Planned Parenthood is open! And it has been since October 2nd. You may be feeling or asking yourself, “What can I possibly do now?” Well, a LOT! And it’s not all that difficult. It will take a little time, some prayer, humility and perseverance, but here’s what you CAN do … 1. Prayerful, Peaceful Presence From the beginning of our efforts to keep PP out of Aurora, we know that PRAYER is one of the greatest acts of service and love that we can do. For me, and for most of the people of FVFAPP (although not all, as you don’t need to believe in God to value LIFE – it is built into us), we believe that there is more to this life than what we can feel with our senses. We know that there is a spiritual dimension that we are all caught up in. There is a battle of good vs evil. And PRAYER is the weapon of this battle.
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12
From the start of the 40 Day Prayer Vigil until today, we have had a constant presence at the PP facility. The 40 day vigil, which turned into 55 days, was 24 hours a day. Today’s “Life Support” prayer presence surrounds PP’s opening hours, Tuesday through Saturday. Yes, we stand there; we pray, as a witness to LIFE. Can you spare 1 hour a week? I am asking, challenging you, to pray at the PP facility 1 hour a week, and to sign up for a day and time. It’s not all that much really. I know that so many of you have given a lot. I understand. But this is important, maybe even more important NOW than before. Now, babies ARE dying. We need to pray and stand as a witness for life. It will be challenging. It’s getting colder out and the hours we are covering are mostly during the working hours. But we CAN do it. We can be a witness. 2. Know What To Say or Not Say What would you say if a person – a friend, co-worker, relative, stranger – mentioned to you that they, or their girlfriend/wife, were planning to have an abortion? How would you respond? Would what you did and say have a positive or negative impact on the person? We all should be able to have a response to this. That’s why I challenge you to attend the Clinic Ministry Training Seminar tomorrow. It’s not JUST for time at the abortion facility. We, you and I, need to know how to best respond. Yes, we can all formulate a response, but what is tried-and-true? What works? Come tomorrow to find out. If you can’t make it tomorrow, watch for future seminars that we intend to hold. 3. Church Sign-Up Many Aurora-area churches have stepped up and said that they will take responsibility for coving a day of the month with people praying at the PP facility. Currently, there are 19 churches who are committed to taking on one day a month, and 5 other churches that are tentatively covering another day of the month. We are working to get one or more churches on each of 5 days X 5 weeks, or 25 days, of a month. These days are Tuesday through Saturday, the days our Life Support is at the PP facility. We still need more churches to help out and commit to taking a day of the month. A couple smaller churches can team up to share a day if needed. What I’m asking, challenging, you to do is to get your church involved. Check out the Life Support calendar to see if you see your church. If not, talk to your church leadership. Ask them if they are willing to help in either covering a day, or working with another church to share the responsibility. If your church IS already involved, ask them how you can help. Who do you know at your church that you can ask to help pray at the PP facility? Even if your church cannot officially commit to covering a day, maybe they can help recruit people for other days. Can they help promote the prayer presence through verbal and/or bulletin announcements? If you want more information about how your church can help or how to best approach this idea with them, send an email to “vigil” at FamiliesAgainstPlannedParenthood.org with your name / phone number / mailing address and church name and city. 4. Attend the Special Events FVFAPP is continuing to hold “special events”. Pickets, prayer walks, rallies, etc. We continue to need your support at these events. Tell your friends, family, neighbors, congregation. And keep a watch out here at FVFAPP for these posted events. My “challenge”? Well, it’s simple. Join us for all the events that you can. Start with tomorrow’s picket. It begins at 9am and goes to 11am. A number of picket signs will be available. Typically theres the black/yellow “BAD for Aurora” yard signs, “Keep Abortion out of Aurora”, “PP lies to you”, “Stop Abortion”, “Moms/Dads for Life”. Thank You I know it’s been a long post. Thank you for bearing through it. If you’ve gotten this far, you have what it takes to get involved. You care. You have an innate understanding that LIFE is precious, a gift to be cherished. I hope to see you tomorrow, at the protest or at the seminar. May God bless you and draw you close to Himself. God Bless, Roger
