LifeSavers Ministries presented Lewis Ament with a new pair of shoes at our 20th anniversary “Labor of Love” banquet in 2004. The shoes were a symbol of Lewis’ years of service, as Tim Palmquist joked “He’s worn off a lot of shoe leather over the years.” Lewis was literally speechless.

Before LifeSavers Ministries began, Lewis Ament helped to pave the way by standing alone outside the FPA abortion center (then located at 5700 Stockdale Hwy), quietly praying and holding a sign. Over the years, he continued to be a friend of this ministry, providing music for various events over the years such as the 1998 opening of the LifeHouse. In addition to continuing his long tradition of holding a sign outside the abortion chamber, he also occasionally played his violin there.

Lewis also paved the way for the memorial displays of crosses outside the abortion chamber (an ongoing component of our 40 Days for Life campaigns). He was the one who first had the courage to place a cross in the grass in the public area outside the abortion chamber.

“The memory of Lewis Ament will always live on in our hearts,” commented Tim Palmquist, administrator of LifeSavers Ministries. “We were blessed to know him not only through ministry activities, but our children were often in his home for piano lessons, and the music he taught will always be a part of our lives.”

The following obituary was prepared by the family of Lewis Ament:

Lewis Richard Ament
July 2, 1923 – April 8, 2013

We all love and miss you, Dear Lew!

Bakersfield City Attorney Ginny Gennaro

Last week, another pro-life organization invited Bakersfield City Attorney Ginny Gennaro to comment on our months of efforts to encourage the Bakersfield City Council to consider a Human Life Ordinance.

Gennaro reportedly told the group that she asked us to provide her with an example of another California city which has taken a strong pro-life stand, but that we never complied with her request.  But the truth should be evident to anyone who has taken the time to view the selection of past City Council videos we have posted here. Specifically, on November 28, Tim Palmquist presented a historic resolution passed decades ago by the Santa Ana City Council which condemned abortion with much more forceful language than what is used in the proposed Human Life Ordinance.   In addition, Palmquist presented civil action language from another city’s ordinance which was used word-for-word in the Human Life Ordinance.

“We have always promptly responded to the concerns expressed by the City Attorney’s representatives,” Tim Palmquist explained, “even though to date she has never spoken directly with us and has misconstrued what we are doing in front of others. We were not aware of Gennaro’s appearance at the other group’s meeting last week until after it happened, and were never given an opportunity to present the truth to the group.

“At a time when we are asking the Council to consider such a historic proposal, I had hoped that others who claim to support protecting human life would have rallied behind us,” Palmquist continued, “or at least would have given us an opportunity to present our side of this controversy.”

Reportedly the other organization may be preparing an alternative proposal which is to be presented at an event later this year. “In view of their close relationship with the City Attorney, I will hold out hope that their proposal might be something with real potential for a positive local impact against abortions,” Palmquist commented, “but if they intend to stop the Human Life Ordinance by promoting something without meaningful potential to protect human life, that would not be a victory, but a tragic betrayal of the innocent children of community’s future.

“If we see a better proposal, we will encourage everybody to support it.  Until then, we will continue to support the Human Life Ordinance.”

Palmquist will comment further on this issue at the next City Council meeting, Wednesday March 20 at 5:00 pm at Truxtun and Eye Streets.

No such signs were ever seen outside Planned Parenthood’s previous Bakersfield location — but surgical abortions were not committed at the previous location.

*** UPDATE: The signs pictured above have now been removed! This was first noticed on March 20 after the City Council meeting.

Terri Palmquist getting ready to Rock 4 Life at FPA abortion chamber

Six beautiful rocking chairs (with leather seats!) generously donated by R and D Leather Furniture will be available for participants, so sign up as soon as possible to ensure that you will have a rocking chair. Rock 4 Life participants will ask people to make a donation which corresponds to the number of hours they are rocking. Prizes will be awarded to the top participants, and the church that raises the most money will receive a rocking chair for their nursery.

Sign up sheets are available 24 hours a day at the 40 Days for Life vigil table, outside the FPA abortion chamber at the corner of 25th and H Streets (or click here to print one online).

Please note that you must sign up in advance to be sure that a rocking chair will be available for you, due to the limited number of rocking chairs. Call Terri at 661-323-BABY for more information.

Carlotta can deliver to Bakersfield, Lamont and Arvin. Call 379-1663 to order. If you mention LifeSavers Ministries, we will receive 10% of your order as a donation.

For gift ideas, go to NewLifeFloral-Bakersfield.com (not just for Valentine’s Day, but any day of the year).

