|
By Bobbi-Sue Menard
IN the emotional and fraught world of abortion and post
abortion recovery, Marie Magirescu brings her testimony and music to women
at retreats with Rachel’s Vineyard and Pregnancy Care Centres across
North America.
Music is Magirescu’s first love. She first
took up the guitar when she was 14 years old. The guitar had been a
Christmas gift for her brother, yet it was Magirescu who found herself
spending long hours with the instrument.
Magirescu has loved to sing since she was a child, and
it wasn’t long before she was participating in church services at a
small Franciscan church in downtown Calgary.
She has fond memories of summer evenings spent around
the fire pit in her family’s back yard, singing with her staunchly
Catholic family – as her father played the harmonica, while her
brother played guitar.
In 2005, Magirescu released her CD, Be Still My Soul.
“I am a singer, and I compile music that is
meaningful to me,” says Magirescu. “I choose what inspires me,
songs of healing that are dedicated to people.”
Magirescu still tours with Be
Still My Soul. Those songs have become a part of
her public testimony. “When I am invited to speak at
conferences, I sing. I make my music available.” However, she is not
planning another CD.
Magirescu’s public testimony is almost always
given at Pregnancy Care Centres and related events. Magirescu also speaks
at private Christian schools to teens – where her message is an
important voice, speaking out in a permissive culture.
Her stirring words are based on a troubled past, which
includes the difficult decisions she made as a young adult alone in the
world.
Magirescu has had two pregnancies with heart wrenching
outcomes, once abortion and once adoption.
“My story is more of an outreach, I do my talks
to encourage people where they are with abortion.
“When I went through my pregnancies, there were
no pregnancy care centres. I went through pregnancy on my own. I think it
is amazing these supports for women are in place now.”
A wide spectrum of people deal with the pain of
abortion and the impact it has on so many lives. Magirescu meets people in
almost every circumstance: women who had an abortion years ago and have
tried to forget; men who encouraged an abortion; and young girls who are
considering their options.
Women who are recovering from the stress and pain of an
abortion hold a special place in Magirescu’s heart.
Continue article >>
|
In 2002 she attended a Rachel’s Vineyard retreat,
dealing with post abortion syndrome. Rachel’s Vineyard is program for
healing, founded by Dr. Theresa Burke.
“It was life changing. I had become the
‘church lady’ type. I had shut out the past out and moved
forward with this image I had that I thought I needed to be, all because I
didn’t like or respect myself. That weekend turned everything around
for me.
“So many women who have had an abortion have
depression, shame and regrets, but they don’t give themselves
permission to grieve,” says Magirescu.
Retreat weekends are designed to have people come to a
safe place away from the pressures of everyday life and focus on the
painful time of an abortion in a nonjudgmental and supportive process.
Magirescu is part of the Kelowna team for
Rachel’s Vineyard. “I do music and help facilitate the
weekend,” she says.
Two local retreats are held each year, in the spring
and fall. Open to women, men and couples, the retreats are held at
the Seton House of Prayer above Chute Lake Road.
In the past decade there has been steady growth in the
number of pregnancy care centres and the resources available to women in
crisis pregnancies.
“The pregnancy care centres are such valuable
resources,” says Magirescu. “We need to be a society who gives
more support to women in need.”
Contact: www.mariemagirescu.com.
January 2009
|
