Win a free copy of Abby Johnson's expose of Planned Parenthood!‏

Vigil for Life and Pro-Life Wisconsin's 365 for Life Initiative is off to a great start! It is nothing short of remarkable to know that for the last two weeks, there has been a prayer presence at Planned Parenthood for every woman who comes for an abortion.

To ensure this presence continues through next week, however, we need help. Can you sign up for a two-hour shift? If you can't fill both hours, find a friend and each take an hour! Click here to sign up. You can also call 608-445-2063 or email info@vigilforlife.org to sign up.

We've also got an exciting incentive to help sweeten the deal! Every participant that signs up for a regular monthly vigil slot by February 10 will be entered into a drawing to win a copy of Abby Johnson's book Unplanned, which was released this week! You might remember Abby as the former Planned Parenthood director who joined the pro-life movement in 2009, largely due to the presence of loving prayer warriors like you! We'll give away one copy at each Sidewalk Counseling Training session (held on Friday February 11 and Saturday February 12--save the date!). You don't need to be present to win.

Reminders!

• Fr. Rick Heilman will lead Stations of the Cross at Planned Parenthood (3706 Orin Road) beginning tomorrow (Friday 1/14) at 6:30 a.m. and lasting every day until the Roe vs. Wade anniversary on 1/22.
• Speaking of the Roe vs. Wade anniversary, you're invited to join us in prayer on Saturday, 1/22 at 1 p.m. at Planned Parenthood to memorialize the 53 million children who have lost their lives to abortion since 1973.

He is Risen

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad! --Psalm 118: 24

On behalf of Vigil for Life, please accept our wishes for a wonderful and blessed Easter season for you and your families. Jesus Christ who had died is risen. Allelujah!

All human cruelty and callous indifference, all our frustration and despair, every destroyed life and broken heart is answered by this most holy season. And so, as we go forth this year continuing our labors to pray, fast and witness for an end to abortion, let us never forget that the beginning and the end of our work is the resurrection of the Lord.

Please read on for highlights from this spring's 40 Days for Life campaign in Madison.

40 Days for Life Madison 2010: Year in Review

After only three months since the end of the fall campaign, Vigil for Life embarked on an ambitious effort: holding another 40 day vigil--this time at the Madison Surgery Center. With the fall campaign still fresh in mind, with harsher weather, and with a very public location that would result in much more open hostility, we had our doubts as to whether the vigil could be pulled off. But we placed those doubts in the Hands of the Lord and trusted that if He wanted this vigil to happen He would find a way to fill the 960 hour long prayer shifts. And did He ever!

We were delighted, humbled and amazed by the way you all turned out to this vigil. Here is an overview of some of the highlights and success stories:

Making a Difference

• Prayer Warrior Tom reported that a man who came to work at the MSC in a service van came over to the sidewalk to ask about the late-term abortion plans. When Tom filled him in, he replied, "Well, I think I will call my boss and tell him that I will not do service here anymore."
• MSC staff routinely thanked participants for being out on the streets.
• The Vigil provided a street presence while Pro-Life Wisconsin discovered and publicized numerous accounts of corruption and illegal activity involved in the University of Wisconsin's plans to perform late-term abortions and its relationship with Planned Parenthood.
• Still no abortions at the MSC--Nearly 15 months after the targetted start date! This results in an estimated 150 saved babies since January of 2009!

Incredible Efforts

• Many people got involved for the first time--many coming from more than an hour away to pray!
• Close to 50 people gathered for the closing vigil, led by Pastor Jeremiah Johnson who led praise and worship music and offered a powerful reflection.
• The national 40 Days for Life team featured Madison--called you "defenders of true freedom" in its widely distributed campaign email and blog.
• This vigil drew participants from more Christian faiths and more churches than the previous one.
• On March 21, nearly 200 of you packed the sidewalks to pray the Stations of the Cross.
• Scores of people packed a special Mass praying to keep abortion out of health care reform and then filled a 40 hour adoration vigil that ran concurrent with 40 Days for Life

Putting the Abortion Industry on the Defensive

• A student newspaper on campus published a pro-abortion piece bashing vigil participants while admitting abortion kills a person.
• One day a counter-protester showed up--drawing further attention to the treachery of UW Health and Meriter Hospital.
• The campaign (along with a concurrent vigil in Wausau) so riled the abortion industry that several pro-abortion organizations attempted to launched a mass fundraising campaign in response to our presence on the street. The entire statewide effort drew only a paltry 63 donations!

Well done!

