Sidewalk Counseling Training Scheduled!

Dear Friends,

I'm sending the weekly email a day early to ask for your help with vigil hours.  I have no vigil captain for this week and need you to sign up, especially tomorrow!  Please see the hours listed below which need filling.  You can sign up yourself, email or call me; contact information is below.  Thank you, prayer warriors, for always being there when we need someone!

-Bette

Sidewalk Counselor Training scheduled for Wednesday, September 12, 2012 in time for 40 Days for Life
We have just gotten our sidewalk counseling trainers in place for a Wednesday evening training on September 12, 2012, from 6:30 to 8:30pm, at the Bishop O'Connor Center located at 702 S. High Point Road on Madison's west side. The fee will be $10.00 and scholarships are available. Our seasoned sidewalk counselors who will assist in the training will be the Servants of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Jen Dunnett and Will Goodman. Mary Mead of Rachel's Vineyard in Madison will share post-abortion information that is essential information for sidewalk counselors. Steve and Laura Karlen will also provide additional insight. 

Please mark your calendars now! To register call Bette Weisshaar at 608-358-5963 or email info@vigilforlife.org by Monday, Sept. 10th.  This is the perfect time for training with 40 Days for Life beginning only 2 weeks later and the Women's Care Center directly across the street, an exciting new feature in the 40 Days for Life campaign. This is an opportunity you don't want to miss! 

365 for Life Hours To Fill This Week:
Tuesday, 8/28/12:  2 at 10:00am   YIKES!  PLEASE HELP!

Thursday, 8/30/12:  1 at 4:00pm and 1 at 5:00pm  
Friday, 8/31/12: 1 at 2:00pm
Please contact us at info@vigilforlife.org. You've done so well in responding to the hours.  Can you do it again? 

Lock in your time slot for 40 Days for Life:
If you have a day and time that works best for you, schedule your hours now before it's taken.  Just go to vigilforlife.org to the 40 Days for Life calendar or send an email to info@vigilforlife.org to schedule.  Plan ahead!  Don't worry about the percentages which appear on the calendar right now.  Hours scheduled now will be reflected on the calendar once we switch over to the 40 Days for Life schedule on Sept. 26.


Courtesy Announcements:

• Rosary Rally: Thursday 7:00pm State St. steps of the Capitol. 
• Rachel's Vineyard:   Rachel's Vineyard - Healing the pain of abortion, one weekend at a time.  Rachel's Vineyard welcomes women, men, couples and grandparents who have suffered the loss of a child/children.  If you or someone you love is hurting after abortion, contact Mary at 608-221-9593 or meadmt@sbcglobal.net.  The next retreat will be held October 19 - 21, 2012 at a beautiful and private location.  Go to www.madisondiocese.org/rachel for more information.  For retreats held in WI, the USA or around the world, go to www.rachelsvineyard.org or 1-877-HOPE-4-ME.  All contact is confidential.
  
• Pregnancy Helpline is holding a training session this fall for phone volunteers who would assist women and men with the issues that can surround a pregnancy and a family.  The training process is very thorough.  Visit their website for more information: www.pregnancyhelpline.net or contact Alissa Hirscher at mahirscher@yahoo.com.
• Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration at Holy Redeemer:  Our Lord implores us to keep watch for one hour.  Please don't give up your Holy Hour with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament as you begin 40 Days for Life.  Offer to Him your sufferings.  Thank Him for your blessings - Speak to Him!  For more information go to www.adorationchapel.com/info@adorationchapel.com

40 Days for Life Kickoff Rally--Wednesday, September 26th

Please mark your calendars for the Kick-Off Rally for 40 Days for Life on Wednesday, September 26th.  Come join us for food, fellowship, and prayer led by Bishop Morlino and Father Rick Heilman at St. Mary's Pine Bluff (3673 County Road P, Cross Plains).  Arrive between 6:00 and 6:30pm, with dinner at 6:30pm.  If possible, please bring a dessert or side dish to pass.  Come see the beautiful Rosary Garden dedicated to the preborn! 

Thank you, Volunteers!  More Needed!
Last week several volunteers signed on to vigil captain, emergency hours contacts, and volunteer caller positions. Thank you for answering this call! 

• We now have 2 vigil captains for each of the following days:  Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday.  Fantastic! 
• We have 1 captain for Sunday, 1 for Monday, and 1 for Friday; can you be a helper on one of these days?  
• We have NO captain for Tuesday.  Please consider this; we're talking about 5 Tuesdays to fill!
  

