On the last day of our campaign we did, indeed finish strongly.

Thanks to Brandon and Bill for standing with early morning shift manager Sue during the empty morning shift from 7-9am! 

William and Brandon got up early to make sure the shift manager wasn’t alone at the vigil!

Shift Manager Sue (sporting her new blanket given to her by Nikki), with William

Thanks also to Jeff for standing with her at 9am!

Libby, Jeff and Pat came to stand with shift manager Sue

Sue wrote:

Sunday’s 7:00a-11:00a shift was quiet.  Brandon from Ambassador Baptist was with me from 7:00-9:00, and Bill stopped by for a few minutes before his church service.  Then Jeff (another shift manager) and Libby from St. Sebastian came at 9:00, followed by Pat from St. Bernadette’s.  A HUGE thanks to all of these prayer warriors for keeping me company on a cold Sunday morning!!

Around  7:20 or so, one Planned Parenthood employee walked into the building. This was the only person we saw enter the building this morning.  However, her exit from the building (around 10:30) was the event that most took us aback.  Libby, Pat, and I, while praying together, all noticed a piece of palm sticking out of the top of her purse!  Obviously she had been to a Palm Sunday service or mass very early in the morning, before coming to work at Planned Parenthood.  We were so shocked to see this.  It was clear to us that the evil one certainly has his hooks around this lady, blinding her to the point where she attends church and even brings home palm on a Palm Sunday and still does not, cannot, or will not see that her career with Planned Parenthood is in direct opposition to the Lord.  I know that the three of us will be praying for this woman.

I wish a happy and blessed Easter to all of you – JESUS IS RISEN and He Is The LIFE!!!!

For Life,  Sue

Read about the second shift in Julie’s testimony below.

I am happy to report that it was a peaceful prayerful morning! The holy people of Assumption Parish in Bellview and a visitor from New Hampshire dove right into prayer without any hesitation! The first hour with one group and the second hour with another was a continuous stream of focused, hopeful, prayers of intercession for mothers, fathers, politicians, planned parented hood workers and the aborted babies we so dearly live.  Thanks to these steadfast prayer warriors the sidewalk was full of the presence of the Holy Trinity.
Peace, Julie

Rick from Church of the Assumption, and shift manager Marie

SS Peter & Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church in Ambridge adopted the third shift today.  Shift managers Jim and Cathy wrote:

Great day on Sunday with lots of good prayers and drop bys.  Many on way to the closing rally and Jericho march stopped and joined in on our prayers.  Closing rally at 933 was very moving with Reverend Bryan leading us in praying the Litany and singing; a great way to close out on the street.

Thanks for the fine program and foodstuffs for the pot luck; I thought Tom Vendetti’s  talk was right on, it’s the devil stupid!  Thanks to Nikki for the great gifts to all the vigil managers and supporters that is very thoughtful.  I especially liked hearing of all the people who fasted during 40 days for life; thanks Megan for the work and enthusiasm you put into this effort.  Lisa, great work on the schedule and rounding up support for those who could not make the vigil events; 40 days of juggling.  Tim thank you for stepping up to lead this years event when it appeared that we may have lost our leader.  You kept us all going in the right direction and a lot of people stepped it up a notch behind you for the success of the campaign.  God bless you and your mate in the new life facing you both.

Thank You all for including us in God’s work, Jim and Cathy Shantz

Here is a photo of their wonderful group of prayer volunteers:

SS. Peter & Paul in Ambridge, along with third shift managers Jim and Cathy

Mimi was a faithful witness during these 40 days!

We were blessed by the presence of these five seminary students from Franciscan University…at the vigil and the closing rally at Catholic Charities. One of them even sang the closing song (with Andy from Intent’s guitar!)

At 6pm about 25 people joined us for our Jericho March around Planned Parenthood.  Tom Venditti led us in constant prayers and litanies as we walked seven times around:

During the final 15 minutes of our 40-day vigil, we all gathered for the the closing prayer ceremony at the vigil location:

Many of us brought our palms from this morning to the vigil. Lisa put her cross-shaped palm on the door handles of Planned Parenthood. May the power of the cross of Jesus bring an end to the evil that takes place here.

