Make Good Friday Pro-Life with a Way of the Cross at Your Local Abortion Facility

On a bleak Friday afternoon, our savior Jesus Christ was crucified at Golgotha, “the place of the skull.” Today, we have our own Golgotha: the abortion clinic, where two thousand years after the Crucifixion, His image is violently destroyed, again and again, by abortion.

That’s why, for the last six years, the Pro-Life Action League has marked Good Friday with a pro-life “Way of the Cross for Victims of Abortion” at our local Planned Parenthood.

We’ve found this activity to be such a blessing, one of our favorite pro-life activities of the year, and last year, the event went nationwide with services taking place in 29 cities across the country.

This year, we’d like to see it grow even more, so we’re calling on pro-lifers like you to join us in hosting a “Way of the Cross for Victims of Abortion” at your local abortion facility.

And, we’re providing you with all the tools you need to make it happen in your area, including an ecumenical prayer service book, templates to promote your event through e-mail and in churches, advice on practical considerations and more!

Though the devotion of the Stations of the Cross has Catholic roots, the service we conduct is completely ecumenical. People of every denomination join us every year and there is no material in the book that would be offensive to non-Catholics to pray. Please feel free to join or host a Way of the Cross no matter what your denomination.

All the Tools to Host Your Own Way of the Cross

Hosting your own “Way of the Cross for Victims of Abortion” may sound daunting if you’ve never organized something like this before, but if you follow these simple steps, you’re guaranteed to have a wonderful event that will be a blessing to everyone involved.

Get a complete list of all the resources listed in the instructions right here

1. Choose Your Location and Time

   Choose the local abortion facility where you’d like to hold your event. If there is more than one facility in your area, you will want to take into account practical considerations like whether there is enough room for people to safely stand outside the facility, parking and other issues.

   If there are no abortion facilities in your area, you could host your Way of the Cross at a memorial for the victims of abortion (find one here) or at a local church.

   We at the League have held ours at 10 a.m. because it fits well with our local churches’ schedules, but you’ll want to check with churches in your area to make sure you’re not conflicting with other services on Good Friday.

2. Recruit Clergy to Lead Your Event

   It’s always a great help to have some clergy to help lead the prayers. You’ll want to get invitations out to priests, pastors or deacons as soon as possible. Good Friday can be a busy day for clergy with many services to conduct so you’ll want to give them plenty of notice.

3. Publicize Your Event

   Get the word out about your event every way you can. Local church bulletins and pulpit announcements are great ways to let people know. Use this sample bulletin announcement to get started.

   Church bulletin deadlines are typically the Monday before the Sunday you want it in the bulletin. That means if you want your event in the bulletin on Sunday, March 30, you need to have your announcement to the church secretary by Monday, March 24. For Sunday, April 6, get your announcement in by Monday, March 31. For Sunday, April 13, get your announcement in by Monday, April 7.

   Once you’ve got your bulletin announcement set, get the word out through e-mail. You can use this sample e-mail as a starting point for a message.

   Send an e-mail to all your personal contacts and ask around to see if any local churches, pro-life or other sympathetic groups might send an e-mail to their contacts as well. Be sure to post about your Way of the Cross on Facebook and other social media too.

   Finally, contact your local media to let them know about your Way of the Cross service. We’ve had several local television stations out to our Way of the Cross in recent years.

   Find the contact information for your local TV stations, newspapers and local news websites and send them a press release. Use this sample press release as a template for your own.

   Note: When using all of these templates, be sure to find all the bracketed sections and fill in the correct information for your event.

4. Print Your Booklets

   We’ve put together the ecumenical prayer service we use into an 8 page booklet that you can have printed at your local print shop. We’ve had great results going to Fedex Office, but any office supply shop or small print shop should be able to print them for you.

   Download the file right here [PDF] and tell them to print the number of copies you’d like on white letter-sized paper, black and white, double sided and saddle-stapled. They should be very cheap to print.

   Get a few more copies than you think you’ll need. You might be surprised by your turnout, and even if you don’t use them all, you can save them for future use.

5. Document Your Event

   Be sure to take pictures and videos of your Way of the Cross event, and e-mail us the pictures and videos or links to them if you’re hosting them on Flickr, Youtube or other sites. We’d love to put together a slideshow and video playlist of events from around the country.

