Prayer
Coordinator: Claire Skidmore -- We printed a prayer card containing a 40 Days for Life campaign prayer and our local website which was distributed at many churches and at our vigil. We also revised the 40 Days for Life prayer booklet, adding several hymns, and printed 100 copies for use at the vigil. Many people prayed in churches and in the quiet of their homes, as well as several religious communities. We had lots of prayer and singing at the vigil.
Vigil
Coordinators: Mary Ellen McElfresh, Zachary Foreman -- We filled about 1200 1/2 hr slots over the forty days, which is an average of 15 hours a day, but since we had 2-3 people signed up at a single prayer time, we did not always have full coverage. There were also many people showing up who were not listed on the schedule. We will continue our vigil after the campaign during abortion hours at this location, beginning on Friday mornings and expanding to other days as more volunteers join in.
Outreach
Coordinator: Paul Spicer -- We printed 6,500 40 Days for Life flyers with pregnancy resources on the back and distributed them along with icare pamphlets and MaRiH center brochures. We also had around 1,500 pre-campaign outreach flyers with our kickoff rally advertised on the back. Some of these were distributed at parishes and at the vigil, so it's probably safe to say, all in all, we reached about 7,000 homes.
Events
Coordinator: Sara Dina -- We hosted an informational Cast The Vision meeting on January 28, and several sidewalk counseling and pro-life training sessions at various churches throughout the month of February. Our Kickoff Rally was held at Bishop Ireton High School with guest speaker Jim Nolan of Crossroads Prolife. We distributed flyers and signs and had a rainy prayer procession down to the vigil site. Our halfway rally was held at the vigil site, with prayer led by Fr. Kelly of St. Mary Church and song led by Bob and Susan. The joint Victory celebration was held at St. Lawrence Church parish hall with members of the Fairfax and Washington campaign teams in attendance, and featuring guest speakers Rebecca Lewis, Dick Retta, and Nancy Tanner, as well as musicians Bob, Susan, and Miranda.
Financial
Assistant: Ed Caughlan -- Thanks to the generosity of several donors, we were able to raise sufficient funds to cover all costs. Expenses included xerox and printing costs, flyers, supplies, 40 Days for Life gear and signage. There is even a small amount of money left over that we can use for the fall. A big thank you to all our financial donors!
Media
An article was published in the Baptist Banner (a conservative Southern Baptist Virginia publication), and the Arlington Catholic Herald published a half-page spread including information and events for three diocesan locations (Alexandria, Fairfax, and Manassas). The Anglican District of Virginia also published an announcement in one issue of its newsletter, an article and photo in the next issue, and later a reminder of the need for prayer volunteers. We were also present in several church bulletins throughout the campaign, including event flyers, invitations to participate, and ongoing notices.
What's Next?
- The Fall 40 Days for Life campaign will begin on September 28 and run through November 6, 2011. We'd love to include you in the fun! If you are able to participate again in this important effort, keep your eyes out for invitations around that time.
- In the meantime we have our continuing vigil from around 8am-6pm on Tuesday through Friday each week (see below for details). Contact Mary Ellen (maryellen.40days@verizon.net) if you would like to participate.
- Since pro-life work is an ongoing effort, occasional events may be posted on our blog. We won't be emailing you these stories, but if you'd like to stay up-to-date and be notified when new content is posted then visit our blog page, sign in with your gmail account, and click "Follow" on the top bar.
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