After praying the name of Jesus, “Shut this place down” litany and closing with “How Great Thou Art”, we officially ended our 40 day vigil and walked to Catholic Charities.  Approximately 60 brothers and sisters in Christ enjoyed a wonderful meal and fellowship.  Intent blessed us with their music.

Intent blesses us with their music

Our Campaign Director, Timothy, thanked everyone for helping to make this 40 days a success!

Nikki wrote:

It has been a privilege and an honor to work with all of you…vigil shift managers, team members, vigil participants, church coordinators and pastors who have participated!  Your individual “yes’s” have all combined to make for a powerful 40 day witness at Planned Parenthood!  You have helped us to unite into a stronger force for God in our city and I KNOW that we have caused the Kingdom of God to advance and the kingdom of darkness to retreat!  Thank you to Catholic Charities for being so supportive of our efforts and thank you to INTENT for making our events something special!

Our next 40 Days for Life will begin on September 25th!  May the Lord bless you till we meet again!

Your sister in Christ,

Nikki

More stories and pictures will be posted soon.

Timothy

The Lord has been glorified each day in this campaign, and today was no exception to that. Read about how in Sally’s testimony below:

 It was a very quiet morning. Weather much better than yesterday.  PP was slow again today.  Not a lot of women going in, at least during this shift.  Our pray-ers came from Word of God parish, Pennsylvanians for Human Life, St. Vincent College, St. Joseph, Assembly of God, and a few other churches:

We thank God for good people like Bill and Brandon who come by often, even daily, to pray and witness for life.  May God bless them for their perseverance.  Sally

The second shift was also successful. Read about it below:

The second shift today went very well. Vigil participants from St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Mary Orthodox, St. Paul’s Seminary, and St. Fidelis, Bulter came to pray for the cause of life.

St. Paul Seminarians

Over the course of the four hour second shift, nearly thirty people participated, which is excellent for a Saturday afternoon shift. Particularly inspiring was the encouragement shown to us by a passer by, Kenneth, who recently moved to the area and started his own catering business. Also inspiring was the testimony of a post abortive woman who is now pro-life, told us her story of healing, and prayed with us. Another inspiration came from Susan, a consistent vigil participant in our campaign.

Susan

The third shift was just as successful. Read about it in Jeannie’s testimony below:

What a delightful, peaceful  uplifting late shift we had Saturday.   Several wonderful factors:  SUN SUN SUN—  Also 3 brand new vigil participants –Toni, Chris, and Don–  who are destined for return appearances if I have anything to do with it.

Fr. Nick takes time to witness during his parish’s time! Thank you!

Absent green beer, we got through and entire
Saturday shift with many, many positive, affirmative remarks to our prayer and only ONE mumbled opposition !

I think Don’s singing may win him a spot on the next American Idol, too.  In all, I was blessed to be among so many witnesses who are preparing for calvary with our Lord.

I spoke to the wife of the PP guard— PLEASE pray that he find another job.  She is not allowed to tell me her name, but the couple has a 3 year old and 1 year old and a rosary hanging from the car mirror.  The wife is also a security guard– she said she prayed about her husband taking this job.  They decided it was up to God to judge the folks at PP— I assured her that we would talk to God about a new job for her husband!

I am humbled with those who have stepped up to witness during these days.  As Beth Svirbel said   in our last hour—”let’s say the Glorious mysteries because we know who wins this struggle in the end.”

In Life -Jeannie

God Bless,

Timothy

The good people who come and pray at this vigil each day are some of those who are continually in that school of learning generosity.  I know that because I SEE it, every day.  Just being there in the first place is inherently a generous giving of self.  And to all of you who have so faithfully prayed and fasted for an end to abortion for these 38 days so far, we THANK YOU.  The Lord will bless you for your generous hearts.

We got this report from morning Shift Manager Sally:

This was one of the coldest mornings we have seen, with much wind driving the temperature down.  It was Aquinas Academy’s morning, and we had a really good turnout of young people and a teacher. Also, Edith, Justine, and 7 month old William came, from St. George Orthodox Church. He was the sweetest baby. He never cried the entire morning. A few other churches were also represented.

Prayer warriors of all ages, from Aquinas Academy!

More from Aquinas

Young people from Aquinas share the truth of Christ!

Edith and others from St. George’s… THANK YOU!

