One Story of Conversion
by The Rev. Sandra DePriest

Before becoming a priest of the Episcopal Church, I practiced law in the city of Indianapolis between 1979 and 1982. Soon after joining a downtown law firm, I was elected to the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Indianapolis. Early on in my Standing Committee service, I was asked to represent the Diocese on a Committee called The Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights (RCAR). I did not mind because at that time in my life, I thought it was inappropriate for legislators to determine the rights of the mother in terminating her pregnancy. Instead, I thought it best for the Courts to make these determinations on a case by case basis.

At about this same time, God began to do a work in me that I could not have anticipated. God called upon me to spend as much time and effort studying His Word as I spent in the study of the Law. The only Bible I owned at the time was a white zippered King James Version. Therefore, my mother sent me a gift of The Layman’s Parallel Bible, which included four translations which I could read and compare. I began to engage in Bible Study in Vestry Meetings, retreats and on my own. Soon thereafter, when I attended the RCAR meetings, I found myself at odds with the conversation. I began to recognize the fetus as a person capable of leaping in his mother’s womb, as John the Baptist did in the presence of Jesus, who was in the womb of Mary, as the two women greeted one another when both were pregnant.

The rest at Stand Firm-excellent!