the Alberta Legislature and that the first time there was such a rain was also the first time there was an official Orthodox presence at the Alberta March For Life, I will take this rain as a good sign. Perhaps there will be a larger official Orthodox presence in future years at the Alberta March for Life, just as there is in other places.

Russell Grigaitis