40 Days for Life - Washington, DC

Washington, DC

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YOU can help save lives!

This spring, from February 13th to March 24th, our community will be one of many cities joining together for the largest and longest coordinated pro-life mobilization in history -- the 40 Days for Life campaign.

40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life effort that consists of:

40 days of prayer and fasting
40 days of peaceful vigil
40 days of community outreach

We are praying that, with God's help, this groundbreaking effort will mark the beginning of the end of abortion in our city -- and throughout America.

Questions?

What does participating in the vigil involve:
Praying, peacefully, for an hour each week outside the Planned Parenthood clinic. Participants in the vigil are not asked to perform sidewalk counseling or any form of protesting. The purpose of the vigil is to maintain a prayerful vigil for life.

What should we pray for:

The creation of a culture of life
An end to abortion at this place and around the world
The life of all children scheduled to die at the clinic
Healing for all women and men wounded by abortion
For the grace to choose life for all women considering abortion
Strength for all single parents
That all mothers considering abortion would have the grace and love to choose life
For the abortionists and their staff
For the for the escorts who try to persuade women not to choose life

How do I sign up for hours in the vigil:
Click on the "vigil schedule" tab at the top of this page, or click here to go to the schedule. After agreeing to the statement of peace the site will take you to the calendar. Any hours in red have no one signed up to pray, those in yellow have one person signed up to pray, and those in green have two or more volunteers praying. You can sign up to pray once, or for the same hour each week. The site will send you an e-mail reminder the day before your scheduled hour.

Take a stand for life

While all aspects of 40 Days for Life are crucial in our effort to end abortion, the most visible component is the peaceful prayer vigil outside the local Planned Parenthood facility.

You can help make a life-saving impact by joining our local vigil at:

Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, DC
1108 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036

Just North of L Street NW on 16th Street NW.
Three blocks from Farragut North Metro.
Four blocks from Farragut West and McPherson Square Metros.

Click here for a map with metro locations.

Vigil Schedule

Sign up to participate in our local 40 Days for Life vigil or to take specific vigil hours by clicking the "Vigil Schedule" link at the top of this page.

Contact us to sign up

To learn more or let us know how you feel called to serve God in this effort, please contact the local 40 Days for Life leadership team:

Washington, DC Core Team
E-mail: 40DaysForLifeDC@gmail.com

Get the latest updates

Be sure to sign-up for updates and prayer requests using the form at the top right of this page, and browse through the rest of this site to find out how YOU can help make a lifesaving impact as part of our local 40 Days for Life campaign.

Learn more about the national 40 Days for Life campaign.

10 Reasons to Participate at 40 Days for Life Vigils

(borrowed from Diocese of Dallas Pro-Life Committee)

Reason No. 10. Come because you can. - If you are healthy, you can postpone the chores a few hours, or skip the sleep-in, and be a witness for life! If you are homebound, you can unite in spirit with the others.

Reason No. 9. In a spiritual battle, prayer is the weapon of choice. In this battle for the sanctity of human life, we're not fighting against people; we're fighting for people. As Fr. Frank Pavone reminds us, God has already won the victory, through the life, death and resurrection of Christ. So let us unite with Him in that victory as we draw people away from the sin of abortion. Let us learn from Love Himself.

Reason No. 8. It's good to pray together. Each of us prays often, if not daily, for an end to abortion. But often we pray alone. Let us take this special opportunity to heed Jesus' words in Matthew 18: "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

Reason No. 7. Our prayers can bring reparation for the sins of abortion, whether our own or those of others. Abortion has touched us all, some of us personally. We're all wounded by it. But in the mystical body of Christ, we can help bring healing, through our prayers and acts of penance.

Reason No. 6. You can grow deeper in your own pro-life convictions. Maybe you're not as stirred up as you think you ought to be. Many of us have found there's nothing like being there - at the very places of death - to becoming convicted of the tragedy of abortion. Open yourself to further conversion!

Reason No. 5. You can inspire other pro-lifers to put their "money where their mouth is." Just by telling a friend you are coming, you may motivate them to join you the next time.

Reason No. 4. You could prick the consciences of young men and women who aren't living in chastity. Those who see you at the abortion center may be convicted about their own behavior, knowing they aren't ready to raise a child, yet they're engaging in sex, but they're also not eager to walk by a group of people to take the life of their baby.

Reason No. 3. You could help convert the heart of a passerby who just found out she is pregnant, and remind her that abortion is never a solution to a problem, but the worst problem she could ever have.

Reason No. 2. You could help convert the heart of an abortion worker - the receptionist, the sonographer, the nurse, even the abortionist! Norma McCorvey, the former "Jane Roe," wrote about being "Won By Love" from working at an abortion center in Dallas to joining the pro-life movement.

And the best reason of all, Reason No. 1. You could help save a life! Right there, as you're praying, a mom with an abortion appointment might decide against the abortion, and for her baby. You don't want to miss that!

Connect with us!

202-573-PRAY