  Nothing important happened on this shift.  Single girls and couples went in, but PP was not as busy as they have been on past Fridays.  A good number of people “God blessed” us, and the one small group of daycare children that ventured out not only waved but wanted to take our gloved hands.  They are always a bright spot in our morning.

-Sally

 

It sounds like Shift Manager Ginny had a great shift.  She shares her thoughts and photos here:

We had wonderful prayer warriors there today from Our Lady of Grace (Scott Township), and from Holy Sepulcher, St. Bernadette, St. Regis, St. Boniface, and the always-faithful from Christ Church Ministries. What an inspiration they all were. I feel so blessed to stand with such holy people.

-Ginny

Sweet Marie from Our Lady of Grace

Beautiful women of prayer

Our Lady of Grace parishioners warm the cold sidewalk with their hearts!

 

Thank you to all who came to stand up for LIFE!

God bless all the holy ones who came to pray!

Shift Manager Pat had a shift of both good and sad experiences:

During my shift (3-5) I was blessed to be accompanied by three members of my parish, St. Regis in Trafford:  Gene, Louise, and Nancy.  It was great to be able to stand and pray – to the degree I was able – with them.  Thank you for coming.  Thank you also to Courtney who stopped by for a considerable time and prayed with us.  Please pray for her.  She’s a high school math teacher in search of a good job of any kind.  Charles from Monroeville and Living Word Church stood witness, as did regulars William and Rev. Bryan. 

L-R: William (on his 38th straight day), Courtney, Gene, Nancy, and Louise

 As I was leaving and Nikki was taking over, an ambulance pulled up in front of PP and a stretcher was taken in. 

-Pat

Something we never want to see outside of this place.   Please pray.

In fact, I remember one time hearing a passerby say about one of our participants who was explaining the Word of God to a man on the sidewalk, “Get a job.”  And my thought at the time was something like, “He is DOING his job right now!!”  We are not worried about weather.  We are not concerned with comments stemming from ignorance.  We are not even bothered by persecution, angry women, obscene hand gestures, annoyed business owners, pro-abortion escorts, or anything else.  And again, the question: WHY?

It is because He that is in us is greater than He that is in the world.

Allow me to insert the context from which that passage comes:

Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 

This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God,

and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist that, as you heard, is to come, but in fact is already in the world.

You belong to God, children, and you have conquered them, for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

They belong to the world; accordingly, their teaching belongs to the world, and the world listens to them.

We belong to God, and anyone who knows God listens to us, while anyone who does not belong to God refuses to hear us. This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit. 

(1 John 4:1-6)

Rev. John filled in today as a Shift Manager!  We are so thankful to him for being there in the EARLY morning hours today!  He shares this thought with us:

It was cold this morning but the instruments of death inside PP are much colder and cruel. May Christ bless all the participants in 40 Days.

 He also shared this photo:

The women are (L-R) Shift Manager Marie P. and Lisa, from St. John the Baptist

One of our faithful Shift Managers, Marilyn, shared her inspiring story from today:

So grateful for all the people who were praying at the vigil today!  Just during the short time I was there we had representatives from St. John the Baptist, Mother of Sorrows, and a father/daughter team, Jeff and Emily (pictured separately), from Erie First Alliance and Providence Presbyterian Church. Thank you, God!!

I’ll be honest here — today I did not feel up to being at the vigil.  I even thought of finding a sub as I’m fighting a cough/cold and am just tired.  Well, I didn’t do it.  I went to Mass, prayed, asked the priest for a blessing and off I went.  God, in His infinite goodness, gave me a glimmer of what my small sacrifice could potentially mean.

I met an abortion-bound couple.  For whatever reason, they said PP would not help them (I’m guessing financial).  They seemed to really listen to what I had to say about abortion.   They willingly took the free resource sheet and literature.  More importantly, I was able to talk to them about adoption.  I was grateful that Shari, a vigil participant, also joined in talking to them with me.   I was thankful too that Tony stopped by the vigil — Tony the coffee guy!  He brings hot coffee to the vigil participants!  So grateful for that pick-me-up — but more importantly, he ran down the sidewalk to catch up to the couple after they left as I had wanted to give them one more pamphlet.  Pray for “J,” the young pregnant woman.  Pray that her male companion/spouse/boyfriend will be open to choosing life and maybe adoption.