More information on Vernon Wagner’s botched abortions.

Please encourage any young people you know to attend this free event!  Consider printing out this flyer and posting it in your church’s youth room.  Call 323-BABY for more information.

Kiessling will also be the featured speaker at our Save the One banquet on Tuesday January 22, the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

At first we didn’t know what the Council could do — but we asked them to do something anyway. When the City Attorney claimed that the Council was powerless, God led us to learn more about the City’s powers, which resulted in the proposed Human Life Ordinance. Eventually dozens of pastors appealed to the Council to protect human life, while the City Attorney claimed again that the matter was “not in the City’s purview.” Over the course of the past few months, the Human Life Ordinance was edited several times to protect the City from litigation, and re-presented to the Council for their consideration.

The story is far from over. Perhaps if you take an hour or so to watch these pastors, nurses, students, and others submit their appeals to the Council, you will find God leading you to become a part of this historic story.

City Council videos available:

June 27, 2012: Asking the Council to “do something” — but not being sure what they can do!
July 18, 2012: The Charter of the City of Bakersfield leads to introduction of the Human Life Ordinance.
August 15, 2012: Pastors submit Solemn Appeal to the Bakersfield City Council.
September 12, 2012: City Attorney claims that the matter is “not in the City’s purview.”
September 26, 2012: A lesson from history: sometimes the city is right and the federal government is wrong!
October 17, 2012: Protecting the City from litigation
November 14, 2012: Responding to City Attorney’s concerns
November 28, 2012: City of Santa Ana’s historic pro-life resolution
December 11, 2012: Six pastors ask Council to consider Human Life Ordinance

(Several additional City Council meetings have occurred, with speakers encouraging support of the Human Life Ordinance at each meeting.  The additional videos will be posted as soon as they are available to us.)

Please join us at the next City Council meeting as we continue to ask the Council to consider the Human Life Ordinance.

City Council meetings are held on certain Wednesdays at City Hall South, on the southeast corner of Truxtun Ave. at Eye St. Call 661-972-1052 for more details on our upcoming efforts.

Please be praying for each member of the City Council as they consider what God wants them to do.

Below is a preliminary transcript of the pastors’ comments. It may be edited as necessary to more accurately represent the pastors’ comments.

(Some of the pastors mention the seal of the City of Bakersfield, which includes the words “In God We Trust,” although the seal was not visible during this time, being covered by a screen.)

Fred Fies:
My name is Fred Fies. I’m the pastor of McKee Road Baptist Church in Greenfield. I just want to speak on behalf of the Human Life Ordinance, and this city and its view of unborn life and all those that may find themselves, in a disadvantaged place without a voice, whether it be the elderly that are told they don’t have a quality of life or whether it be an unborn child that is told that it doesn’t have a fair shot at the world because of its parents disadvantaged economic status or because it’s said that that child would be disadvantaged in life.

We feel like all life should be respected and given a shot no matter how it originates, that that life was given, and therefore because of that deserves an opportunity, and so we ask this conservative city, conservative counsel, to consider the Human Life Ordinance as it is stated or suggest ways in which we should change it therefore being able to bring it to something in this city where we would as a city make a statement saying that we stand up for life no matter what form it is in in its development. We thank you for your time and congratulate those who are newly in office, and hope that each of you will fairly consider this proposal.

Sam Curiel:
Good evening it’s Sam Curiel. [Otilia: Good evening, Otilia Curiel.] We’re the pastors of Houses of Light church here in Bakersfield. In our lobby here, Colonel Baker said “This is God’s country.” And God’s heart is to preserve life. He’s given us that life and given us all this destiny. And what a shame it would be if our City Council wouldn’t step up.

One time in your life, I think actually before you were born, someone gave you an opportunity, and here you are, making a difference in our lives. So if you would just consider that there are children going to be coming into the world who are going to make a difference.

Otilia Curiel:
Otilia Curiel, and we just want to place it before the Council — congratulations to the new members. But we want to able to be a voice for the voiceless. And someone had mentioned that this room, if our parents had not given us the opportunity, would be empty. But they gave us the opportunity to live.

And life is precious, life is a gift of God. And we can’t see the seal, but the seal has ‘In God We Trust.’ And we want to place our trust in God and know that His word, His standard, His law that He has placed before us, is righteous, is right, to give life and not take life away. And by no means do we want to become a county, a city, where we are allowing another place that’s going to take away life in our city. Thank you for your time.

Troy Morris:
Good evening, Pastor Troy Morris of New Beginnings Christian Church. Mayor Hall, Council, city, thank you for this opportunity to stand before you today. I want you guys to know that I’m praying for you, that God will give you wisdom. It’s not an easy job. The way I see it, you are the kings of this community.