6. Other Concerns

   You may have seen the video above that features us moving from station to station. That is completely optional. Feel free to move around to stations if you have them or stay in one place and simply pray through the book.

   The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects your right to engage in this kind of public prayer witness. Should you have any concerns about this area, feel free to contact us.

7. Optional: Build Your Own Stations

   At our local Planned Parenthood, we’ve been blessed with a vacant lot across the street from the facility. As such, we chose to build some stations of our own which we stake into the ground around the lot so we can walk from station to station as one would in a church.To build your own stations, download these images [PDF], or find others that you like, and get them printed at your a local print shop like FedEx Office. We recommend having them printed on tabloid paper (11″ x 17″)—in color if you can afford it—and laminated. If you print tabloid size, make sure the print shop knows you want the images blown up to fit the paper.Next, get 14 1×2 posts and cut them about 5′ tall with an angle on one end to stake in the ground, and nail an 18″ piece across the other end (see an example in the video, above). Finally, staple the prints to the cross beam on top of each station.At your location, pound each station into the ground with a hammer.We’ve found it helpful to bring some smaller stakes to use to pound pilot holes so you don’t have to pound directly on the station very much. If you’d like more information on building your own stations, feel free to contact the League by e-mail.

8. Social Media

   You can also promote your Way of the Cross service on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. You can tweet in the days leading up to the event, make a Facebook event page and invite your friends, and you can tweet and post to Facebook with pictures and updates from your service while it’s happening.

   You can use this image as your cover photo on your personal Facebook page and your Facebook event should you make one, and post this graphic along with details on your event to Facebook and Twitter to spread the word.

   Twitter: On the day of the event, tweet with the hashtag #ProLifeGoodFriday. You can use these sample Tweets to spread the word:

   On the day Jesus was crucified, let’s remember all innocent victims, especially the smallest. #abortion #ProLifeGoodFriday

   Jesus united Himself with all the victims of suffering. None suffer more innocently than the victims of #abortion. #ProLifeGoodFriday

   On Good Friday Jesus died on Golgotha. His image is destroyed 1000s of times a day at OUR Golgotha, the #abortion clinic. #ProLifeGoodFriday

   Good Friday, the day Jesus DIED, is the perfect day to stand up for LIFE! #ProLifeGoodFriday

   Are you thankful for Jesus’ sacrifice on Good Friday? Then do something for your unborn brothers and sisters today! #ProLifeGoodFriday

   Finally, after your Way of the Cross, post some pictures to the Pro-Life Action League’s Facebook page and we’ll share them with all our followers!

Now that you’ve got your instructions, you can get started on your plans for a Way of the Cross for Victims of Abortion at your local abortion facility. If you have any questions about hosting your own event, feel free to contact us. We’re here to help!

Way of the Cross Resources

Here are all the resources you need to host a Way of the Cross for victims of abortion in your community:

• Sample Church Bulletin Announcement
• Sample Promotional E-mail Message
• Sample Press Release
• Way of the Cross for Victims of Abortion Booklet [PDF]
• List of Memorials for the Unborn
• Cover photo for use on your personal Facebook page and Facebook events
• Graphic for use on Facebook and other social media
• Pro-Life Action League Facebook page where you can post pictures of your event

Way of the Cross Locations

Arizona

• Tucson: Tucson Women’s Clinic, 2121 N. Beverly Street (Map), 9:00 a.m., followed by a second Way of the Cross service outside Planned Parenthood at Grant Road and Wyatt Drive (Map)

Colorado

• Colorado Springs: Planned Parenthood, 3480 Centennial Blvd. (Map), 12:00 noon
• Denver: Planned Parenthood of the Rockies, 7155 E. 38th Avenue (Map), 3:15 p.m.

Florida

• Jacksonville: A Woman’s Choice of Jacksonville, 4131 University Blvd. South (Map), Stations will be prayed at 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 12:00 noon.
• Kissimmee: Would-be site of Planned Parenthood, 610 Oak Commons Blvd. (Map), Prayer service begins at 12 noon.
• Sarasota: Planned Parenthood, 736 Central Avenue (Map), 11:00 a.m.

