A Dilemma; Choices We Must Make!

From my autobiography, which I named “Chosen by God”, there is one incident that became the most ardent event before and during my ministry as a deacon. I have always been pro-life in my thoughts and actions, and it hurts to see so much deliberate and insensitive thrusts towards all life, from womb to grave. Yet, it exists and the longer life goes on and society becomes more tolerant of anti-life issues the more intense our directives must become in countering their actions.

It was during 1984, while I was an electrical contractor with four electricians working for me, that this dilemma presented itself in a way I never imagined would occur. My company was under contract to rewire a three-story building on the North Side of the City of Pittsburgh. The structure was the Boggs Building, an older department store office building, and the building contract called for the removal of the rear of the building replacing it with a new four-story addition. The top floor was to be a medical center with operating rooms as well as general clinic provisions.

While making my bid for this portion of the project there were no indications that this medical center would be for anything more than a normal run facility for out-patient care along with a few small operating rooms.

One morning, before my crew was to begin installing conduit and associated wiring, I walked through the complete area surveying the various sections and noticed the floor drains in the operating rooms were much larger than normal. I asked a plumber why they were so large in diameter and he said; “don’t you know this is going to be an abortion clinic?” My response was dead silence. Here I am an ordained minister, very much pro-life, and under contract to wire this facility. What do I do?

What would anyone in this situation do since it was not an easy in and out situation? My first thought was to bow out. However, I had four employees depending on me for their livelihood, and I was under a contract to complete the entire building, irregardless of the various tenant spaces within the total contract.

I went home that evening and pondered over the looming dilemma and sought the Holy Spirit in making some positive decision. I awoke early the next morning and left with a book of blessings and a bottle of Holy Water. Before anyone else came into building I went to the fourth floor and said appropriate prayers for blessing an area that might become the travesty of death to the unborn and sprinkled Holy Water over every inch of the area and especially the drains.

Someone might ask; “why would you bless a place like this?” It wasn’t a blessing to enhance it, but now the Grace of God would be there and any abortions would become a Sacrilege, for now it was Holy Ground. The Grace given in Holy Orders is sufficient to bless and invoke the Blessings of Almighty God upon any needed situation.

The clinic did open, and there were pickets (God bless them) standing their ground in front of the building. It remained open only a very short time. I felt I did my best and I am certain the blessing was successful.