Abortion centers closing, cutting back
as 40 Days for Life begins in 247 cities
WASHINGTON, DC Recent abortion center closings have added momentum to the kickoff of the largest 40 Days for Life campaign in history which launches tomorrow in 247 cities across the United States and eight other countries, said Shawn Carney, campaign director of 40 Days for Life.
40 Days for Life, a 40-day campaign of prayer and fasting, peaceful vigil and community outreach, launches tomorrow at 247 locations in the United States, Canada, Australia, England, Ireland, Spain, Belize, Armenia and Georgia. This represents a 47% increase in the number of locations over last spring. The campaign will run through April 17.
We know of nine abortion facilities where 40 Days for Life prayer vigils have been conducted that are now closed, said Carney, and following other peaceful vigils, more abortion centers may soon be added to that list.
Just last week, Golden Gate Community Health, a collection of abortion facilities in the San Francisco Bay area that was once part of the Planned Parenthood network, announced it was shutting down at least temporarily, and possibly forever. That chain includes abortion centers in San Francisco and San Mateo where 40 Days for Life campaigns have been held, as well as three other locations.
In Columbia, Missouri, several peaceful 40 Days for Life vigils have been held outside a Planned Parenthood abortion center. Another prayer campaign is starting this week. Because of staffing issues, this location was unable to offer abortions for several months last year. Abortions resumed on an every-other-week basis in the fall, but now sources in Columbia say no abortions have taken place there since January 26.
Abortions are only available right now at one place in the entire state of Missouri Planned Parenthood in St. Louis, where another 40 Days for Life vigil begins tomorrow, Carney said.
Since 40 Days for Life began as a national and then international effort in 2007, more than 400,000 people have participated and confirmed reports have documented that 3,599 babies have been saved from abortion. When people respond to abortion as a local problem, said Carney, they see the local results of a peaceful vigil: lives saved, hearts changed and abortion centers closed.
The list of participating communities is posted online at: http://www.40daysforlife.com/location.cfm
Day 18 - March 26
Intention:
May we absorb the truth that God is paying attention to us, and to each human life, personally and individually.
Scripture:
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor.
-- Psalm 8:3-9
Reflection:
How often we ignore the phrase, "stop and smell the roses" and instead submit to the all too "urgent" task at hand. Is this tendency what keeps us, at least in part, from acknowledging that God's care for His sacred creation is paramount in His own mind?
The Psalmist speaks of God's handiwork: the heavens, the work of his "fingers," and then points to God's masterpiece - human life. He declares to us that God is mindful of us. God keeps His masterpiece in His thoughts.
God, the creator of the awe-inspiring heavens, is not distracted by the tasks before Him. He is not pulled away, as we might be, by thoughts of something "more important." God is paying attention to and attending to His crowning glory, His masterpiece of creation, which cannot be duplicated or replaced, which surpasses the beauty of all other created things - the human being.
There is no way to adequately describe how God feels about us as human beings. There are no words to fully portray His love, compassion or desire to be in communion with us. Perhaps, the closest we can come, is to contemplate the thoughts of a mother as she gazes for the first time at her newborn child. God cares for Life. We, as His followers, should take time to consider the life He has created and called upon us to love and protect.
Prayer:
Lord, you are the creator of all things. Guide my thoughts to consider your creation in all of its majesty, beauty and holiness. Guide my heart especially to your creation of precious human life. Help me to comprehend how essential life is in your own heart. Teach me to appreciate, love and protect all human life through your son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Fr. Terry Gensemer
National Director, Charismatic Episcopal Church for Life