Illinois

• Aurora: Planned Parenthood, New York Street and Oakhurst Drive (Map), 10:00 a.m.
• Chicago: Albany Medical/Surgical Center, 5086 N. Elston Ave. (Map), 5:00 p.m. (preceded by the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary and Chaplet of Divine Mercy at 4:30 p.m.
• Chicago: Blessed Sacrament Parish, 35th St. and Hermitage Ave. (Map), 3:00 p.m.
• Des Plaines: Forest View Medical Center, 2750 S. River Road (Map), 10:00 a.m.
• Downers Grove: Access Health Center, 1700 75th Street (Map), 10:00 a.m.
• Glen Ellyn: Aanchor Health Center, 1186 Roosevelt Road (Map), 9:30 a.m.
• Hinsdale: ACU Health Center, 736 N. York Road (Map), 10:00 a.m.
• Wood Dale: Advantage Health Center, 203 E. Irving Park Road (Map), 9:00 a.m.

Indiana

• Indianapolis: Planned Parenthood, 8590 Georgetown Road (Map), Noon

Iowa

• Bettendorf: Planned Parenthood, 2751 Tech Drive (Map), 12:00 noon.

Louisiana

• Baton Rouge: Delta Clinic of Baton Rouge, 756 Colonial Drive (Map), 12:00 p.m.

Massachusetts

• Worcester: Planned Parenthood, 470 Pleasant Street (Map), 12:00 noon

Michigan

• Ann Arbor: Planned Parenthood, 3100 Professional Drive (Map), 10:00 a.m.
• Lathrup Village: Womancare of Southfield, 28505 Southfield Road (Map), 9:00 a.m.

Minnesota

• St. Paul: Planned Parenthood, 671 Vandalia St. (Map), 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Missouri

• Columbia: Planned Parenthood, 711 N. Providence Road (Map), 10:00 a.m.
• St. Louis: Planned Parenthood, 4251 Forest Park Avenue (Map), 24-hour prayer vigil starts at 6:30 a.m.

Montana

• Billings: Meet at St. Bernard Catholic Church, 226 Wicks Lane (Map), 12:30 p.m.

Nebraska

• Bellevue: Abortion and Contraception Clinic of Nebraska, 1002 W. Mission Avenue (Map), 12:00 noon
• Omaha: Planned Parenthood, 3105 N. 93rd Street (Map), 12:00 noon

New Jersey

• Marlboro: Memorial to the Unborn at St. Gabriel Catholic Church, 100 N. Main Street (Map), 10:00 a.m.

New York

• Plattsburgh: Planned Parenthood, 66 Brinkerhoff Street (Map), 10:00 a.m.
• Rochester: Beginning at McQuaid Jesuit High School, 1800 S. Clinton Avenue (Map), 9:00 a.m.
• Spring Valley: Planned Parenthood, 25 Perlman Dr. (Map), 24-hour prayer vigil starts at 12:00 noon.

Ohio

• Cleveland: Preterm, 1200 Shaker Boulevard, (Map), 10:00 a.m.
• Columbus: Complete Healthcare for Women, 5888 Cleveland Avenue (Map), 11:00 a.m.
• Sharonville: Meet at St. Michael’s Church, 11144 Spinner Avenue (Map), 9:30 a.m.

Oregon

• Eugene: Planned Parenthood, 3579 Franklin Blvd. (Map), 5:00 p.m.

Pennsylvania

• Greensburg: Planned Parenthood, 125 Nature Park Rd. (Map), 12:00 noon
• Philadelphia: Planned Parenthood, 12th & Locust Street (Map), 9:00 a.m.
• Reading: Planned Parenthood, 48 S. 4th Street (Map), 9:00 a.m.
• Scranton: Planned Parenthood, 316 Penn Ave. (Map), 1:00 p.m.
• West Chester: Planned Parenthood, 8 S. Wayne St. (Map), Reading of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to John begins at 9:00 a.m.

Tennessee

• Nashville: Women’s Center, 419 Welshwood Drive (Map), 12:00 noon

Texas

• McAllen: Whole Woman’s Health (Map), 9:00 a.m.

Virginia

• Manassas: Amethyst Health Center for Women (Map), 12:00 p.m.
• Newport News: Peninsula Medical Center for Women (Map), 12:00 p.m.

Wisconsin

• Madison: Planned Parenthood, 3706 Orin Road (Map), 10:00 a.m.
• Milwaukee: Meet at St. Rita Parish, 1601 N. Cass St. (Map), 9:00 a.m.