By Analiz González
Buckner International

(DALLAS, Texas) — Almost everyone can agree that society has an idolized group: the young, the wealthy, the powerful, and the beautiful. But God recognizes all lives are precious, including the often overlooked very young and old, the poor, the helpless.

On Sunday, Jan. 18, Buckner is encouraging churches and individuals to take a moment to celebrate life’s blessings during Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, a national day of recognition of the dignity and value of life, as well as the need to defend the weakest and most vulnerable members of society

Beginning Thursday, Jan. 8, Buckner will offer electronic bulletin inserts and sermon notes to churches and individuals interested in using the materials to raise awareness in their community. The materials are available for download online at www.buckner.org.

Dr. Albert Reyes, president of Buckner Children and Family Services said, “We celebrate Sanctity of Life Sunday because we celebrate the God who designs life itself. We join the celebration of the Psalmist who said ‘You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.’ (Psalm 139:13 NLT).



“At Buckner this means we look for ways to make life better for children at-risk, orphans and families who need help. We celebrate every life because every life matters to God.”

JoAnn Cole, who directs Buckner campus ministries, said Sanctity of Life Sunday is a good point to remember the lives of unborn children. In support of life, Buckner provides options-based counseling for women experiencing crisis pregnancies. The counseling helps them to decide what is best for them and their unborn child – parenting or adoption. If the mother decides that adoption is the best decision, Buckner can help them choose the best Christian family for their child. If they choose to parent their child, Buckner supports them with parenting resources.

“There are many situations out there where people feel alone and I don’t think they see Christian counseling as an option,” Cole said. “But we are able to offer it here at Buckner.”

Pregnant women can meet with a licensed crisis pregnancy counselor or chat online confidentially at www.BeaFamily.org.

Pearl Merritt, president of Buckner Retirement Services, has spent more than 20 years working with the elderly and often sees how little they are appreciated. That’s why Buckner works to provide an environment where the elderly feel loved and comfortable in its five Texas retirement communities in Austin, Beaumont, Longview, Dallas and Houston.

“At Buckner, we work to provide an environment so that the people living in our retirement facilities can live in a home environment, rather than an institution. The GREENHOUSE PROJECT® is a good example of that.”

Buckner Westminster Place in Longview offers the new Green House model, which places residents in small, home environments focused on de-institutionalizing long-term care by providing private bedrooms and bathrooms and open kitchen areas among other things.

“My passion is working with the elderly people and trying to improve the quality of life that they have,” she said. “There is nothing worse than being too old to work so you can’t bring in any money to help yourself.”

Visit www.buckner.org to download the 2009 Life is Good Sanctity of Human Life bulletin insert and sermon notes.

If you’d like to give to Buckner’s efforts to support human life through social services, humanitarian aid, and more, click here.