Are you new to 40 Days for Life? 
Watch this video created by one of our veteran prayer warriors 3 years ago to see the respect of participants and how more people are needed for this just cause.  It is 10 minutes long and features highlights of 40 days vigils.

http://www.memorylanevideo.com/gallery/40.html
  
365 for Life Hours To Fill This Week:
Thursday, 8/23/12: 1 at 4:00pm

Friday, 8/24/12: 1 at 2:00pm
Please contact us at info@vigilforlife.org. You've done so well in responding to the hours.  Can you do it again? 

Sign up NOW for 40 Days for Life hours!  Just go to vigilforlife.org to the 40 Days for Life calendar or send an email to info@vigilforlife.org to schedule.  Plan ahead!  This will lessen volunteer phone calling and reserve your preferred day and time slot.  Do you have a group, e.g. family, friends, church group, who could sign up for a block of time?  Don't worry about the percentages which appear on the calendar right now.  Hours scheduled now will be reflected on the calendar once we switch over to the 40 Days for Life schedule on Sept. 26.

Courtesy Announcements:

• Rosary Rally: Thursday 7:00pm State St. steps of the Capitol.  Join the 250 - 350 faithful in prayer for life, family, and conversion. Let's keep those numbers going up along with our prayers!
  
• Pregnancy Helpline is holding a training session this fall for phone volunteers who would assist women and men with the issues that can surround a pregnancy and a family.  The training process is very thorough.  Visit their website for more information: www.pregnancyhelpline.net or contact Alissa Hirscher at mahirscher@yahoo.com.
• Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration at Holy Redeemer:  Our Lord implores us to keep watch for one hour.  Please don't give up your Holy Hour with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament as you begin 40 Days for Life.  Offer to Him your sufferings.  Thank Him for your blessings - Speak to Him!  For more information go to www.adorationchapel.com/info@adorationchapel.com

Inspirational Saint of the Day

Today is the feast day of St. Maximillian Kolbe.  Ordained at 24, he saw religious indifference as the deadliest poison of the day.  And that was 1918.  His mission was to combat it.  He had already founded the Militia of the Immaculata whose aim was to fight evil with the witness of good life, prayer, work, and suffering.  The 40 Days for Life campaign has the same aim: to fight evil by our witness out on the sidewalk at Planned Parenthood.  But the evil of abortion cannot be defeated without your  prayer, work, and sacrifice.  Your help is needed!

  
40 Days for Life volunteers needed, especially vigil captains, volunteer callers, and emergency vigil hours contacts

• We are still in need of 40 Days for Life volunteers. In particular, we need more vigil captains. Vigil captains have one day of the week each week of the 40 Days for Life campaign in which they monitor the online vigil calendar and make calls to fill last-minute vigil hours. This is an ESSENTIAL position. It is mid-August and we still have NO captains for Monday, Thursday, or Friday. Can you help?
• Volunteer callers invite past 40 Days participants to come back this fall for the campaign. This is a short-term volunteer opportunity. Can you help? 
• Emergency contacts is an important list of prayer warriors who can step in when last minute hours need to be filled. We especially need those who can be called on for night time hours.  Can you help?
  

Please contact us at info@vigilforlife.org.

Praise God!  All hours for the 365 for Life vigil have been filled this week.  Thank you to all you dedicated prayer warriors for your "yes" to sacrifice.

Did you know you can sign up NOW for 40 Days for Life hours? 
Just go to vigilforlife.org to the 40 Days for Life calendar or send an email to info@vigilforlife.org to schedule.  Plan ahead!  This will lessen volunteer phone calling and reserve your preferred day and time slot.  Do you have a group, e.g. family, friends, church group, who could sign up for a block of time?  This too would help tremendously!


Courtesy Announcements:

• Rosary Rally: Thursday 7:00pm State St. steps of the Capitol and every Thursday, ending Nov. 1st
• Pregnancy Helpline is holding a training session this fall for phone volunteers who would assist women and men with the issues that can surround a pregnancy and a family.  The training process is very thorough.  Visit their website for more information: www.pregnancyhelpline.net.  Contact Alissa Hirscher at mahirscher@yahoo.com 

This Is What "Choice" Looks Like

Yesterday a couple heading into Planned Parenthood changed their minds and crossed the street to the Women's Care Center.  A sidewalk counselor pointed out to them that "a wonderful facility is across the street."  We normally have time for just a few words when patrons drive into that parking lot but what an impact they can make!  After meeting with the staff, they moved their car to the WCC parking lot with smiles on their faces and returned for consultation.  We don't always know the outcome of these events but this one certainly sounds promising....

Volunteers Needed:
Responses to the call for more volunteers are trickling in but, with only weeks to go before the start of 40 Days for Life, we are far short of the numbers needed. 

