Posted on 02/17/2010 7:54:57 AM PST by Salvation
The final email:
If you’ve ever been to a graduation ceremony, you may
have heard the event referred to as “commencement
exercises.” Yes, the day marks the end of a period in
the graduate’s life — but most importantly, it marks a
beginning. Such is also the case with 40 Days for Life.
You may have heard me say that 40 Days for Life
campaigns could well mark the beginning of the end
of abortion — in the communities where those campaigns
are held, and across the nation and around the world.
There have been many, many, many blessings that God
has given us during these 40 days. Go ahead, take a
deep breath, and rejoice in the marvelous things the
Lord has done!
But the truth is, this is just the start.
“The beginning of the end of abortion” means that
seeds have been planted. When will the seeds sprout?
When will they begin to grow and develop? When will
they bear fruit?
The answer is God’s alone, of course. But who will
water the seeds? Who will keep the garden free of
weeds? Who will take the next steps to see that these
seeds don’t wither and die — or simply lie dormant
waiting for something to happen?
The answer, of course, is — YOU!
There are many things you can do to keep the momentum
rolling. For one thing ... please keep praying!
At a 40 Days for Life rally in Hagerstown, Maryland,
a man told of going to pray at the abortion facility
with his wife and eight children. While they were there,
a woman canceled her abortion appointment and decided
to keep her child.
Some days later, the man’s 4-year-old son said,
“Daddy we saved a baby. When are going again?”
Any day when abortions are scheduled is an appropriate
day to go and pray.
What else can you do?
* Train to be a sidewalk counselor outside the
abortion facility.
* Support — and volunteer for — a local pro-life
pregnancy resource center.
* Start a pro-life group at your church or school.
* Promote the pro-life viewpoint in letters to the
editor or calls to radio talk shows.
* Speak up for the unborn in this year’s political
discussions.
* And those are just a few of the many possibilities!
If you have not yet had a 40 Days for Life campaign in
your community, please think and pray about bringing
this prayerful outreach to your city. The dates for
the next campaign are September 22 - October 31.
We’ll begin taking applications this summer.
“The campaign is growing,” said Mary Anne in Ithaca,
New York, which just wrapped up its second 40 Days
for Life effort. “If anyone out there hears the Lord
calling you to start 40 Days for Life in your area,
please respond to that call. You are not alone. We are
with you! What an awesome God we have!”
Were you able to attend any the closing rally for your
40 Days for Life campaign? I hope you were! But if you
were not able to join the celebration, I have a special
“end of campaign bonus” for you.
David Brandao, our communications director of 40 Days
for Life, attended the closing rally for the Virginia
Beach, Virginia campaign.
To see some pictures of their unique vigil location,
and to hear a powerful, moving 8-minute audio wrap-up
of the closing event in Virginia Beach, go to:
http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=896
Bump!
An email update!
Today is Good Friday — the day Christians mark the
crucifixion and death of the Son of God. In memory of
Christ, 40 Days for Life volunteers in a number of
cities are planning to pray at abortion centers today.
For instance, every member of the 40 Days for Life team
in Everett, Washington is invited to pray outside the
abortion facility today.
The same invitation has gone out in Syracuse, New York.
Not only is it Good Friday, but the local Planned
Parenthood center in Syracuse is doing a “pledge-a-
picket” campaign.
Abortion businesses will do this as an attempt to get
pro-life people to stay away. They say that the vigil
participants are raising money for them.
In most cases, though, this is a desperation move to
raise funds to make up for lost business, as clients
see people praying and become convinced that abortion
is not the answer.
In Houston, Texas, Planned Parenthood is also doing
“pledge-a-picket,” going so far as to say that the
people praying are hired hands who are being paid
a salary and benefits to show up for “40 Days of
Harassment.”
In other locations, the abortion businesses spent the
final days of the 40 Days for Life campaign trying to
bully vigil participants. In one city, the facility’s
staff tried to convince a police officer to keep
people far away, even though city laws hold no
restriction on peaceful activities in the public
right-of-way.
In Boulder, Colorado, the abortionist wrote a lengthy
letter to the editor denouncing the “harassment” caused
by the throngs of people outside his business.
The daily newspaper went to investigate, and found
people quietly praying on a cold day when a light
drizzle was falling. Still, the abortionist is
demanding that the city council impose a 500-foot
buffer zone to keep the prayer volunteers far away.
This is to be expected; Christ Himself said we would
face this sort of thing. In Matthew’s gospel, He said,
“Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you
and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely)
because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward
will be great in heaven.”
Paula in Tucson offered a nugget of truth that I think
is worth sharing. As she prayed at the 40 Days for Life
vigil, she realized something. “I looked at the no
trespass signs,” she said, “and I laughed — because
God was there.”
God IS there — in the abortion facility.
God IS there — when life begins. That point became
quite clear to Christina, who suffered a miscarriage
in the ninth week of her pregnancy.
“The doctor wanted my husband and I to come and see
for ourselves that this little 9-week-old unborn child
was a real baby,” she said.
“I know this is hard for you,” said the physician,
“but as a doctor, I am appalled when people tell me
it is not yet a baby.”
“And as we looked at this little baby,” Christina said,
“we could see the little heart through the opaque flesh,
the hands and feet formed but still like a little web,
the head larger than the rest of the body.”
It was, in a word, amazing — God’s miracle.
“It was a pleasure and a joy to join in the vigil this
year and I will never miss another one,” said Christina.
“You feel the presence of God at every minute.”
If you are able to, take time to pray at an abortion
center today, Good Friday. Remember Christ. Remember
the babies, the mothers, the fathers, the abortion
facility staff.
And remember — God is there.
Yours for Life,
David Bereit
National Director
40 Days for Life
Thanks for the ping/post(s), Salvation.
life
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