The world is a hurting place.  Today a woman with a young child passed by and boldly told us she was an atheist and that there was no God.  We met a homeless man, who despite his circumstances was grateful – especially to the selfless gesture of vigil participant, Fritz, who gave him his gloves.   He was in search of a church that was giving boots away today.  I sent him to Catholic Charities.   (So grateful to Catholic Charities for opening up their offices to 40 Days folks this campaign too!)  Our vigil participants also ministered to a woman in need.

The local 40 Days for Life community is so alive in Pittsburgh!    God clearly showed me today that our sacrifice does make a difference.    God bless everyone.

-Marilyn

Some of our wonderful prayer volunteers, including Elizabeth, Nancy, Shari, Pastor Matt, Linda, Mary, Fritz, and others. THANK YOU!!

Emily (local) and her dad Jeff, in town from Erie!  (We apologize for the “negative” quality of this photo…. If we can, we will post a better one later.)

During my (Lisa’s) shift, I was overwhelmed by the nature of our team and volunteers.  The fact that these good, holy, amazing people are living, working, and serving among us in the world can almost bring me to humble tears of gratitude. 

I was able to spend a short time with Shari, Jeff, and Emily.  Shari and I are related, and Jeff and Emily are related!  This becomes a real family affair sometimes!  What good and sweet people to spend time with.  Shift Manager Pat even stopped by in case he might be needed to pray with anyone who might be there alone. 

Then, Bill (an every day participant– and I DO mean EVERY DAY– he’s great!) came to pray with me.  And I watched him place his hand in quiet prayer against the side of the bricks of the PP building.  What a beautiful moment.  Then, Mimi joined us… another regular… who was immediately ready to pray.  Then came my pastor, Fr. Tom!  Thank GOD for our faithful clergy, unafraid to stand on the sidewalk and witness to the Gospel of Life!  Eventually, we were joined by others, John and Tony (regulars as well!), Colleen and Terry, two sweet-souled women of God, and seminarian Dan, who has become another “regular” during my shift! 

It was a JOY to be with them, and pray with them.  These are the people who are the REAL heroes of the world.  The REAL movers and shakers.  Remember that soap opera years ago, called “The Bold and the Beautiful?”  Well…. these faithful ones are the REAL Bold and Beautiful ones!!  They belong to Jesus Christ- and have come to stand and witness in His name, and for the sake of His children. 

THANK YOU ALL.

-Lisa

Lovely women of God, Terry and Colleen

Shift Manager Dee shared a bit from her shift this afternoon:

The 3 to 5 shift was mostly calm, but, we did get a visit from the one fellow who harrasses us about one thing or another.  My sign was a photo of a Black baby, and he ranted over this and wanted to know why we did not have a Caucasian baby. He has some very warped ideas of the Scriptures. I did not respond. This does not do any good.

A young man called JP stopped by twice. The second time he hugged both Peggy (a volunteer) and myself.

It was a very cold day, but, all is well that ends well. Thank God for God.

-Dee

 

Faithful St. John’s family: Chris and Alison and their kids, Maria and Michael

 

Barbara took these photos from the last shift today:

Dedicated people from St. John the Baptist in Plum!

Barbara wrote this reflection about her time at the vigil this evening:

“Increase your desire,” Michael Casey quoted Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153) in A Thirst For God.   “Are you kidding?” was my knee-jerk response.  Don’t Catholics live according to “less is more?”  What did he mean?  How would I do that?  Respecting his authority, I decided to try.  That decision put me right on the path to agony.  But there is so much more.  Accepting Bernard’s invitation gave me a place at the table for the sumptuous feast of conversation with our Beloved Father.

So, here I stand downtown beside PP in the company of our beloved prayer volunteers. We greeted passersby.  Essentially, if we had our druthers, the conversation would go as follows:

“Hello.  Let’s talk about you, your baby, your life and our Father who is ready to fill your life with abundance and joy.  Where would you like to begin?”  Realistically, a conversation with a person in crisis is fragile, unique, and requires careful listening.  A freezing cold, bus-screeched street is an unlikely setting, but not an impossible one.

St. John the Baptist parish had signed up to cover our shift:  Chris, Amber, Debbie, Noreen and Dave. Also joining us were Richard, Jim, Bill and Mary Jane.

