Tag: prayer

40 Days for Life begins today

~ Ellen Kolb ~ Leave a comment

Four New Hampshire locations are sites for 40 Days for Life campaigns beginning Ash Wednesday, February 17, lasting until Sunday, March 28. Each campaign features peaceful pro-life witness outside abortion facilities, along with prayer, fasting, and community outreach.

For more information about each campaign and about the global 40 Days for Life project, go to these links. Note that each campaign has its own vigil calendar, where volunteers can sign up. Each campaign also has its own special events schedule.

Statement of Peace

The 40DFL Statement of Peace, signed by all participants, is an integral part of the campaign. Among the commitments: I will only pursue peaceful, law-abiding solutions to the violence of abortion when volunteering with the 40 Days for Life campaign…I understand that breaking the law or acting in a violent or harmful manner immediately and completely disassociates me from the 40 Days for Life campaign.

What 40DFL is and isn’t

40 Days for Life aims to end abortion locally through prayer and fasting, community outreach, and – in its most visible work – peaceful vigil outside abortion facilities.

Civil disobedience is not part of 40 Days for Life. It’s about witness, not protest.

Also, it’s not about ignoring COVID. Volunteers are directed to observe appropriate protocols including social distancing. A volunteer who becomes ill or is exposed to COVID is expected to stay home rather than attend the vigil.

Anyone whose health concerns make participation in group events inadvisable can pray and fast from home, joining in spirit those who are keeping vigil on the sidewalks. Remote witness sounds like a contradiction in terms to anyone unfamiliar with the contemplative tradition, but that’s what some of us have done in COVID time. Has this weakened 40DFL? Hardly. This campaign is taking place in 567 locations around the world, making it the largest spring campaign since 40DFL began in 2007.

Fall 2020 40 Days for Life begins September 23

~ Ellen Kolb ~ Leave a comment

The next 40 Days for Life campaign will begin on Wednesday, September 23, in 588 cities around the world. New Hampshire campaigns are in Manchester outside Planned Parenthood’s Pennacook Street office, and in Greenland outside the Lovering Health Center.

40DFL is a twice-a-year coordinated campaign to end abortion through three actions: prayer and fasting; community outreach; and peaceful public witness (prayer vigil) outside abortion facilities.

Signups for vigil hours are available online. All volunteers must agree to 40DFL’s Statement of Peace. Each campaign has its own newsletter for updating participants. The campaigns’ websites outline COVID-prevention measures for participants, including social distancing during vigils.

Abortions go on during the pandemic, so 40DFL keeps going, too.

For the Manchester campaign: 40daysforlife.com/manchester

For the Greenland campaign: 40daysforlife.com/greenland

40 Days for Life, Fall 2019

~ Ellen Kolb

The next 40 Days for Life campaign begins on Wednesday, September 25. In New Hampshire, kickoff events will be on Sunday, September 22 in Greenland and Manchester.

Greenland’s event on the 22nd will begin at 2 p.m. with speakers Maria of Rachel’s Vineyard post abortive healing, Susan RN of Abortion Pill Reversal Rescue Hotline, and Jackie McCoy, Campaign Coordinator.  Expect light refreshments and fellowship. Location is outside Joan G. Lovering Center, 559 Portsmouth Avenue in Greenland. Please park only in the unpaved parking lot adjacent to the Greenland Town Offices. Meet on the grassy area in front of Greenland Town Offices. Rain or shine event! Dress accordingly. 

At 3 p.m. on the 22nd, Manchester’s campaign will kick off in Montminy Hall at Ste. Marie Church in Manchester with a screening of the film “Unplanned.”

40 Days for Life is “an internationally coordinated 40-day campaign that aims to end abortion locally through prayer and fasting, community outreach, and a peaceful all-day vigil in front of abortion businesses.” In New Hampshire, a typical prayer vigil runs from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Anyone committed to the 40 Days for Life Statement of Peace can sign up for a vigil hour, either one-time or recurring, at a campaign’s web site. For Manchester, go to https://www.40daysforlife.com/manchester. For Greenland, go to https://www.40daysforlife.com/greenland. Each of those sites contains a vigil calendar, event calendar, and local contact information.

