The World Federation for the Right to Die Societies and the Association pour le Droit de Mourrir Dignement (France’s Association for the Right to Die with Dignity) co-sponsored an international  From Oct. 31 to Nov. 1, the town of Macklin hosted the annual Saskatchwan Pro-life Association’s “Working Together For Life” provincial conference. Macklin, whose population of 1,400 doubles each summer during the Annual World Bunnock Championship (a game akin to bowling, but using the ankle bones of horses in place of bowling pins), is three hours west of Saskatoon.

The pro-life convention, unlike the town, was difficult to miss. The weekend’s speakers included Stephanie Gray of the Canadian Centre for Bioethical Reform, Anita Sonntag of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, Bonnie Cameron, co-founder of Rachel’s Vineyard, Helen Watson, who spoke on 40 days of prayer and fasting, and Jim Hughes, national president of Campaign Life Coalition.

The theme of the weekend, “Working Together for Life,” facilitated a well-blended mix of presentations infused with personal stories and various areas of expertise and passion.

Gray, whose mission it is to “make abortion unthinkable,” brought with her a powerful spirit of activism and vigilance to the plenary session as well as to the youth sessions, while Sonntag from Silent No More put a face to those who are exploited by the reality of abortion.

The convention closed with a banquet sponsored by Macklin-Denzil Pro-life and the Provincial Charity Appeal Convention of the Knights of Columbus, without whose support the weekend could not have taken place.

Organizers say the weekend presented a wonderful opportunity to converge in order to gain strength and inspiration from fellow workers in the pro-life movement, while enjoying the intimacy that small town hospitality so easily affords.