Come to our Kickoff Rally!

With great joy and excitement, and on behalf of our entire planning team, I cordially invite you to our Fall 2011 40 Days for Life Alexandria Kickoff Rally! This campaign launch event will translate our planning efforts and your love for life into prayer, action and commitment to transform our community. I hope you'll mark your calendar right away, and make every effort to attend!

Rally Details:

DAY: Tuesday, September 27
TIME: 7:00 - 8:00 PM
PLACE: Bishop Ireton High School, Cafeteria
ADDRESS: 201 Cambridge Road, Alexandria, VA

This is YOUR opportunity to get charged up for the fall campaign -- and it's OUR opportunity to meet you (which we'd love to do) before the 40 Days begins!

Come to

• Pray with fellow pro-lifers
• Discover our local abortion situation
• Learn about 40 Days for Life
• Join our prayer campaign
• Sign up for vigil hours
• Meet team leaders
• Review vigil procedures
• Process to vigil site...
• And more!

Before we start our 40-day regimen of prayer and fasting, take our stand at the vigil, or knock on doors in our community, let's take a moment to come together, call on the power and mercy of Almighty God, and renew our resolution to stand for life! If you are registered to participate in 40 Days for Life this fall, or merely interested in finding out more, please feel free to attend! 

View and print our Rally Flyer at http://40daysforlife.com/alexandria/documents/2011FKickoff2.pdf .

RSVP on Facebook or contact Event Coordinator Sara Dina at jandsdina@cox.net.

Help spread the word by inviting all your friends! We look forward to seeing you there!

Making Abortion Unthinkable: The Art of Pro-Life Persuasion

I invite you to attend a special workshop in preparation for our upcoming 40 Days for Life campaign! You will learn effective biological and scientific arguments to counter pro-choice reasoning through a program that builds confidence and will prepare you to defend the pro-life viewpoint logically in any arena.

The full program will be offered twice on two consecutive Saturdays. Sign up on either date:

Saturday, September 10 -OR-
Saturday, September 17

Go to our website and Facebook page for info and registration details.

Please help spread the word!

Strategy and Approach to Sidewalk Counseling

Sidewalk counseling training will be offered on the dates below! Here's your chance to continue your preparations for our fall 40 Days for Life, and learn from an experienced counselor how to help abortion-minded women avoid a choice that will bring a lifetime of regret.

This workshop is compiled and presented by Dick Retta, Lifeguard sidewalk counselor since 2001 and personally responsible for over 300 saves.

The full program will be offered twice in the same week so you can sign up for either of the two times scheduled below:

Tuesday, September 20, 2011 -- 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM -OR-
Friday, September 23, 2011 -- 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM

Visit our website and Facebook page for additional info and registration details.

Please help spread the word!

Pre-Campaign Outreach Has Begun!

40 Days for Life is comprised of three main activities: prayer and fasting, peaceful vigil, and outreach within the community. This Sunday we began the outreach portion of the campaign with our Pre-Campaign Outreach in Alexandria. Our team of three, led by Assistant Outreach Coordinator Jonathan, handed out information about the upcoming campaign, and invited people on the streets to participate with us in prayer for an end to abortion. The following is a report from Jonathan:

Outreach volunteers took advantage of excellent weather this Sunday to work the streets of Old Town Alexandria. Several persons showed interest in 40 Days for Life and gave us their contact information! This is a great way to reach people who otherwise wouldn't know about the campaign, and we want to do it as often as possible. Outreach isn't hard to do, so tell us if you can help sometime!

Consider joining us the next three Sunday afternoons from 2-5pm with Outreach Coordinator Paul Spicer, or on Wednesday afternoons with Jonathan, to help spread the word about our upcoming campaign in our community. Help is needed to hand out flyers, hold signs, and invite people to sign our petition, thereby agreeing to join in prayer and fasting for an end to abortion during 40 Days for Life. You may also want to attend our pro-life and sidewalk counseling training sessions beginning this Saturday, and we hope you will be able to join us for our Kickoff Rally (details to follow)! For more information visit our website: www.40daysforlife.com/alexandria.

