The power of life over...
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The power of life over death is central to the Christian narrative. Clara Hale made her living taking in other people's children when at the age of 62 she decided to stop. Only then her own daughter brought her an addict baby and inside two months she had 22 babies living in her five-room apartment. Then, in 1973, at the age of 68, she opened Hale house, a Harlem brownstone at 145 West 122nd Street meant to provide a life-giving environment for babies of young drug-addicted mothers. The home took in nearly 1,000 infants. She was called Mother Hale by those who knew and loved her, called "an American hero" by President Ronald Reagan, and championed by celebrities like John Lennon and Lena Horne. In the last years of Mother Hale's life, Hale House expanded its programs to include housing and educating mothers after detoxification, apprentice training for youth who went astray, and a home for mothers and infants infected with the AIDS virus. Mother Hale was an apostle, like Peter, who brought life to those who lived in death and despair. -- Steffey Morrow