(Featured image in post by Don Mudge.)

Bullying in Action: How Not to Represent a District

~ Ellen Kolb ~ Leave a comment

It has to be seen to be believed: a state representative in Pennsylvania posted video of himself harassing peaceful pro-life witnesses outside abortion facilities. See coverage here, at a link that will not give the rep the satisfaction of inflating his social media stats.

The prospect of such bullying here in New Hampshire is why I keep my phone with its camera handy whenever I’m participating in 40 Days for Life, and it’s why I think it’s a bad idea to witness alone even though I’ve sometimes done so.

The Pennsylvania politician has demonstrated how not to represent a district. That’s between him and the voters, or rather among him and the voters and the advocacy groups that will no doubt be dumping money into his next campaign.

Abby Johnson and the amazing team from And Then There Were None will respond on Friday, May 10 by going to the Pennsylvania facility where the politician performed his antics. They’ll stand with some of the same people berated by the state rep. He has therefore succeeded in intensifying the pro-life presence that so offended him in the first place.

And Then There Were None is calling this event #StandWithAbby, and they are calling on peaceful pro-life witnesses to go to the sidewalks outside their own local abortion facilities between 8 a.m. and noon on May 10.

Don’t think of it as standing with Abby, as stalwart a pro-lifer as she is. Instead, think of it as standing with the people who endured the state rep’s provocation.

From the event announcement:

Let’s stand together across this country on Friday in peaceful unity against the tactics of Rep. Sims and all those who bully prolife people, all those who bully women into abortion, and all those who want to bully our culture into accepting abortion as something good.
    
On Friday, May 10th, let’s stand together, in solidarity, for LIFE against bullies.
 
Here’s how: 
When: Friday, May 10, 2019
Time: Between 8am and 12pm
Where: Your local abortion clinic
What: To pray and give peaceful witness
How:   Be prepared to pray quietly (no bullhorns or yelling).                      Bring a Bible to read softly, rosaries, prayer cards, or other things that help you pray. You may make homemade signs to hold. If you do, we suggest writing  #IStandWithAbby or #StandWithAbby on them along with the websites ProLove.com or AbortionWorker.com. You can also find some ideas on what to put on your signs at   CheckMyClinic.org.

How To Support 40 Days for Life Today

~ Ellen Kolb ~ 1 Comment

The next 40 Days for Life campaign begins March 6. This peaceful pro-life witness will take place in more than 400 cities, including three in New Hampshire.

Right now, weeks before the campaign begins, you can support it. I don’t mean with donations, although those are always welcome for things like signs and event refreshments. I don’t mean signing up for a vigil hour- at least not yet, because I’ll surely be appealing to you for that very shortly.

What you can do today is help spread the word, particularly within your faith community. 40DFL is informed by Christian beliefs and practice, but all are welcome who share the 40DFL mission. If you…

  • respect the right to life,
  • are committed to peaceful action to make abortion unthinkable, and
  • are either unfamiliar with 40DFL or aren’t sure how to introduce it to pro-life friends and neighbors,

…then what you can do right now is invite someone from your local 40 Days for Life team to meet with you or your group. It could be for a one-on-one chat over coffee. It might be a brief introduction during a church committee meeting, or a 15-minute presentation to a room full of people. Maybe you have a podcast or public-access program; would you like to have a segment about 40DFL?

Just drop us a line. I’m blessed to be working with the Manchester organizing team, but you could also contact teams in Concord or Greenland.

“The 40-day campaign tracks Biblical history, where God used 40-day periods to transform individuals, communities … and the entire world. From Noah in the flood to Moses on the mountain to the disciples after Christ’s resurrection, it is clear that God sees the transformative value of His people accepting and meeting a 40-day challenge.” — from 40daysforlife.com

40 Days for Life Frequently Asked Questions