Closing Brunch and 365 for Life!

Dear Friends,

The final open hour for 40 days for Life has been filled ... praise God, and thank you for your efforts!

Closing Brunch this Sunday, 11/06/11, at noon! Join us at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish for a great event!

Join us for an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast as part of our Closing Brunch to celebrate the good the Holy Spirit has worked through all of us with 40 Days for Life! The Closing Brunch is this Sunday, November 6, 2011 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish (5101 Schofield Road Monona, WI 53716). Come at 12:00 p.m. for brunch. Free will offerings will be accepted for the brunch. Otherwise, join us at 12:30 p.m. for the program, which will include a spiritual reflection by Fr. Bart Timmerman, pastor at Immaculate Heart of Mary, and a talk by Matt Sande from Pro-Life Wisconsin. For those who are interested, you can remain after the scheduled program to see the pro-life video “180,” which is about 30 minutes long. This video is fantastic, but not suitable for children. Check out more information at heartchanger.com/. Contact Laura Karlen at 608-445-2064 or laura@vigilforlife.org for more information.

365 for Life” to Resumes: Can you make a monthly commitment?
Our vigil on the sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood, where, as far as we know, children die by abortion potentially every day, cannot end.While we will not keep watch 24/7, please join us in remaining on the sidewalk. We talked with the security guard at Planned Parenthood yesterday and mentioned to him that we will be out in January and February. He seemed surprised. We said that we would not being going away. Let us continue to witness love in action to this security guard for the conversion of his heart, all those in the abortion industry and the men and women tempted to abort their children. Can you help keep our word to the security guard? Can you make a monthly commitment to pray on the sidewalks for an hour or two?
How can you sign up for “365 for Life”? There are 4 ways:

1. Email Laura Karlen (laura@vigilforlife.org) with the time, day of the week, and week of the month (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th) you are available.
2. Visit vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview for hours that are currently scheduled for the “365 for Life” initiative. To add new hours, which is encouraged, see step 3.
3. Print out and mail this commitment form: vigilforlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/365-for-Life-Initiative-Commitment-Form-rev.-11.04.11.pdf.
4. Contact Laura Karlen at 608-445-2064 or laura@vigilforlife.org.

Respect Life Retreat

From Friday, December 2, 2011 through Saturday afternoon December 3, 2011, the Servants of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Vigil for Life will be hosting the Fourth Annual Respect Life Retreat. This special Advent retreat will be held once again in the beautiful retreat center of
Durward's Glen (http://www.durwardsglen.org/) near Baraboo, WI. Our Retreat Master will be Father William Vernon from St. Christopher Parish in Verona. This event will offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, the Liturgy of the Hours, silent prayer and time for personal reflection. Anyone who is involved in work to build a culture of life is invited to attend.
Spaces for the retreat are limited, so please call now to reserve your room. The cost per person is $55, and checks may be made payable to "The Servants of Our Lady of Guadalupe." (Financial assistance may be made available for those in need.) Please call Jen Dunnett at 715-340-2779 or email her at vitapretiosa@gmail.com to reserve your place. Take time apart from your efforts to defend life to be strengthened by Jesus Christ, Who is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life"(John 14:6).

Praise God’s Name for the goodness of 40 Days for Life! “My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name.” Luke 1:46-47, 49. Amen!

Home Stretch: Last Call for 40 Days for Life Hours!

This is the final week of 40 Days for Life and you have been very faithful and responsive to our mission of saving human life, made in God's image and likeness. We're asking you for your heroic sacrifice for a little longer as we hit the home stretch. There are many hours to be filled and WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!

• Tuesday, 11/1/11: 1 hour left to fill

• Wednesday, 11/2/11: 17 hours left to fill

• Thursday, 11/3/11: 14 hours left to fill

• Friday, 11/4/11: 20 hours left to fill

• Saturday, 11/5/11: 24 hours left to fill

• Sunday, 11/6/11: 15 hours left to fill YIKES!!!

(Reminder: We need hours filled only until noon on Sunday since this is the last day of the 40 day vigil. Be sure to come to our Closing Brunch at noon at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish - 5101 Schofield Road in Monona!)

Please find it in your heart to give a few more hours of your time in this last week by visiting

http://vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview

or by calling Laura Karlen at 608-445-2064

(email: laura@vigilforlife.org).

Thank you in advance for answering the call for LIFE!

Hours Needed, Closing Brunch and More!

In this issue:

• Urgent Hours for 40 Days for Life
• Closing Brunch Announced for Sunday, 11/06/11, at noon!
• Personhood Amendment
• “365 for Life” to Resume
• Respect Life Retreat

Dear Friends,

By the grace of God and your generous responses to our calls for help, 40 Days for Life goes on. Please keep up your commitment to maintain a 24/7 vigil on the sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood. Let us not become weary but remain strong, strengthened by the Holy Spirit!

Urgent Hours for 40 Days for Life

Beginning tomorrow and into the weekend we have hours that remain unfilled. Can you help? Please sign-up online at http://vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview or contact Laura Karlen at 608-445-2064 or laura@vigilforlife.org. Here are our needs:

Friday (10/28/11): 4 hours left to fill –almost there!