And we’re not going to stop abortion, but we can stop it here at home. People are going to abort their children there’s nothing we can do about it, that’s the wickedness.

I would like to repent on behalf of the church, for not preaching more strongly against sin….

I would like to say that Bakersfield is supposed to be a refuge. It’s supposed to be a safe place. I think you guys have the ability to make it a safe place.

There’s prophetic words that have been spoken over Bakersfield. I travel all over the country. Every prophet I’ve ever ran into says Bakersfield is going to be a refuge and a safe place, and it’s going to be the start of something that’s going to spread worldwide. So I just continue to pray for you guys. You can make a change. We don’t have to be a city that is responsible for the shedding of innocent blood.

I’ve walked these streets, I’m doing what I can to make a difference. You know, once upon a time I rode in the back of those police cars. Today, I’m a chaplain with the city of Bakersfield police department, and I think it’s a privilege to serve this community as a chaplain. I’m out there because I want to make a difference. And I know that you guys have the power to make a difference. You have been ordained by God for such a time as this.

So I want to thank you for hearing me today. And we will continue to pray that God will give you wisdom and God will give you direction. Because I believe that you are all here, ordained by God for such a time as this.

Rick Dorr:
Pastor Rick Dorr, from Stallion Springs Church. Honorable Mayor, ladies and gentlemen of the Council. I appreciate your allowing me to be heard tonight. One of the ancient writers, by the name of Amos gave a great quote in his writings found in Amos chapter 5 verse number 10 and he wrote “there are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court and detest the one who tells the truth.” This statement is truer today than in any other time in history in America. There are those who hate religious leaders, and detest the fact that we stand for the truth. But whether they detest it or not, the truth must be told. Edmund Burke who served in the House of Commons in Great Britain, made a powerful statement when he said “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing.”

Today, as good men and women, you are being asked to do something. You are being asked to pass an ordinance. It’s an ordinance to protect human life, and specifically the life of an unborn child. The Charter of the City of Bakersfield gives you the right to do so. You have the right to “define, prohibit, abate, suppress, and prevent all things detrimental to the health, morals, safety, comfort, convenience and welfare of the inhabitants” of our city.

Today ordinances are being passed to protect the citizens of cities, counties, and states and nations. We pass ordinances as authoritative rule of law to stop people from talking on their cell phones while driving, and if they don’t, they receive a traffic citation. Why did we enact such a law? To protect the innocent from harm.

We pass ordinances to require people to wear a seatbelt while they are either driving or a passenger in a vehicle again so we can protect the life of innocent citizens. Just a year ago my 18 year old nephew was a passenger in a truck. He was not wearing his seatbelt, and they turned a sharp corner and his door opened, and he was thrown out of the vehicle. He hit his head on a concrete pillar and he died, 18 years old. I performed his funeral. Had he observed the law and worn his seatbelt, or been required to wear his seatbelt by the driver of that vehicle, he would have been alive today.

We pass ordinances to keep people from smoking inside of buildings. Why? To protect the innocent non-smokers from the harmful effects of the carcinogens in tobacco.

We have ordinances to protect innocent children from the abuses of their adult parents, and have even created entire organizations such as Child Protective Services for that sole purpose.

We have ordinances that require deadbeat dads and deadbeat moms to pay child support, provide food, shelter and clothing for their children. And we have a Welfare Department to support parents who cannot afford these necessities of life. And all of these ordinances were passed to protect the innocent.

Today you are being asked to consider an ordinance to do the same, to protect the innocent. But the innocent we want you to protect have no voice, and they have no free will. In all of the ordinances I mentioned, those people have free will to either obey or not to obey. All we’re asking you to do, is not allow innocent children to die at the will of his or her mother.

In closing I want to read a quote out of a book by Dr. Lynn Anderson and his book They Smell Like Sheep. He’s really talking to pastors and leaders across the nation. Here’s what he writes: “The authentic leader lives his or her life in integrity, and is guided by principle not politics.”

[Cut off by Mayor Hall]

All that I am just asking is for this Council to consider an ordinance to save lives, and I appreciate it. Thank you very much.

Andy Prince:
Good evening, I am Andy Prince. I am the lead pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Bakersfield. I would like to thank the City Council and the City staff for your faithful service to our city. I come asking for your support of the Human Life Ordinance.