Keeping It Up

• Every Tuesday at the MSC at 8:30 a.m. We will continue our witness at the MSC with a weekly vigil at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesdays. A prayer partner is needed to keep 2 people out there at a time. Please contact Steve Karlen at 608-445-2063 if you can plan on praying on Tuesdays.
• Every Thursday at Planned Parenthood at 4:00 p.m. We will stand at the foot of the Cross at Planned Parenthood Thursdays at 4:00 p.m., which is a busy time. A prayer partner is needed to keep 2 people out there at a time. Please contact Laura Karlen at 608-445-2064 if you can plan on praying on Thursdays.
• Is there a time that you would like to pray at either location? Grab a prayer partner and head out two-by-two, as our Lord sent out His disciples. Let us know what you have in mind so we can multiply our vigils!
  

Lastly, we'd like to thank a prayer warrior who will be leaving the Madison area for her incredible efforts this past year. Jenny Hakes has been praying outside the Madison Surgery Center each Saturday morning for most of the past year. She's been a regular participant in 40 Days for Life and was featured in the Wisconsin State Journal for her efforts this winter. Jenny will be relocating to Texas.

Thank you Jenny Your efforts have gone above and beyond what we could have asked. You leave large shoes to fill and will be greatly missed.

Have a Blessed Easter!

Vigil for Life draws national attention

Weekly Vigils Begin!

As 40 Days for Life draws to a close at the Madison Surgery Center, we will keep the momentum going with 2 weekly vigils, one at the Madison Surgery Center and one at Planned Parenthood. The schedule is as follows:

Madison Surgery Center: Tuesday, March 30 at 8:30 a.m. with Steve Karlen

Planned Parenthood: Thursday, April 1 at 4:00 p.m. with Laura Karlen

Please join us!

40 Days for Life Madison draws national attention

Earlier this week, the national 40 Days for Life team featured Madison's 40 Days campaign in its daily email and blog. Click the link to see a wide-frame shot of the Stations of the Cross vigil that drew 150 people last weekend. Special thanks, once again, to Mary Ann Croft (who organized the event) and Fr. Rick Heilman's Knights of Divine Mercy for making it happen!

The phrase “defenders of true freedom” comes from today’s devotional. Those words in a nutshell describe the people who have taken a leap of faith, during this 40 Days for Life campaign, to pray and fast for an end to abortion.

The 40 Days for Life team in Madison, Wisconsin stands witness in front of the Madison Surgery Center, where late-term abortions were scheduled to begin in January of last year.

“For 14 months, our vigils have held them off,” said Steve Karlen, the 40 Days for Life coordinator in Madison. This center had been projected to do about 125 late-term abortions a year.

Steve said an enthusiastic community overcame the challenges “of a very hostile anti-life college campus at the end of a very cold winter.” Rather than just one or two vigil participants, it was not uncommon to see eight or twelve out at a time.

Organizers hoped to have 25-to-30 people attending a recent prayer service. “Instead,” said Steve, “we had nearly 200 people pack the sidewalks to pray.”

Announcements

• There will be a Rachel's Vineyard retreat April 16-18 in the Madison area for anyone suffering the emotional and spiritual pain of abortion. For information contact: HelpForYou@straphael.org or 608-821-3177 or call Mary at 608-221-9593, meadmt@sbcglobal.net.
• Pro-Life Wisconsin’s Spring Awards Dinner will be held Saturday, April 17 at 6 p.m. at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Visitor’s Center) in La Crosse. Click here for more information on registration.
• The Cenacles of Life meet at St Mary's of Pine Bluff on Saturday mornings at 6:45 am to pray 10 decades of the most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. All are welcome to join them.

The Most Critical Week for the Pro-Life Movement in 37 Years

Decades from now, Americans might very well look back on this week's expected vote on the health care bill as the most devastating expansion of abortion since Roe vs. Wade OR as the beginning of the end for the abortion industry.

Congressional leaders have confirmed that abortion funding will NOT be taken out of the health care bill. Rep. Bart Stupak--who has led the fight to remove abortion funding--said Congressional leaders told him that without abortion funding "more children will be born, and therefore it will cost us millions more."

With abortionists going out of business at a staggering rate, this health care bill is designed to save a dying industry from total collapse. A final vote could come as early as Friday or Saturday. That's why Vigil for Life is pulling out all the stops to stop this abortion mandate! Please join us for any or all of these events!

Also, we've got a bunch of vigil hours still open this week. Please sign up, especially if you haven't been out yet.