Saturday (10/29/11): 16 hours to fill –help!

Sunday (10/30/11): 15 hours to fill –we need you!

Monday (10/31/11): 12 hours to fill –lend a hand!

Closing Brunch Announced for Sunday, 11/06/11, at noon!

We are happy to announce that we are able to offer our courageous prayer warriors an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast as part of our Closing Brunch to celebrate the good the Holy Spirit has worked through all of us with 40 Days for Life! The Closing Brunch is Sunday, November 6, 2011 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish (5101 Schofield Road Monona, WI 53716). Come at 12:00 p.m. for brunch. Free will offerings will be accepted for the brunch. Otherwise, join us at 12:30 p.m. for the program, which includes a spiritual reflection by Fr. Bart Timmerman, pastor at Immaculate Heart of Mary. There will be time for fellowship too before we close 40 Days for Life at 2:00 p.m., in time for the Packers game! Contact Laura Karlen at 608-445-2064 or laura@vigilforlife.org for more information.

Personhood Amendment

40 Days for Life and Vigil for Life are not political organizations. However, all of us have a desire for abortion to end. Therefore, we want to share with the you the great news that State Representative Andre Jacque began circulating the Wisconsin Personhood Amendment for co-sponsorship in the State Legislature. If passed, the amendment would extend the right to life found in our state constitution to every human being at any stage of development, including pre-born children. As such, when Roe vs. Wade is overturned, Wisconsin babies would be protected as citizens under the state constitution. The Personhood Amendment will be formally introduced in the next few weeks.

If you feel so called, you can contact your State Representative and encourage him or her to co-sponsor this important amendment. You may use this link to look-up your Representative’s contact information: http://legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/waml/waml.aspx. All the other information you might need is available at the new PersonhoodWisconsin.com web site. Click here: http://personhoodwisconsin.com/. The web site can give you the background you want about personhood and why this is the next step in the pro-life movement. There is also a petition that you can sign and circulate. No doubt, you will hear more about personhood in pro-life circles in the coming days and weeks. This is an exciting development, and we want you to be informed!

“365 for Life” to Resume

Although we may feel tired after 40 Days for Life, we cannot vacate the sidewalks in front of Planned Parenthood. This sends the message to Planned Parenthood that the workers, abortionists and administrators simply need to be patient, and, after 40 days, we’ll all go home. This cannot happen! God gives us the supernatural graces we need to be persistent.

While we do not plan to maintain a 24/7 vigil after Sunday, November 6, we do intend to be out for a while every day that Planned Parenthood is open, if not some time on Saturday and Sunday too. This is the simple plan of our “365 for Life” initiative. Can you make a commitment to be on the sidewalk one time per month? This seems like a small sacrifice compared to the number of hours many of you have spent on the sidewalk. But, we need your small sacrifices each month (or week!) of the year with the end goal of shutting down Planned Parenthood! We ask you to begin praying about what you can do as part of “365 for Life.”

Respect Life Retreat

From Friday, December 2, 2011 through Saturday afternoon December 3, 2011, the Servants of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Vigil for Life will be hosting the Fourth Annual Respect Life Retreat. This special Advent retreat will be held once again in the beautiful retreat center of

Durward's Glen (http://www.durwardsglen.org/) near Baraboo, WI. Our Retreat Master will be Father William Vernon from St. Christopher Parish in Verona. This event will offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, the Liturgy of the Hours, silent prayer and time for personal reflection. Anyone who is involved in work to build a culture of life is invited to attend.

Spaces for the retreat are limited, so please call now to reserve your room. The cost per person is $55, and checks may be made payable to "The Servants of Our Lady of Guadalupe." (Financial assistance may be made available for those in need.) Please call Jen Dunnett at 715-340-2779 or email her at vitapretiosa@gmail.com to reserve your place. Take time apart from your efforts to defend life to be strengthened by Jesus Christ, Who is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life"(John 14:6).

This is a lot of information to digest, but there are many good things ahead for our Vigil for Life family! Please get involved and stay involved. All glory to God for the good things in Madison!

13 Days to Go, and Help Needed!

We are approaching the end of this prayer vigil - ONLY 13 MORE DAYS UNTIL WE CROSS THE FINISH LINE!

We need you to hang in there and sacrifice a little longer. We have many hours this week which need to be filled.

Tuesday 10/25/11: we have 4 hours to fill.

Wednesday 10/26/11: we have 16 hours to fill.

Thursday 10/27/11: we have 21 hours to fill.

Friday 10/28/11: we have 18 hours to fill.

Both Saturday and Sunday are only abour 45% filled.

PLEASE HELP!!!!

If you have not yet participated, we need you NOW as a shot in the arm to our prayer vigil campaign! The vigil captains are spending many hours on the phone asking for your help. If they leave messages, please give them a call and take an hour or more. Better yet, save them a call and go online to sign up for hours by visiting:

http://vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview or by calling Laura Karlen at 608-445-2064

(email: laura@vigilforlife.org).

