Reminder: 40 Days for Life Alexandria Fall Campaign's Concluding Celebration is TOMORROW

Don't forget to set your clocks back tonite - and don't forget to join us tomorrow for the 40 Days for Life Alexandria Fall Campaign's concluding celebration.

Location: St. John's Lutheran Church, 5952 Franconia Road, Alexandria, VA 22310

Time: 3:00-4:30pm.

Light refreshments will be served. No need to RSVP - just bring a friend!

As in past years, we will be collecting donations for local pregnancy centers if you would like to donate items. Most-needed items include the following:

• new baby clothes;
• blankets;
• diapers and baby wipes; and
• gift cards to department stores.

If you have any questions about the rally, you may contact our Campaign Director.

We look forward to seeing you again!

Our Impact: A Possible Save at a Vigil Site

We know that our efforts and prayers do not disappear into a void, but tangible stories lend us encouragement and renew our hopes. Below is a story of a possible save at a vigil site last week:

"A young woman pedestrian took one of the leaflets that I offered here as she turned to walk up the driveway [to the abortion clinic]. She looked at it, then stopped, turned around, stared at T's sign (which said, "Face it, abortion kills a person"), and then she looked back at my sign ("Women deserve better than abortion. Talk to us - we can help").

She then came over to me and asked something about the help centers listed on one side of the leaflet. It turns out that she was heading for an abortion, so I showed her on the other side of the leaflet where it tells about the things that can happen to a woman when she has an abortion, and she acknowledged that she knew about that and was scared, but her boyfriend had left her, and she didn't want the baby.

I asked if she would be willing to have the baby and then give it to someone else, because there are many families wanting very much to adopt a baby and that would be a very loving thing to do. She said she knew it would be, but that the people she is living with would kick her out if they found out she was pregnant. I asked her to please contact one of the pregnancy help centers, because they would be able to help her both before and after the baby was born, and they might be able to find a place for her to stay. She said she was going to call then, but that she had an appointment and was going to go into the clinic. I asked her to please not let them talk her into getting an abortion, and I told her that many women who have abortions later realize that a baby was killed, and they feel guilty and regret it all their lives. She said again that she would definitely call the help centers. (Unfortunately, when I checked the hours of operation for the pregnancy help centers in Alexandria, none were open on Friday, so she couldn't go there immediately. I did notice later that the centers in Fall Church do have Friday hours.)

T. and I hesitated to leave the vigil if our hour was up before the woman came out of the clinic, because she might want to talk to someone again. But, thanks be to God, G. arrived just in time to fill that empty hour on the schedule! We told her the situation and described the woman. G. later called us and told us that she was able to talk to the woman after she left the clinic. It turns out that she was given an ultrasound while she in the clinic, and she showed G. the picture. They could not do the abortion that day because the woman had eaten breakfast. (Thank you, God!) G. said to her, "You know that this is a baby, don't you?" and the woman said yes. They exchanged phone numbers and the woman assured G. that she would contact a pregnancy help center. If G. hasn't heard from her in a couple of days, G. says that she will call her."

Please keep the young woman who was considering abortion in your thoughts and prayers.

Another Prolife Opportunity - Alexandrians for Life

Thank you for being part of the 40 Days for Life Alexandria fall campaign. If you would like to get involved in other prolife outreach opportunities both during and following the campaign, Alexandrians for Life is hosting a number of prolife community outreach events.

Alexandrians for Life is a local chapter of the Virginia Society for Human Life, the state affiliate for National Right to Life. Please visit Alexandrians for Life's website at www.alex4life.com and sign up to add your name to its community broadcast list and check out its events schedule.

For more information about Alexandrians for Life, e-mail Jacinta at alex4life.pres@gmail.com.

Updated: The 40 Days for Life Alexandria Fall Campaign's Concluding Celebration

Please join us this Sunday, November 4, for the 40 Days for Life Alexandria Fall Campaign's concluding celebration.

Location: St. John's Lutheran Church, 5952 Franconia Road, Alexandria, VA 22310

Time: 3:00-4:30pm.

Light refreshments will be served. No need to RSVP - just bring a friend!

As in past years, we will be collecting donations for local pregnancy centers if you would like to donate items. Most-needed items include the following:

• new baby clothes;
• blankets;
• diapers and baby wipes; and
• gift cards to department stores.

If you have any questions about the rally, you may contact our Campaign Director.

We look forward to seeing you again!

40 Days for Life Alexandria and Hurricane Sandy

The 40 Days for Life Alexandria Leadership Team appreciates all that you do to help save lives in Alexandria. Our fall campaign is drawing to a close, but our work is far from done.

Hurricane Sandy is unrelenting in her approach toward the area. Your safety is our concern. Please use discretion when planning to attend vigil hours. Sandy should be out of the area on Wednesday (good riddance, too). Her departure will give us a few more days to make an impact with our campaign to save lives in Alexandria. You can check out the vigil calendar here to plan your post-storm vigil schedule.

Stay safe and visit the City of Alexandria's website for up-to-the-minute details on Hurricane Sandy.

Helpful Vigil Reminders

Thank you for your continued support of our campaign. Our work (this includes YOU) is vital in making a difference in Alexandria. Even so, we must remember to maintain a peaceful, prayerful vigil outside the abortion clinic sites. We can do this by 1) being respectful and courteous to everyone we encounter during our vigil and 2) following protest laws.

