April 3, 2009
40 Days for Life media coverage is booming in
newspapers, TV and radio stations, and web sites
across America!
The Abilene, Texas 40 Days for Life was highlighted in
a story on KRBC-TV. You can read the story and watch
the video at: http://tinyurl.com/cwmmlk
Just this week, Elizabeth McClung from 40 Days for
Life in Austin, Texas was featured on the nationally
syndicated Point of View talk radio show.
Of course, not every 40 Days for Life campaign has
been featured in the media. So some 40 Days for Life
participants have helped put 40 Days for Life in the
news themselves -- by taking a really easy step that
YOU can take without ever leaving home!
There is one simple outlet where the impact can last
for days (and sometimes weeks) that you can tap into:
letters to the editor.
"During the 40 Days for Life, from February 25 to
April 5, a peaceful prayer vigil is taking place
across from that facility and, in my opinion, that is
a wonderful gesture," Lorraine Fecteau wrote in a
letter published in the Kennebec, Maine Morning
Sentinel. "It is important to note it is not a
demonstration nor is it a protest."
Lorraine stressed the peaceful approach of 40 Days for
Life, which is a key element of this mission.
"The tranquil, private setting of the Augusta Family
Planning Association of Maine on Gabriel Drive is in
sharp contrast to the violence regularly performed
there on these defenseless babies whose only crime is
to have been conceived."
A letter to the editor gets your story in the paper --
and often on the paper's web site. And it can be very
short.
David Greskowiak's letter appeared in the San
Francisco Chronicle.
"I think we need to thank and salute the pro-life
volunteers who have been staging a vigil at the
Planned Parenthood Clinic in San Mateo every day this
Lenten season as a part of the '40 Days for Life'
project. They are an example of what's good in this
country," he wrote. "Hopefully, with some more effort
and prayer, the evil of abortion will be gone from our
society in the near future."
College campuses can be a tough place to spread the
pro-life gospel, but sophomore Robert McNeily's voice
was heard in the Daily Illini at the University of
Illinois.
Robert noted the rights that are listed in the
Declaration of Independence. "The United States has
seen its patriots, civil rights leaders and the
'Greatest Generation' fight for these truths for more
than 230 years without fear, but with courage and
resilience," he wrote.
"The same call for justice is upon this generation
today. I ask that you pray, reflect and join the
peaceful movement that will be the voice for the
unborn and the challenge to the status quo for months
and years to come."
Thanks to Lorraine, David, Robert -- and many, many
others -- for getting the good news about 40 Days for
Life in the media!
Today's devotional was written for you by Rev. J. Kirk
van der Swaagh of the Conservative Congregational
Christian Conference...
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DAY 38 INTENTION
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We pray for the conversion of all those who refuse
to acknowledge that human life belongs only to
God.
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SCRIPTURE
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Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained
you a prophet to the nations."
-- Jeremiah 1:4-5
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REFLECTION by Rev. J. Kirk van der Swaagh
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To be or not to be?
There is no question!
The question of "being" is something philosophers
have long pondered.
What is the meaning of being and what is the
source? In the passage before us, we have our
answer.
We have being because we are known by God.
For God to declare that he knows and sets apart
the prophet Jeremiah even before he is conceived
indicates that our being rests in God's own being.
Because He is and because He wills we, therefore,
are and do.
The Apostle Paul says as much when he declares
before the philosophers of his day, "In Him we
live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28).
One of the tragedies of the abortion culture is
that life in the womb has been so heartbreakingly
devalued.
To embrace the arguments of the "pro-choice" crowd
one must conclude that the child in the womb
doesn't exist, isn't there, has no being.
But nothing could be further from the truth.
That child is known by God and, as such, has
being.
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PRAYER
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Lord God, we confess that in You we live and move
and have our being.
Because You are, we are.
May we find grace from You to affirm the being of
every human and may we labor to make this truth
known to the world around us. Amen.
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PRINTABLE DEVOTIONAL
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To download today's devotional as a formatted,
printable PDF to share with friends:
http://40daysforlife.com/docs/spring2009day38print.pdf
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National Director David Bereit and I are running hard
in the final days of this 40 Days for Life, visiting
as many campaign sites as possible before Sunday.
While visiting Mobile, Alabama, I learned that there
is only one abortion center still in business and the
pro-life excitement has never been higher.
From volunteers who have been out there praying for
the last 30 years to a 9-year-old and a 13-year-old
who have been going door-to-door during the 40 Days
for Life -- amazing!
Praise God that our youth are more committed to saving
life than Planned Parenthood is to destroying life.
They make me feel old!
When I arrived in Birmingham, campaign leader Michael
told me the vigil presence has been very powerful. In
the last few weeks prayer volunteers have helped turn
two women away from abortion including a 13-year old
girl whose mom had been pushing her to have an
abortion. The other woman who chose life said she saw
the prayer presence as "a sign from God." Wow.
No time to rest as I fly north to Montreal and Ottawa
before traveling to St. Louis for day 40, while David
Bereit heads across Pennsylvania and Maryland today
before flying to South Dakota to end this campaign.
You inspire us to keep going!
Yours In Christ,
Shawn Carney
Spring Campaign Director
40 Days for Life