Vigil for Life Schedule for the week of 3/15

• March 9-17: Nine days of prayer to keep abortion funding out of health care reform: We've already had more than 120 confirmed participants on Facebook alone! One Catholic prayer warrior named Dorothy has committed herself to saying the Hail Mary 1,000 times a day for these nine days! If you haven't participated, it's not too late!
• March 15-?: Call your representative in Congress and ask him/her to oppose the pro-abortion health care bill. Click here for step-by-step instructions!
• Thursday, March 18: Will Goodman and Jen Dunnett of the Servants of Our Lady of Guadalupe will bring the traveling Missionary Relic Image from the Marian Center for Peace in the Diocese of La Crosse to 40 Days for Life at 1 S. Park Street. All are welcome.
• Thursday, March 18 at 7 p.m.: Join Vigil for Life and the Knights of Divine Mercy for a special pro-life Mass at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Pine Bluff (3673 County Highway P, Cross Plains, WI 53528). All are welcome and encouraged to attend!
• Thursday, March 18 at 8 p.m.-Saturday, March 20 at noon: Following the pro-life Mass, St. Mary's in Pine Bluff will begin 40 Hours of Eucharistic Adoration to petition the Lord to spare us from passage of the pro-abortion health care bill. Contact Steve Karlen at 608-445-2063 or steve@vigilforlife.org to sign up for hours!
• Friday, March 19 at 6 p.m: Silent Night: Lenten Presence and Prayer at St. Mary's in Pine Bluff. An evening of prayer, a meatless meal and a talk from Mark Kimble, who will be conducting a 900 mile hike through the Appalachian Mountains. Proceeds from the hike will support Vigil for Life and other pro-life organizations. Please RSVP to Jeanne Breunig at 608-831-3139.
• Sunday, March 21 at 5 p.m.: Fr. Rick Heilman and the Knights of Divine Mercy will lead Stations of the Cross at 40 Days for Life on Sunday, March 21 at 5:00 p.m. The event will take place at the Madison Surgery Center (1 S. Park Street). All are welcome. Attendees can meet at the corner of Park Street and Braxton Place.

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." -Luke 11:7

A call to nine days of prayer to keep abortion out of health care reform

We are now halfway through 40 Days for Life! If you haven't yet signed up, now is the time. Before we know it, the closing vigil will be upon us.

The campaign has confirmed 209 saved babies nationwide (Praise God!). That number does NOT include the estimated seven babies who would have perished at the Madison Surgery Center since February 17 had pro-life efforts not caused repeated postponements of the late-term abortion plans.

Urgent: A call to prayer to keep abortion funding out of health care reform

The President and members of Congress are calling for a final vote on proposed health care legislation. The vote will likely take place late next week--possibly as early as Wednesday. The current bill before Congress would allocate massive amounts of tax dollars to fund abortion, making it the greatest expansion of abortion in the United States since Roe vs. Wade.

Many of you will remember last year's push to defeat the so-called Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), which would have eliminated all restrictions on abortion--even forcing pro-life medical staff to choose between performing abortions and losing their jobs. After much prayer and public outcry, that bill never came up for a vote. However, the current health care bill stealthily incorporates many of the same troubling components as FOCA.

That's why Vigil for Life is calling for nine days of intensified prayer and fasting--beginning March 9 and running through March 17. From the vigil site, from home, from church or from wherever you may be, please commit the next nine days to praying that health care legislation respects human life. We've been throwing a lot at you lately, but the stakes have never been higher. We've seen here in Madison how our prayer can make a difference. Let's entrust our nation to the Lord as well. Here is a prayer we encourage you to use:

Lord God, I thank you today for the gift of my life,
And for the lives of all my brothers and sisters.
I know there is nothing that destroys more life than abortion,
Yet I rejoice that you have conquered death
by the Resurrection of Your Son.
I am ready to do my part in ending abortion.
Today I commit myself
Never to be silent,
Never to be passive,
Never to be forgetful of the unborn.
I commit myself to be active in the pro-life movement,
And never to stop defending life
Until all my brothers and sisters are protected,
And our nation once again becomes
A nation with liberty and justice
Not just for some, but for all,
Through Christ our Lord. Amen!

Two Announcements

1. This morning we received an urgent email from 40 Days for Life leaders in Green Bay. A young woman (whose name we do not yet have) in her second trimester of pregnancy is scheduled for an abortion Friday, March 12 at the Madison Planned Parenthood on Orin Road. We've been asked to have people on hand to pray for her. Jen and Will of the Servants of Our Lady of Guadalupe will be on hand starting at 1 p.m. If you decide to go before 1 p.m., please have at least one friend with you. If you can't go, pray from home!
2. On Sunday, March 21 at 5 p.m., Fr. Rick Heilman and the Knights of Divine Mercy will lead Stations of the Cross in front of the Madison Surgery Center. Fr. Rick and the Knights previously used the same strategy to successfully drive a strip club out of business within six months of its opening. We'll have further details on the event in the week ahead. For now, please plan to attend!