Years ago there was a young unwed mother who found out that she was pregnant. As you can imagine she was overwhelmed, and there was embarrassment to her family, and more importantly to her fiance, who was not the father. Her hopes and dreams seemed dashed. Her life had changed. The man she loved looked with disappointed eyes at her. And her friends could always be seen whispering when she was around. She knew what they were talking about, and it hurt deeply. Her family lived with the shame that their daughter had brought them. Their relatives and neighbors and friends could not believe that this had happened. This young girl could have decided to snuff out this life. Perhaps it would have been easier than to face the opposition she faced. But instead she chose to hang in there, because she knew that life was a gift that God had given her.

In fact, our city, our state, and our nation will shut down for a day to recognize this young unwed mother’s baby. Mary gave birth to a son named Jesus, who became the Savior of the world to any who would believe.

God creates all life, and each is special to Him. In the womb he knows us. Even the scientific community recognizes that at the moment of conception, there is life. The most recent Gallop poll that identified people as pro-choice or pro-life had the lowest amount of people ever recorded at 41% that identified themselves as pro-choice, and 50% of people in America now identify themselves as pro-life. In fact 51% of Americans say abortion is morally wrong. But I believe it’s not important what American goes in the polls, but it’s what God says.

God writes “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live, that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days.” A few years ago, you were brave enough to vote the motto In God We Trust to be a part of the identification of this city. If we trust God, then let’s choose life, and trust that God will bless us.

And now we trust you to make this decision for our city. I want to thank you for your time, and I want you to know that you will be in my and our church’s prayers.

One additional speaker (not a pastor) is included on the video, sharing her life story relating to the blessings she experienced from a baby who was not aborted.

Singing Let Me Live

Teresita holds the hand of her sweet little 3 year old, with her full term little girl Miracle still in her womb. Lupita’s grand baby came close to being aborted. And I have given birth to 11 children and miscarried one child.

Each of us in our own way is reaching out to these vulnerable women with the love of Christ, not seeking to judge anyone, but seeking to provide real help. And so it is very frustrating when other Christians judge us for this outreach.

Last Monday, I heard a woman yelling at Lupita, so I hurried around the corner to see a woman who was very upset, saying “I am a “born again believer and am totally ‘prolife,’ but what YOU are doing out here is sooo wrong!”

Interrupting the woman’s tirade, I asked “what exactly did she do ‘wrong?’”

Critic yells "raising your voice never got anybody anywhere ever." Terri responds "I wish people had the same passion to stop abortion as you do to stop us."

Finally, after she paused for a breath, I was able to get my question heard and answered.

“You were chanting and screaming,” the woman replied.

“OK, did you hear what we were saying?” I asked.

“No,” she confessed, “I was two blocks away, but you just sounded mean and judgmental!”

I shared with her the words we sang: “Let me live, let me walk into the sunshine, let me live. Feel my mother’s arms around me, feel my father’s love surround me, I’m a part of God’s creation, LET ME LIVE!”

“So,” I asked, “was there anything in that song that was judging?”

It was very difficult for me to try and “keep my cool,” but thanks to the Holy Spirit, I stayed fairly calm!

She went on to say “God told me to come talk to you!” She said that we will NEVER be effective out here as long as we yell, that we must “show the women love” and she said that we weren’t doing that!

I corrected her and told her that God has used us to save at least two babies a week and if she felt she could do it better, I would gladly shut my mouth and stand back and watch! She said needed to get back to work, so she couldn’t. She did however still debate with me long enough to let me know that she goes to a large Baptist church in Bakersfield and her pastor preaches against abortion. She let me know that she plans on coming back and that she didn’t even know that the abortion chamber was even here!

I laughed and said, “Well, see, God used my big mouth for something good!”

Earlier, I had asked her if she or someone she knew had ever had an abortion and she said that her mother, who is one of the most Godly, loving women she knows HAD to abort because it was either her life or the baby’s life. So, that is probably why she was so sensitive to us being out there.

Lupita shakes the critic's hand, as the critic says "I pray that they would see Jesus in you guys."

With a shocked look on her face, the spirit filled woman shook her head and hurried off in her car!

This kind of thing happens all the time. There are many Christians who disapprove of my “tactics,” out on the “front lines,” without really knowing what we do, how we do it or how other people treat us.

Some of you reading this may say I am wrong, but let me assure you that if what I have been doing for over 25 years is “not from God,” then the devil has an interesting way of deceiving me.

This is the photo Terri posted, along with a clear explanation that it was a baby born in the bag of waters.

Sadly, too many women in our culture — especially Christian women — are experiencing such deep post-abortion suffering that they can find even a photo of a baby to be offensive.

Somehow, while so many proclaim “judge not,” they don’t seem to realize that they themselves are judging us.