NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–On March 31, thousands of red envelopes flooded the U.S. Postal Service en route to the White House as part of a grassroots “Red Envelope Day” to represent lives lost to abortion.
“This envelope represents one child who died in abortion,” some of the envelopes said on the outside. “It is empty because that life was unable to offer anything to the world.”
Participants could send their own red envelopes, or they could purchase some with the message printed on the outside, and those were available online at redenvelopeday.com. All envelopes were to be addressed to The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20500.
“These red envelopes in the mail are igniting a lot of folks to think about the value of life,” Christ (rhymes with wrist) Otto, one of the chief organizers, said of the project. “If a new generation can begin to care about life, we are going to win the war of ideas. I think the red letters have done this.”
According to the counter on the website, more than 150,000 red envelopes were pledged to be sent on March 31, an arbitrarily chosen day, though many more could have been sent independent of the website.
The project received endorsements from Concerned Women for America, Eagle Forum and Coral Ridge Ministries, among other organizations and local churches.
“The envelopes will be arriving … just prior to the start of Passover,” Otto wrote on his blog. “I don’t think it is a coincidence that these arrive so near the annual remembrance of the Passion and Death of Christ.”
Otto noted that the project spread largely through e-mails and word of mouth, and it crossed denominational lines, bringing together Catholics and Protestants who value life.
“I would guess the feedback is roughly 99.9 percent positive,” Otto wrote. “I have been contacted by more women who have had abortions than any other group. These women have thanked me for giving them a way to have a voice. After post-abortive women, young people, including many children, have contacted me and thanked me for sharing this idea.”
Otto said he received an unsolicited call from a senator’s office, which he said gave him an indication that someone on Capitol Hill noticed the envelopes.
“So I guess it’s making a difference,” he wrote.
The campaign hopes to get the attention of President Obama.
“We are trying to change the president’s heart,” Otto wrote. “This is a message to a man that God hears the cry of innocent blood. It is not a political stunt, although I hope it changes policy in Washington. Even if the mainstream media ignores this, I know I was obedient, and somebody in Washington will have to cope with 50 million red envelopes.”
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Compiled by Baptist Press staff writer Erin Roach.