Do you have a computer and a telephone?  Then you could be a vigil captain, making calls to sign up prayer warriors for hours outside Planned Parenthood.

Do you have a liaison at your parish to get the word out about 40 Days for Life?  You could be that important person to bring new people from your church out to pray.

Do you have a telephone?  Then you could make calls to invite participants from last year's 40 Days to come out and pray again.  We have a script prepared for you!

Do you have some flexibility in your schedule?   Then you could be on our day/night emergency call list in case an hour needs filling.

Do you have ideas on how best to promote 40 Days for Life to other Christian organizations?  Then you could be on the Outreach Team.
Please consider these opportunities to answer God's call to serve. 
Contact us at info@vigilforlife.org.


Sign Up Now for 40 Days for Life

It's not too early to sign up for your hours!  Our calendar is still on the 365 for Life schedule but, when you choose your day/hours for 40 Days, it will be reflected on the 40 Days schedule when we begin on Wed., Sept. 26th.  So save our volunteers some phone calls and make your choices now! 

How about groups and parishes who can fill blocks of time?  We already have one parish who has committed to a day and block of hours.  This helps so much!  40 Days for Life in Green Bay has all of their hours filled right now because various groups and parishes have signed up for blocks of vigil hours.  How amazing that would be if we could do that here!  Pray that our Madison area will respond like this.

Hours Open This Week:  Please Help

We had a great start to this week.  Can you come out and change someone's mind?
Wednesday - 1 person at 9:00am
Thursday - 1 person at 5:00pm
Friday - 1 person at 2:00pm
Contact us at info@vigilforlife.org.

Rosary Rally: Thursday 7:00pm State St. steps of the Capitol
Attendance numbers are climbing and evening temperatures are pleasant.  We reached the 250 mark last week!  Come join us; parking is available in nearby ramps just off State St., only a few blocks away.  You will be glad you did!

"Whatsoever you do to the least of my brethren, that you do unto me...."

When we reflect on the "least of my brethren" sacrificed daily at the Planned Parenthood abortion mill, this passage from Matthew, Chapter 25, should halt us in our tracks.  For it refers not only to what we do TO our brethren but what we do NOT DO FOR our brethren.  With 40 Days for Life approaching, we should ask ourselves:

• What am I doing to end this holocaust?

• Am I doing my part or am I letting others carry the load?

• How can I help to make this a successful campaign?

• How will I answer these questions when I face God one day?

At the volunteer meeting last Tuesday night, we were blessed to have a good response to our call for filling positions.  But many more are needed!  Please consider signing up for any of the following volunteer opportunities:

• Vigil Captain - Responsible for making the phone calls to ensure that every vigil hour is filled with at least two prayer warriors. It would be great to have two captains per day of the week.  Men, we need your participation, especially with the many overnight hours in this campaign! 

• Church Liaison - Responsible for promoting 40 Days for Life at your church through bulletin announcements, pulpit announcements, fliers, information tables, and personal invitations.   Liaisons are encouraged to coordinate a weekly block of hours to be filled by their church.

• Emergency Vigil Hours Contacts - This list of prayer warriors would be willing to fill in if a person is unable to fulfill their assigned hour and a substitute cannot be found or if a vigil captain has tried repeatedly to fill an hour without success.  We need people available for daytime and nightime!  Those who were on this list last year....can you be on it again?

• Volunteer Callers - Responsible for personally inviting past participants to join 40 Days for Life again, encouraging and reminding them.  We even provide a phone call script for you!

• Outreach Team - Promotes 40 Days for Life outside the current participants and current churches involved.  This would include reaching out to pro-life or Christian organizations for participation.

If each of us could get one friend, neighbor, family member, coworker to join us on the sidewalk, this would be a significant step towards changing hearts for life.  Just ask; you may be surprised at the willingness to participate!

40 Days for Life begins Wednesday, September 26, and concludes Sunday, November 4, 2012.  We need your help....the preborn babies need your help.  Can you answer the call?  Let us be their voice so that one day we will hear Our Lord say:  "Well done, good and faithful servant.  Come enter into My Father's house."
Please contact us at info@vigilforlife.org.


Other Announcements:

• We still have 2 hours to fill this week on the vigil calendar:
  

        Thursday, August 2 - 1 person at 1:00 and 1 person at 2:00pm
Thanks especially to those who are always there to fill in the blanks even if it means several or more hours each week!  Can you help?

You can sign-up online at vigilforlife.org/calendar/monthview.  Please email us at info@vigilforlife.org for more information.

• Rosary Rally this Thursday, Aug. 2nd 7:00pm, the top of State St. Capitol steps - Let's keep the numbers going up!  Can we hit 1000? 

God bless each of you!

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!