Sidewalk Counseling Training Date Set

Dear Friends,

Last week I shared some not uncommon thoughts and experiences of prayer warriors out in the trenches at Planned Parenthood.  The one I'd like to connect you with this week was written by Steve Karlen after his shift last Wednesday, a very busy abortion day.  If you haven't been out to pray at Planned Parenthood, Steve's account will give you a glimpse of triumph and heartbreak, both allowed by God that day, both part of the battle in spiritual warfare.  Be sure to read this beautiful, powerful story of how prayer and witness work hand in hand!  You can find it by clicking on the link below.  Then, PLEASE, sign up and fill every needed hour to counteract the culture of death!

http://badgercatholic.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-first-shift.html

Many, Many Open Hours This Week - HELP!

Monday, 8/19/13:  1 needed at 9:00 and 10:00am

Tuesday, 8/20/13:  1 needed at noon; 2 needed at 2:00,3:00, and 4:00pm   7 hours open!  Only 56% filled!

Wednesday, 8/21/13:  1 needed at 1:00, and 2:00pm;  2 needed at 8:00, 9:00, 10:00, 11:00, noon, 3:00, 4:00, and5:00pm  18 OPEN HOURS!!  Only 10% filled!

Thursday, 8/22/13:  1 needed at 3:00, 4:00, and 5:00pm

Friday, 8/23/13:  1 needed at 1:00 and 2:00pm

Go to vigilforlife.org or email info@vigilforlife.org to sign up for one of these hours or a recurrent hour. 

You Can Sign Up for 40 Days for Life NOW! 

If you have certain day or night time hours that work best in your schedule, now is a good time to schedule them before they get taken!  You can go to vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview and sign up.  The fall campaign runs from Sept. 25th through Nov. 3rd.  Don't wait or you may not get your time slot! 

We especially need you, MEN, for those after dark, night time hours!  Be a true prayer warrior - make a commitment today.  God will use you in ways unknown to you now to make a difference!  We are obliged to answer His call to action and overcome the indifference about abortion and contraception so rampant today.

"Amid all the crimes one can commit against life, procured abortion has characteristics that render it especially grave and detestable...yet in our day...people have gradually lost sight of how serious it is."  (The Gospel of Life, 58)

Sidewalk Counseling Training Session

The date is now set!  

When:  Monday evening, Sept. 9, 2013, from 7:00 to 8:30pm

Where:  Bishop O'Connor Center, 702 S. Highpoint Rd., Madison, WI  53719  (A sign will direct you to the room.)

Fee:  We are asking each participant for $5.00 to cover the cost of printing materials.

Register:  Email info@vigilforlife.org.

Join us in preparation for 40 Days for Life which starts on Sept. 25th.   After reading last week's email and Steve's article today, how can you NOT sign up?

Announcements:

• Celebrate the closing of Planned Parenthood in Bryan/College Station, Texas with David Bereit, Shawn Carney, Abby Johnson, and Bobby Reynoso, director of the local Coalition for Life on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013.  Click on the link, watch a short video, and mark your calendar!      http://breakthrough090713.com/
• Rosary Rally Every Thursday!  Come and pray with Fr. Rick Heilman and fellow prayer warriors for life, the family, and our religious liberty this Thursday at 7:00pm on the State St. steps of the Capitol.

For life,

Bette

A Day of Little Miracles!

Have you ever had one of those days when you signed up for prayer time at Planned Parenthood and wished you could get out of it?  One of those days where you wonder if it's worth going because "It's not going to make any difference anyway"?  Probably this thought crosses a prayer warrior's mind more than you think. 

Over the weekend I spoke with one who wrestled with these thoughts and filled her assigned hours last Friday anyway.  If you've ever heard David Bereit, one of the founders of 40 Days for Life, speak on his start in the pro-life movement, you'll hear a common theme:  "I didn't want to do it, but I did it anyway!"

What an afternoon she had!  The blessings flowed!

