By Theresa Bird
The fall 40 Days for Life campaign of prayer, fasting, and peaceful public witness for an end to abortion began last week on September 23rd and runs through November 1st. Held on the sidewalks in front of the Anchorage Planned Parenthood, the six-week vigil runs from 7am-8pm, Monday through Saturday.
While no official kickoff rally was organized, one group of high school students took the initiative to coordinate and met up on the sidewalk the very first day. Holy Rosary Academy’s Students for Life chapter invited their friends to join them in prayer for an hour once their 6pm soccer game at Kincaid was over. Nearly 20 kids showed up to pray as the sun went down on Wednesday evening.
“When we heard there wasn’t going to be an official rally, we decided we needed to try to organize one ourselves. I wish we’d been able to reach more people and invite them beforehand, but by the time we realized the vigil was approaching, we only had 3 days to plan,” said HRA’s SFL President Francis Bird.
Joined by friends from Palmer and Lumen Christi Highschool, a number of kids from Holy Rosary’s soccer team jumped right in to embrace what local 40DFL organizer Mary Kemper calls “the core work of 40 Days,” which is our presence on the sidewalks, 7am-8pm, Monday through Saturday, September 23 to October 31.
“Our mere presence on the sidewalk changes the minds of mothers and fathers headed into abortion facilities. This gives them time to be offered and to consider life-giving alternatives to abortion,” says Kemper. “Peaceful public witness can also awaken the consciences of those driving by.”
Kemper hopes that many more individuals will follow these students’ example and sign up to pray in front of Planned Parenthood for an hour a week during the fall campaign. November 1st is coming up in less than five weeks, so the commitment shouldn’t be overwhelming, she pointed out.
“Sometimes people contact me to help them find a prayer partner because they don’t want to go out alone. I think that’s great. Find someone from your parish, among your friends or family, and please sign up for an hour together— you can save a child’s life and protect his or her mother from the trauma of abortion.”
Sign up here: 40 Days for Life.