We can stand vigil in any area open to the public (namely sidewalks in our case) as long as we are not blocking public access. If we migrate to areas considered private property (e.g., grassy areas surrounding the clinic sites), we will have to answer to law enforcement officers who will undoubtedly be called.

Encouraging News from Our Vigils!

We have reached the midpoint in our Fall 2012 40 Days for Life Alexandria campaign. As we prepare to work and pray more vigorously in the second half of the campaign, we have lots of encouraging news from our vigil volunteers to motivate us to renew and redouble our efforts on behalf of life!

From volunteers:

1) "On Thursday afternoon, I got to the Duke St. site around 2:50 p.m. to pray. I hadn't signed up, but wanted to pray, as I had some free time before working a night shift that day due to the vice presidential debate. There were two people who were already there: one man and one woman standing next to the driveway. The woman had a banjo, and as I got to where they were, a car came out of the parking lot and the people inside started talking to the woman. She started talking to them, and from what I gathered, they wanted any pamphlets/information that we had. According to the woman with the banjo, there was a young woman in the back who was taking down the number on one of the signs. We took this as a good sign that the young woman was considering not having an abortion."

2) "Last Friday at the Duke St. vigil, a volunteer was holding one of the large pink signs that says, Women deserve better than abortion. Talk to us - we can help."

A man stopped his car in the driveway and said he really liked the sign and that he knew of many abortions, and the women all say that there is not enough help for them, that the government does not help enough. The volunteer gave the man one of our leaflets and showed him the phone numbers and addresses for pregnancy help centers and adoption services, and told him that these were not government agencies and that the women would get help there. He was very pleased to learn that and said he was going to spread it around to people he knows.

A few minutes later, a cab driver stopped and said he knew someone who was thinking of getting an abortion, and he asked what kind of help there was. The volunteer gave him a leaflet, pointing out the pregnancy help centers, adoption services, and that even medical help could be given by pro-life doctors if a woman could not afford it. He was thankful to learn about that, and he said he was going to take the leaflet to the woman right then, and he drove off.

Sometime later, a lady walked by and was offered a leaflet. At first, she wasn't interested in taking it, saying that she was a grandmother, but the volunteer said that she could pass it on to others. The lady said that she is a nurse at Georgetown Hospital, and they have social workers there who help people with crisis pregnancies. The volunteer said that some counselors encourage women to get an abortion, but that the ones listed in our leaflet encourage them to choose life. Suddenly, the lady's eyes lit up and she seemed very excited to take the information on that leaflet with her to the hospital!

Hopefully, some babies' lives will be saved as a result of these conversations." Each of our individual efforts count, and each of us is desperately needed to stand in peaceful, prayerful vigil outside the abortion clinics as a sign of love and hope for the women of Alexandria and their preborn babies! Please renew your commitment to life and stand up for the women and children of Alexandria!

Access the vigil calendars here.

We Need YOU for the Last Line of Defense at Our Vigil Locations

We are a week and a half into the fall campaign and we still have a very large number of empty vigil slots.

When we stand in peaceful, prayerful vigil outside abortion clinics, we are the last line of defense and a sign of hope to the abortion-minded women and their babies. It is vital that we fill our vigil slots: the women of Alexandria and their preborn children need to know that we care and life is always the best choice!

We know that your schedules are already packed, but this is truly a matter of life and death. Sign up and come stand in peaceful, prayerful vigil for Alexandria's expectant mothers and their preborn babies. YOU ARE NEEDED!

Check out the vigil calendars online for our two vigil locations here. If you would like to be paired with someone but don't see anyone signed up for the time slot that you are interested in, please let us know and we will accommodate you. As always, you may contact any member of our leadership team to get answers to any questions you may have about vigils or other opportunities we provide to help save lives in our community.

You Have Less Than 36 Hours Until the Campaign Begins in Earnest!

There are less than 36 hours until our 40 days of Peaceful Vigil, Prayer and Fasting, and Community Outreach begin! Please visit 40 Days for Life Alexandria online and sign up for an open vigil slot or two; put some Community Outreach events on your calendar; and pray without ceasing for an end to abortion in Alexandria and around the world.

Women deserve better than abortion - and babies have a right to life!

Our Fall Campaign Kicks Off This Sunday, Don't Miss It!

Just a reminder that the Alexandria 40 Days for Life Fall Campaign kicks off this Sunday! You are invited to attend our kickoff rally which will be held at St. John's Lutheran Church on Franconia Road in Alexandria from 3-4:30pm. Come join us and learn about opportunities to help save lives!

The rally will open with remarks from Sara Dina, our Campaign Director. Following this introduction, you will have the opportunity to enjoy light refreshments and meet members of our leadership team and other pro-life supporters to learn about how you can witness for life this fall in Alexandria.

Get geared up for the campaign by picking up pro-life literature, brochures, and signs at our information tables. Vigil Coordinators will be on hand to help you sign up for vigil hours. Our Community Outreach Coordinator will be eager to share with you how you can get involved in one of our many scheduled outreach events. For a sneak peek, check out the outreach schedule here.

If you have any questions about the rally, you may contact our Campaign Director.

We look forward to meeting you!