• A woman who initially pulled into the Planned Parenthood parking lot, crossed the street to the Women's Care Center after speaking with the sidewalk counselor.  As she left to go home, she waved and smiled.
• Another lady was open to receiving pro-life literature as was a young girl to listening about natural family planning.
•  A mother stopped by to tell how her daughter left Planned Parenthood after being treated in a rude manner, went to the Women's Care Center, and loved it!  
• A man stopped by to offer food and drink to the sidewalk counselors in gratitude for their kindness and prayers.
• A woman in a white lab coat who works at Planned Parenthood stopped to talk and was given literature on alternative job opportunities with "And Then There Were None", a resource for employees who'd like to leave Planned Parenthood created by former Planned Parenthood director, Abby Johnson.

THIS is what happens when you answer the call to obedience! 

"All your duties are obediences....And to do what he bids is to obey him....The day will come when he will....show himself to us.  And then, according as we have waited for him, will he recompense us.  If we have forgotten him, he will not know us; but "blessed are those servants whom the Lord, when he comes, shall find watching.  May this be the portion of every one of us!  It is hard to attain it; but it is woeful to fail.  Life is short; death is certain and the world to come is everlasting." (Blessed John Henry Newman)

DUTY CALLS!  What are YOU doing to obey this call?  We've been given our duty and life, including our own eternal life, depends on a "yes" answer!

Open Hours - Little Miracles Can Be Yours This Week!

Tuesday, 8/13/13:  1 needed at 1:00; 2 needed at 2:00,3:00, and 4:00pm   7 hours open!  Only 56% filled!

Wednesday, 8/14/13:  1 needed at 8:00, noon, 1:00, and2:00pm;  2 needed at 3:00, 4:00, and 5:00pm  10 OPEN HOURS!!  Only 50% filled!

Go to vigilforlife.org or email at info@vigilforlife.org to sign up for one of these hours or a recurrent hour. 

40 Days for Life Sign-Up!

You can sign up NOW for prayer hours for 40 Days for Life!  If you have certain day or night time hours that work best in your schedule, now is a good time to plug those in before they get taken!  You can go to vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview.  The fall campaign runs from Sept. 25th through Nov. 3rd.  Don't wait or you may not get your time slot!

Sidewalk Counseling Training

There will be a sidewalk counseling training session held before 40 Days for Life starts on Sept. 25th.  Please let me know if you would like your name added to the current list.  Details on date and time will be announced soon.

Rosary Rally Every Thursday!

Come and pray for life, the family, and our religious liberty this Thursday at 7:00pm on the State St. steps of the Capitol.  Fr. Rick Heilman will lead us in the Rosary as we answer THIS call to duty. Bring friends and family to this wonderful evening of peace!

Volunteer Meeting Successful BUT More Help Needed

Last Wednesday God blessed us with a saved baby and a fruitful volunteer meeting!  If you missed it, please read Friday's email for details of a mother leaving the waiting room of Planned Parenthood and thanking a child who prayed outside with her family.  Amazing story!  That evening we held our fall 40 Days for Life volunteer meeting with Fr. Rick Heilman and Jim Ball, the 40 Days for Life leader in Green Bay, as our guests.  We had about 40 in attendance.

But Wednesday, July 31st, was a very special day for a third reason!

Our volunteer meeting coincided with the closing day of Green Bay's abortion clinic and the leader of the men and women who prayed on the sidewalks for this closure was our speaker.  Coincidence?  I don't think so....more likely, God's Providence!  We too have a mission to close Planned Parenthood in Madison and God brought Jim here to help.  At the meeting, Jim stressed the need for us to grow our base as he did in Green Bay.  He fills his 40 Days for Life vigil hours before the campaign even starts!

Here is his plan - We are going to try it!

40 Days for Life begins on Wednesday, Sept. 25th and ends on Sunday, Nov. 3rd.  Hours on the sidewalk are filled by parishes/churches/groups/individuals signing up for a 2-hour time slot between 8:00am and 6:00pm each week during 40 Days for Life.  This is ONLY 5 or 6 shifts during the entire vigil!  The 6:00pm to 8:00am shifts are filled by men; Jim calls this the Sleep No More part of the campaign:  "....men need to stand near the killing field to serve, protect, and defend the family, the cornerstone of a rightly-ordered society."  Further explanation about the day and night hours is below; you can also call me with questions.

We need your help to fill our schedule NOW before 40 Days starts.  The meeting elicited a good response but there are still vacant positions that need filling:

Church Liaisons - with the approval of your pastor, choose a 2 hour time slot each week during 40 Days for Life.  Call 4 people per week from your church to fill the slot, 2 people per hour.  When you think about the size of your parish, this is not asking a lot!  Post flyers and bulletin announcements.

Sleep No More Men - get a group of men to take a weekly shift (2 hours or more).  Examples: Knights of Columbus, Knights of Divine Mercy, That Man is You, Bible Study Groups, etc.  This also is not too demanding if enough men participate.

Vigil Captains - We will still have vigil captains to call our list and fill any hours not filled by liaisons or Sleep No More men.  The captains choose a day of the week for which they are responsible.  I have no one for Sundays during 40 Days and would like to have 2 captains per day, if possible, to share the phone calling.
Emergency Coverage during day-time (8am to 6pm) and night-time (6pm to 8am) hours - If you can jump in and cover for someone who can't make their hour due to illness, emergency, etc., this would be a huge help!

Volunteer Callers - help call our list of past 40 Days for Life participants and invite them to come back for this fall's campaign.  We have a prepared script for you to read.

These are general descriptions of what you can do to help; you can call or email me if you'd like more specific information on a position.

The main point I'm trying to etch in your mind is this:  We need a lot of people doing a little so a few people aren't doing a lot!  What is God calling YOU to do to close Planned Parenthood here in Madison?

"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” (Luke 10:2)

Open Hours - Save A Child This Week By Praying at Planned Parenthood, Orin Rd.!

Tuesday, 8/06/13:  1 needed at 10:00, noon, 1:00, and 2:00pm; 2 needed at 3:00, and 4:00pm 8 hours open!  Only 50% filled!

Wednesday, 8/07/13:  1 needed at 10:00, 1:00, and 2:00pm;  2 needed at 8:00, 9:00, 11:00, noon, 3:00, 4:00, and 5:00pm  17 OPEN HOURS!!  Only 15% filled!

Thursday, 8/08/13:  1 needed at 1:00, 3:00, 4:00, and 5:00pm

Friday, 8/09/13:  1 needed at 2:00pm

Go to vigilforlife.org or email info@vigilforlife.org to sign up for one of these hours or a recurrent hour.

Sidewalk Counseling Training

There will be a sidewalk counseling training session held before 40 Days for Life starts on Sept. 25th.  Please let me know if you would like your name added to the current list.  Details on date and time will be announced soon.

Have a blessed week!

Baby SAVED!

Dear Friends,

God is great!  This past Wednesday, July 31st, another baby (and mother) were saved from the jaws of abortion!

I received the following email from a mother who prayed with her 5 small children on a day we know abortions are done all day long:

"After a walking rosary with my kids, we were finishing our prayer by kneeling in front of PP.  I looked up one time during the prayer and saw a woman sitting in the waiting room area of PP - - she was watching us.  After we finished our prayer and were packing up to go, my oldest child told me she thought we had a save.  She went on to tell me that the woman in the waiting room had gotten up and left in her car.  Upon leaving, she looked at my daughter and mouthed the words "thank you".  Praise God!  We were so happy and wanted to share the good news with you and your wonderful organization."

Take note that no words were exchanged, no counseling was done...only prayer and their presence, a sacrifice they made not knowing that this would be the day God would reward them with a baby saved.  Eyes were opened, a heart was changed, and a child will live!  Praise God, indeed!!

Urgent Prayer Requests:

• The same day I received this blessed news, I also received a request for prayers for a young abortion-minded mother.  This request came from a prayer warrior whose counseling several months ago saved another young woman from abortion.  She says the only way this will work is if this girl reaches out to her since she has no contact information on her.  Please pray that this connection happens and that the result is life....for both of them!
•  Please pray for a Polish foreign exchange student who was scheduled to go to Planned Parenthood yesterday to receive RU-486.  We are unsure if she came to her appointment. She has been counseled but does not want her child.  Pray that God has touched her heart and she realizes there are alternative paths to go.