Let the Fun Begin!

Friday morning we witnessed a special event at our continuing prayer vigil. God decided to show a bit of His power and glory. Let me share the facts with you:

I arrived a bit before 8am. I had forgotten my sign. However, another prayer volunteer was there, who had changed her schedule unexpectedly, and she had a sign. I was talking with her, when a woman stopped to talk with us. "Do you have information on adoption?" she asked.

I pulled out our list of local pregnancy resources and gave the woman contact information for adoption assistance as well as doctors, pregnancy help centers, and other services. She told us she was 4 months pregnant and didn't want to have an abortion, but had been addicted to heroin, and wasn't sure about the baby. She said, "I'm broke. Is that a problem?" I said, "That's why all these places are here to help you," and wrote my telephone number on her flyer, asking her please to call me if she had any further questions or difficulty.

"Thank you so much! It's a sign from God that you were here this morning," she said, as she walked off. The other prayer volunteer and I agreed. We were so amazed and thankful to God that this woman had decided to speak with us and seek the help she needed for her child. Also we were glad to be there for that woman to help and answer her questions. No woman should ever feel alone in a crisis pregnancy or that she has no other choice than abortion. We completed our shifts prayerfully, as the clinic workers arrived, and the abortion facility opened for business.

To God be the glory, great things He has done, and will continue to do, each and every day. Did you see the new 40 Days for Life video on Planned Parenthood closing in Sherman? For me the most inspiring part is around 9 minutes into the video, when Ramona, former clinic manager, is speaking. Her message really focuses on the power of prayer. God led her to leave the abortion industry, but He did so only after many prayers were offered on her behalf by faithful prayer volunteers. I'm looking forward to seeing great things this fall in our community as well.

Over the next few days we will inform you about the different parts of our campaign this fall and the different ways you can participate. Please keep our efforts in your prayers, as we work towards an exciting and coordinated campaign for everyone!

"Cast the Vision" Meeting Tonight!

A brief reminder that our "Cast the Vision" meeting is tonight, for all interested individuals and community leaders to find out more about our campaign plans and needs for the fall and how you can participate in the largest and most effective coordinated pro-life effort to date!

Meeting details are below:

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk to Speak at St. Raymond Church Sep. 17

Dear Friends, I wanted to let you know about a distinguished bio-ethics authority who will be speaking on the morning of September 17 at St. Raymond Church in Springfield. Please see the flyer below for more info!

Second Team Update: CV Meeting Reminder

It's been two weeks since my last message to you, and so much has happened during that time (see our progress report for you below)! Our Cast the Vision meeting is Wednesday evening, at which I hope to see many of you, so we can discuss all the ways you can participate in 40 Days for Life this fall, get your input and answer your questions. Come and bring a friend, and spread the word to anyone who wants to learn more about our fall campaign!

Here are your recent highlights from our leadership team:

• #1) Prayer -- Claire and Marie have helped formulate a "40 Days for Life prayer intention," which we can include in our daily prayer time, or suggest to our priests, pastors or prayer group leaders! The intention can be modified if needed, but our suggested wording is as follows:

For the 40 Days for Life campaign from September 28-November 6,
that there will be an increase in vigil and outreach prayer volunteers
to pray for an end to abortion,
and for healing from the effects of abortion.

• #2) Vigil Presence -- Mary Ellen has signed up two more churches on our vigil calendar: St. Mary Church on Saturday, October 15, and Saturday, November 5, and St. Raymond of Penafort on Friday and Saturday, September 30-October 1 as well as Fridays from 11am-1pm. We welcome these two churches on board!
  
  We invite other churches and groups prayerfully to consider making a weekly commitment to the vigil during the six weeks of the campaign. Vigil commitment can be a great blessing to the community as well as to each of the individuals involved. Through our peaceful presence, we bring the peace and love of Christ to a place where it is desperately needed.
  
  In addition to Mary Ellen's work, Keith and I have been busy reaching out to representatives from various congregations, and we are confident that our list of committed churches will continue to expand!
  
