(Melbourne, West Melbourne, Palm Bay, and the beaches)
Our Life Chain keeps growing every year, and that's great! Unfortunately, this means that it gets increasingly difficult for a small committee of volunteers to handle all the complex logistics. So, for those who attend one of the ten churches that are assigned to their own sections, we have some special requests that we hope you will be able to help out with. If there is anything listed here that you do not think you can handle, don't worry. Please do what you can, and let the Life Chain committee know at our e-mail address at the bottom of the page. We will do what we can to fill in.
In the weeks before the Life Chain, we ask that each church coordinator:
1) Inform your pastor, and any leaders of your church, about the purpose, date, time, and location of the Life Chain. Request any type of publicity that your church can provide: posters, bulletin announcements, announcements to meetings of various ministries, phone calls, e-mails, and best of all, announcements from the pulpit by the pastor saying "Join me at the Life Chain!"
2) Please be sure that the congregation is aware of the gathering place for your church. Refer to the main page for the maps. Many folks have become accustomed to arriving at the Melbourne Square Mall in past years, but the Lord has blessed us with too many people to place in such a small portion of the street.
3) If possible, drive past your church's section sometime before the Life Chain so the surroundings and nearby parking areas will be familiar on October 5.
4) Designate two volunteers, one to walk east and the other west, placing participants about 20 feet apart (except for families with small children). We would like to avoid "bunching up" of people, as this usually leads to gaps in other areas.
Here is what we would like each church coordinator to bring to their assigned section on the day of Life Chain.
1) A table (or two, if your map shows two tables), and set them up at the location(s) designated on the map. Tables should be near enough to the street as to avoid interfering with private property, but not too close as to be unsafe. We have attempted to place tables at the most convenient locations. However, when you arrive the day of the Life Chain, if there is some reason the designated location will not work, such as construction, try to find the closest available spot.
2) Water, either individual bottles or a cooler. Average temperatures for the past eight Life Chain Sundays have been in the upper 80s!
3) Cups
4) Sunscreen
5) Trash bags. Please be sure no litter is left behind at the end of the Life Chain!
6) Paperweights, especially if you bring any pro-life literature.
7) Donation baskets. The money is used solely to promote or provide signs for future Life Chains.
By 1:00 p.m., we would like the coordinators of each church to arrive at the south parking area of the Melbourne Square Mall to pick up:
1) Signs for participants to hold. Please be sure participants do not bring their own signs unless they are similar to one of the Life Chain signs.
2) Sign-in sheets / clipboards / pens. Please get as many people to sign in as possible.
3) Information sheets listing opportunities to volunteer to help the unborn babies and their mothers. Each participant or family should receive one sheet. Our effort to help the babies and mothers does not end at the Life Chain, it only begins!
Then please proceed to your church's assigned location and await the arrival of lots of folks eager to stand up for one hour for the innocent unborn babies!
After the Life Chain, please pick up any trash from your area, then bring back the signs, the filled-out sign-in sheets, and any donations to the committee at south parking area of the Melbourne Square Mall.
Please feel free to contact the Life Chain Committee with any questions or suggestions! Here is our E-mail address:
