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Sunday afternoon, passers-by could see a group of individuals on Tallahassee Highway peacefully and publicly advocating for the life of the unborn.

Known as the Life Chain, local groups gather on the first Sunday in October to stand against legalized abortion and unite in prayer for the sanctity of life. The Life Chain formed in 1987 and is headed up locally by Rev. Marty Brock of West Street Baptist Church.

“I got involved in the Life Chain in 1996,” Brock said.

Through the Life Chain, Brock’s goal is to represent the babies in the womb.

“Our purpose is to let the public know that there are people who stand for the babies and the sanctity of life,” he said.

Brocks knows that through these demonstrations, someone may be riding by in their vehicle and contemplating abortion, but this will cause them to get counseling and get help.

“We have many different signs and one is an 800 number that folks can call and get the help they need,” he pointed out. “We’ve had folks stop and inquire about our purpose and we share the message with them.”

Brock said the demonstration is completely peaceful, and while he has never had any negative feedback, he understands that abortion is a heated subject.

“We actually use this time as a period of prayer,” he said. “We’re here for an hour and it’s used as a prayer meeting; we even have songs we can sing that honor the babies.”

Brock’s hope is this has a positive impact on the community.

“Many people are undecided about life and have never put that much thought into it, and so this is an opportunity to raise the public’s awareness to abortion and the sanctity of life and give people a chance to support peacefully what they believe in,” he ended.

One of the attendees, Betty Jean Gibbs, said she is thankful people turn out for this activity.

“We may never know if we impacted anybody, but our hope is that we plant a seed in someone,” she said.

Gibbs said she never was able to have children, so Life Chain’s mission is especially important to her.

For more information on the Life Chain’s mission and its resources visit lifechain.org.