Help Fill our Online Vigil Calendar!

YES! -- Peaceful, prayerful, and PHYSICAL presence outside abortion facilities CAN make a difference, and DOES save lives, as the following true stories from our Alexandria prayer vigil relate:

• A prayer volunteer stood praying alone in the rain. She held out a sign reading "Choose Life! We can help 1-800-848-LOVE." A woman leaving the facility stopped her car to punch the number into her phone, and mouthed "Thank you!" through the window as she drove away...(last fall)
  
• Two prayer volunteers spoke with a young woman four months pregnant, giving her information on crisis pregnancy resources and adoption. "Thank you so much!" the woman responded, "It's a sign from God that you were here!"...(just three weeks ago!)

Because of so many stories like this, I am incredibly grateful to the generous souls who have committed to a prayerful witness for life at our prayer vigil this fall, and whose names help to fill 290 hours -- that's over HALF the slots! -- on our online vigil calendar (see link below). If you are one of those people, thank you so very much!

However, there are still 190 empty hours on our vigil schedule -- and we need more signups to fill these times! I have personally committed to more than 80 vigil hours this fall, and I challenge you to consider a similar commitment -- if not 80 then perhaps 40 hours over the 40 Days, or 4 hours each week.

Just think -- if 5 of us stepped forward this weekend to cover 40 hours each, our vigil schedule could be completely filled before kickoff! 

If you have not already done so, I invite you to sign up for vigil hours right now with the simple steps below:

1. Visit our online vigil calendar at www.vigilcalendar.com/alexandria, and login as a returning user or setup a new account with the "New User Sign Up Here" section of the page. This will bring you to the online calendar itself.
   
2. You may click "Next Week" at the upper right-hand side of the page to find Day One of our vigil which is WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2011.
   -- Currently, empty hours for Wednesday include 11:00am to 3:00pm.
   -- On Thursday, we need prayer volunteers at 12:00-3:00pm and 4:00-5:00pm.
   -- Our biggest gaps right now are on afternoons and weekends!
   
3. To sign up for any half-hour time slot, click "Signup" by that time, and confirm a one-time or a weekly commitment. If you want to sign up for an hour or more, click and confirm two or more "Signup" links. It's easy!

The other way to sign up for vigil hours is to come to our Kickoff Rally on Tuesday, September 27 at Bishop Ireton at 7:00 PM -- and speak to our vigil coordinator Mary Ellen in person! We'll be at the rally to welcome you to 40 Days for Life this fall, help you sign up for vigil hours, and answer any questions you may have.

We're so excited to have you on board as we enter this coordinated, focused and effective campaign -- for LIFE!