A pro-life themed event Friday that would have brought local children and parents out for ice cream and toys has been postponed due to concerns about COVID-19.
But the core religious component, involving Mayor Anthony Williams and a small group of pastors and others, still is on. They will gather at the Abilene Convention Center and affirm a "Declaration of Dependence" on God.
The "declaration," Williams said on a Facebook Live post Sunday evening, is not an official city proclamation.
"This is not a city thing," he said. "This is going to be a God thing.
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The "Abilene Dependence Day and Celebration of Life," coordinated by the group West Texans for Life, gathering was to feature a variety of gifts for children, including free ice cream, beach balls, and coloring books.
Jim Sulliman, one of the event's primary organizers, said Monday that while Williams was "getting a great deal of support for this effort," the decision to postpone the child-oriented part of the event was made after talking to Williams about the spread of COVID in the community.
Recent COVID-19 statistics "show an alarming increase in COVID-19 cases in West Texas, and it is expected to hit Abilene in a couple of weeks," Sulliman said.
"We do not want the West Texans for Life ... giveaways to be connected with that increase as a result of a large gathering," he said. "So we will postpone that event to a safer date."
But Williams still will declare “Dependence Day” in Abilene at 2 p.m. at the Convention Center, "before the media and a small group that will socially distance," Sulliman said.
"July 3 is also the one year anniversary of the passing of our founder, Paula Russell Matchen, and that is how this event started," he said, calling the intent a "small way to honor children and the gift of life."
Sulliman said in an email that the Declaration, which was composed anonymously, is "fully supported by West Texans for Life."
"The document intelligently addresses the logic of 'human rights' and 'personal freedom' while showing consistency with the words of Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln," he said, three former presidents quoted in its text.
Declaration of 'Dependence'
The document rejects abortion wholesale, while offering the statement that "'all men' and women were created equal, regardless of race, color or creed," and that the "gifts which we have been given are to be used to bring ourselves and others closer to God, that we are to love, serve, and protect one another, specially the poorest and most marginalized members of our human family."
It says many in the United States have chosen to "separate from God and the principles upon which this nation was founded," making it "incumbent upon others to disavow this division and to declare the reasons why they oppose such a separation."
It further disavows "humanistic ideologies," including the idea the God is purely mythological or that human reason and intellect in exercise of free will "make each individual a 'god' and the sole determiner of right and wrong."
On abortion specifically, the document states:
"We do not believe that people have the right to engage in any and all behaviors they choose as an exercise of 'freedom' but, rather, the rights of an individual end when they violate the rights of another. Nowhere is this violation more clearly displayed than in the egregious action of intentionally killing life in the womb through the heinous act of abortion. We believe that 'a nation that kills its own children has no future.' We do not place laws created by imperfect humans ahead of the Commandments given to us by our perfect God, and we promote legal means to create harmony between the two."
The text concludes with the statement that "the tyranny of sin and the chaos of evil can and will be defeated through individual, communal, and national strength in communion with God."
Seeking answers
In his Facebook message, Williams said that while he knew his participation might be "offensive to some," he described the gathering primarily as a "a group of local pastors and just citizens (who) are going to come together and pray and talk about ways we can work together."
That includes, he said, acknowledging "some things that we're confronted with, we don't know the answer to."
"We're going to acknowledge that we're going have to make some hard decisions," he said. "... We're going to depend on the Lord and His guidance."
On Monday, Williams, reiterated no official proclamation would be offered, and he did not write the "Declaration" document himself.
"All of the material is provided by a private entity," he said, adding that if he had an opportunity to write the text himself, "I may have done some things a little bit different."
"Having said that, I've never made a secret of my own religious beliefs," he said. "I've tried to live my life in a way where I didn't impose it on others. But I am a believer, and a do feel comfortable (saying that) in my in times in my personal life, in my business life, and even my public life, when I'm faced with situations where I'm uncertain in regards to some things to do, I rely on God to lead me."
Williams said the country is in a time when "ambiguity" reigns, "not just about COVID-19," but "even the subject matter (recent) protests have created."
"I don't have all the answers," he said. "... This was a response to an invitation to be part of an opportunity to come together as Christians to pray for our community and our country."
Brian Bethel covers city and county government and general news for the Abilene Reporter-News. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.
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