Some inspiring stories and great pictures today … from 40 Days for Life campaigns from Miami to Manassas to Montreal!
—————————————————— MIAMI / PEMBROKE PINES, FLORIDA ——————————————————
Our 40 Days for Life national director, David Bereit, just visited two South Florida campaigns — one in Miami and the other in Broward County, where the Pembroke Pines site is a first-time 40 Days for Life location.
At the two vigil sites, he shared words of encouragement with participants and prayed with volunteers.
Both sites have had consistent vigil coverage at all hours — despite the heat and humidity — thanks to the dedicated local leadership and the faithfulness of many volunteers.
—————————————————— MANASSAS, VIRGINIA ——————————————————
Bishop Paul Loverde of the Arlington, Virginia Catholic diocese has a regular pro-life outreach. Once a month, he offers a respect life Mass … then goes to pray outside one of the abortion centers in his diocese.
Last week, he visited All Saints Church in Manassas, then traveled to the 40 Days for Life vigil site for prayer. Said Mike in Manassas, “300 people came to pray with us!”
—————————————————— MONTREAL, QUEBEC ——————————————————
The 40 Days for Life vigil in Montreal seems to have struck a nerve. Brian in Montreal said about two dozen university students showed up, “banner and noise-makers in hand … parking themselves directly in front of our banner. They stayed nearly three hours, spending this time chanting and enjoying the support from pro-choice motorists.”
As they left, he said, “they swarmed our banner, plastering it with stickers. Fortunately, there wasn’t any damage.”
A couple of hours later a mother, with her 18-month-old, arrived with a homemade pro-choice sign. On another occasion, a young woman asked whether they knew their presence was intimidating to women. Said Brian, “I wondered if our visitor had seen the sign at our prayer site offering free help to pregnant women.” The message “nous pouvons vous aider” translates as “we can help you.”
Brian says there have been cold, windy days — but the spirits of the prayer volunteers are never dampened. Many travel from afar to spend hours in prayer.
“Also, the site is drawing diverse prayer groups,” he said. “The vigil is a magnet for individuals who otherwise do not see one another. For example, over the weekend, persons from different faith communities converged to pray and share fellowship.” The French signs below read “pray for the end of abortion.”
—————————————————— JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA ——————————————————
Prayer vigil participants pretty much had the abortion center’s staff and clientele outnumbered on a Saturday morning. Around 30 people were there praying … representing more than a dozen local churches.
Trudy in Jacksonville says that pro-life turnout is fairly typical for a Saturday. She sent this photo of some of the people standing on the sidewalk — with a mostly-empty parking lot behind them.
LifeNews.com Note: Shawn Carney is the campaign director for the 40 Days for Life pro-life prayer campaign against abortion.
