Dedicated pro-life supporters lined highways around the diocese Oct. 4, holding signs and praying for an end to abortion as part of the 22nd annual Life Chain.

Life Chain gatherings in Ocean, Mercer and Monmouth Counties were among an estimated 1,400 held throughout the United States and Canada as part of the annual Respect Life Sunday, traditionally observed on the first Sunday of October.

Each year, people stand along roadways with signs containing pro-life slogans such as “Jesus forgives and heals” and “Life: The first inalienable right” to silently demonstrate their stance against abortion.

Approximately 40 people joined together to form the Life Chain along Route 70 in Manchester, according to Marie Sherry, a member of the Respect Life committee in St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Whiting. This year’s gathering included representatives from 10 different area churches of various denominations, Sherry said, including local ministers Ralph Freda of the Church of Grace and Peace, Toms River, and Pastor Owen Alston of Harmony Ministries, Lakehurst, who led the group in prayer.

The ecumenical effort, and in particular the encouraging words of the Protestant ministers, brings people together to “give testimony to the fact that we are standing up and asking God’s help in our attempt to stop abortions here in our country,” Sherry said.

“We’re just holding on to the idea that we should all defend life and work together,” she said. In Mercer County, roughly 70 participants from several municipalities turned out to stand on Route 33 in Hamilton across from St. Gregory the Great Church, said Bob Pawson, one of the event’s coordinators. The Mercer Life Chain also extended past a new Planned Parenthood facility located on the other side of Route 33, he said.

Pawson added that one of the most encouraging aspects of the Life Chain is the presence of young people, including many families who come together to stand up for life.

“It was a joy to have at least 20 youngsters and toddlers present displaying pro-life posters or frolicking playfully,” he said.

In Monmouth County, members of St. Veronica Parish, Howell, stretched nearly a mile along Route 9 displaying their Life Chain signs.

The gathering, marking its 19th consecutive year in Howell, is a continued source of inspiration for the parish’s pro-life efforts, said Respect Life committee co-chairperson Hubert Mador.

“This has helped to motivate people to get involved and to take action,” he said.