We need you NOW! Our trust is in the Lord - praise God!

Urgent Help Needed!

Once again, we are urgently in need of your sacrifices this weekend and into early next week to keep our vigil going! We need your IMMEDIATE ACTION to fill many vigil hours in the coming days. If you can, sign up for a regularly scheduled hour or hours to save on phone calling by our volunteer vigil captains. We especially need prayer warriors for the overnight hours! Our vigil captains are working very hard to make sure the 40 Days for Life are a success. Please say yes to their request to fill an hour or more when they call!

Please sign up RIGHT AWAY by visiting http://vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview or calling Laura Karlen at 608-445-2064.

Friday (10/21/11), we have 5 hours to fill.

Saturday (10/22/11), we have 17 hours to fill.

Sunday (10/23/11), we have 26 hours to fill!

Monday (10/24/11), we have 15 hours to fill. Yikes!

We need you NOW! 40 Days for Life requires heroic sacrifice, and we are asking for your heroic sacrifice on behalf of the unborn babies and the mothers and fathers who need to be shown another way.

Our trust is in the Lord -praise God!

Turnaround at Planned Parenthood!

Last week Wednesday, we had a "turnaround" at Planned Parenthood - a couple left Planned Parenthood right after coming! This is what sidewalk counselor Dan had to say:

"At about 1:15 p.m., one man came outside just after he walked in with a young woman. I asked him if they were going to be ok. He actually stopped and responded, 'Say what?' I continued, 'If.Your. Friend. Is. Pregnant. We. Can. Help. Free ultrasounds – pregnancy test, diapers - clothing. Go back inside and get her out of there. It’s the best thing you will do all day. This is an evil place.' He was still listening but looked perplexed, so I repeated myself, pointing to heaven, 'For the love of God, get her out of there!' He waved, saying, 'Ok,' and went inside. And he did get her out of there! Their total stay couldn’t have been for longer than five minutes. When they came outside, the man looked to me as I pointed to heaven and said, 'Amen! Thank you!' He gave me the thumbs up and walked his friend to the car."

Thank you, Dan, for giving this couple the encouragement they needed to leave Planned Parenthood behind!

Have you been out to pray yet? If you haven't, now is the time so that we can keep on having such opportunities for the conversion of hearts.

Midpoint Vigil with Bishop Morlino: Join us tomorrow, Tuesday, October 18, at 6:00 p.m. for a candlelight midpoint vigil with Bishop Robert Morlino. He will lead us in prayer and motivate us spiritually to continue with the sacrifices that 40 Days for Life requires. The vigil will be on the sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood (3706 Orin Road Madison, WI 53704). Come and be encouraged to go to the sidewalk for the first time... or to return to the sidewalk refreshed spiritually!

Our vigil captains have been doing a great job filling the holes in our vigil schedule -thank you, vigil captains! However, sometimes, the need is too great to rely just on our vigil captains. That's where we need your vigilance with our vigil calendar. Will you check in every few days to help ensure that our 24/7 vigil is filled? Can you lend a helping hand so that our most stalwart prayer warriors can have a few days "off" to rest? Right now, here are our needs:

Tuesday (10/18/11): 7 hours to fill!

Wednesday (10/19/11): 17 hours to fill -help!

Thursday (10/20/11): 17 hours to fill -we need you!

Sign-up RIGHT NOW at http://vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview or by contacting Laura Karlen (608-445-2064 or laura@vigilforlife.org)!

40 Days for Life is a superhuman effort, and we need the contributions of each person to make 40 Days for Life possible. For this, we place our trust in the Lord.

Tomorrow: Join us for Special Mass to Recognize Dignity of the Unborn

Tomorrow, Friday (10/14/11), there will be a beautiful Mass and ceremony (with reception too!) at 6:00 p.m. at St. Mary's in Pine Bluff (3673 County Road P Cross Plains, WI 53528) to recognize the dignity of all children lost before birth due to miscarriage and stillbirth. Even if you haven't experienced this loss recently or before, we still encourage you to attend! Weather permitting, it will also be an opportunity to see the breath-taking Miracle of Life Rosary Garden on the grounds of St. Mary's!

On Tuesday, October 18, Bishop Morlino will be joining us at the vigil site (the sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood, 3706 Orin Road Madison, WI 53704) for a Candlelight Midpoint Vigil at 6:00 p.m. He will encourage us with a spiritual reflection and lead us in prayer. This is a must-attend event!

On Saturday (10/15/11), we still have 14 hours to fill!

On Sunday (10/16/11), we still have 17 hours to fill!

On Monday (10/17/11), we still have 14 hours to fill!

We still need you! If you haven't yet participated in this year's 40 Days for Life campaign, we need you NOW to relieve the dediated prayer warriors who have been keeping vigil so far! If everyone helps, our campaign can continue without a hitch! To sign-up, visit http://vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview or contact Laura Karlen at 608-445-2064 or laura@vigilforlife.org.