• #3) Community Outreach -- Paul and Jonathan have begun reaching out to local businesses and youth groups, and contacting door-to-door team members from our previous campaign. Eric and Tracie have been very busy behind the scenes with research, promotion and communications including our first press release, which we hope to distribute shortly!

We are so excited about our Lord's blessings on this campaign as schools, churches, and other groups agree to post information and join us wholeheartedly in prayer, vigil and outreach in Alexandria this fall. Already before our first formal event of the campaign we can see there is much support and enthusiasm for this focused pro-life effort! We are eagerly looking forward to see many more groups and individuals step forward in God's plan, as we work together in prayer to bring healing and peace in our city.

Team Update

It has been a busy week for our campaign leadership team: planning our training event schedule, reaching out to churches, packing the vigil box, organizing names and media lists, and considering various methods of prayer and fasting! Along with all this busyness comes several blessings to share with you:

1. First Church Signup: St. Joseph Church, Thursday evenings from 5-7pm. We are so happy to have them on our vigil schedule! Ask your pastor or pro-life coordinator to commit to a weekly vigil time for your church as well!
2. First Donation: This will allow us to complete our first printing order of flyers, registration forms, and prayer cards, as well as make an initial investment in some volunteer wristbands (we still need another $245 to complete that order). A big Thank-You to our first donor! I invite you to consider making a contribution of $40 or 40 wristbands to St. Mary Church on behalf of 40 Days for Life Alexandria (see our website for details).
3. Campaign Details Handout (see attached): lists main details of 40 Days for Life in Alexandria this fall, with directions on how to sign up and participate. This flyer contains our Campaign Prayer, a description of our three campaign activities, and the dates and times for our sidewalk counseling and pro-life training opportunities. Print this out and give to all your friends!

All these blessings are very encouraging and much appreciated, as we continue our planning and campaign promotion efforts to spread the word about 40 Days for Life throughout our city. We hope to see you at our Cast the Vision meeting on August 24th!

Pro-Life Alert: Fall 2011 40 Days for Life Alexandria Campaign Launches!

Well, the big day is here, and I just can't tell you how excited I am to launch our Fall 2011 pro-life effort!

We are exactly two months away from Day One of our sixth 40 Days for Life campaign here in Alexandria, VA. On that day, we will be joining hundreds of cities around the world in a focused, coordinated pro-life effort consisting of 40 days of prayer and fasting, 40 days of peaceful vigil at our local abortion facility, and 40 days of community outreach to change hearts and minds on the great tragedy of abortion. I humbly ask you please to help us spread the word about this upcoming event in our community!

Our fall campaign will begin on September 28 and run through November 6 of this year. We will offer extensive prayer and fasting resources and encouragement to all volunteers, as well as the opportunity to sign up for daily 40 Days for Life devotionals and updates. Our prayer vigil at the abortion facility will run from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily, and we encourage experienced prayer volunteers to enlist as a "shift leader" and commit to a two hour or more time slot at the vigil weekly. Our pre-campaign outreach will begin on Sunday afternoons in Old Town starting August 28 from 2-5pm, and we will offer sidewalk counseling and pro-life persuasion workshops in the weeks before kickoff. Our "Cast the Vision" meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, August 24, at 7:30pm, at St. Mary's Lyceum, 313 Duke Street. This meeting is a great opportunity for group leaders and interested individuals to learn more about the fall campaign and share ideas and input. All are welcome to attend.

Please help us spread the word -- forward this message, use our Fall 2011 Flyer and Bulletin Insert, or just talk about the upcoming campaign with family and friends -- so that many people will have the opportunity to participate in 40 Days for Life this fall! Please also help us spread the word about our "Cast the Vision" meeting by inviting anyone who is involved in pro-life ministry or may be willing to contribute to our efforts. Finally, for those who may feel led to share financial support, a list of local needs is available on our website.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to share this message about 40 Days for Life with you! Please let me know if you have questions or need more information about anything. I am really looking forward to leading our fall 2011 campaign, and to working with you though prayer, peaceful vigil, and outreach on behalf of our unborn brothers and sisters here in Alexandria.