Incidentally, Bob and Caitlyn joined us late Wednesday and led us in the Divine Mercy Chaplet.  They are members of Rose’s family, one of our shift managers.

Although our presence invites a lot of interaction with passersby, the camaraderie among those of us who stand together and witness brings me a joy I hadn’t expected.  Each person has a story to tell.  Last evening, Chris talked about his wife, newly converted to Catholicism. They have a little boy who will be 4 this summer, a younger girl and a baby due soon.  He teaches CCD at his parish.  He is trying to find time to read Pope Emeritus Benedict’s second volume of the life of Jesus.  A prayer volunteer talked about her abortion, about how it shrouded her life with darkness for more than 15 years and how she is grateful to serve God today. 

As we agreed to say the Rosary together, so many of us admitted that we are not sure about the mysteries and we felt reluctant to be the leader.  More people seemed confident about joining to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.  The Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Divine Mercy.

-Barbara

We are so thankful for our great God, and all of these little moments of grace.  And we are so thankful for all of you.  Day 38… here we come. 

]]> http://40daysforlifepittsburgh.com/2013/03/21/day-37-another-cold-one-but-thank-you-to-st-john-the-baptist-parish-in-plum-for-their-perseverance/feed/ 0 http://40daysforlifepittsburgh.com/2013/03/20/day-36-our-lady-of-grace-greensburg-guardians-for-life-of-indiana-westmoreland-counties-building-upon-christ-ministries-provide-the-witess-for-life-today/ http://40daysforlifepittsburgh.com/2013/03/20/day-36-our-lady-of-grace-greensburg-guardians-for-life-of-indiana-westmoreland-counties-building-upon-christ-ministries-provide-the-witess-for-life-today/#comments Wed, 20 Mar 2013 22:26:07 +0000 Nikki http://40daysforlifepittsburgh.com/?p=3825 The first day of spring was a great day to stand as a witness to the beauty of new life!  Even though the temperature was only in the 30′s… the sun was out and there was no wind.  The birds … Continue Reading

The first day of spring was a great day to stand as a witness to the beauty of new life!  Even though the temperature was only in the 30′s… the sun was out and there was no wind.  The birds were even chirping…it felt like spring to me!

The first group to fill the vigil today came all the way from Greensburg!  Four wonderful ladies from Our Lady of Grace parish lit up the sidewalk for Christ this morning!  The early morning shift manager, Jeff, took this photo of them:

Witnesses for Life from Our Lady of Grace, Greensburg

He wrote:

 This was my first ever morning shift and grateful that I made it in time, and the folks from Our Lady of Grace in Greensburg were there at 7:00am to greet me.  I am used to Diane Deely picking up the signs at 7pm so it was nice to see her always smiling face setting them up at 7:00am.  It was a quiet morning and passed quickly, and Kathy Krchmar showed up at 9:00am so I could get to work.

Just as I was leaving, a young man named Chris from Swissvale stopped and told us that this was his first vigil, and that he was called to do it because of a plea made to him and 100 other weekend retreatants at St Paul’s Retreat Center over a month ago.  He had been praying about it for a month and so here he was.   I was flabbergasted!

I, too, had just completed a retreat at ST Paul’s with my dad this past weekend (ST Patricks Day) and had found the courage to stand up in front of 100 men that I had just spent the weekend with, and made my plea to THEM to support 40 Days for Life, and that this was the last week of the Lenten Vigil and to come out and stand with us.

I wouldn’t have even been there to witness this remarkable “coincidence” except that I had answered Lisa’s plea to fill in for Cathy Zuza two weeks ago and Lisa said that I could cover 7-9 on the 20th.

I just don’t know what to make of it…….. 

Kathy managed the vigil from 9-11am and wrote the following account of her time:

The women from Our Lady of Grace, (Kristi, Ethel and Janie)greeted me as they had been there from the earlier shift. Chris joined us and then Michael came. We had the opportunity to interact with 2 couples as they finished their cigarettes inside yellow circle. The first couple came over to talk before they entered PP. They had a small baby in a stroller. Taking a card from us for the Pregnancy Resource Center, they asked how we could help them. We told them about the services that are offered.  They went into PP anyway, but then they left quickly.  The second couple came over to talk but smilingly said, “I don’t know how anyone can kill a baby.  I saw picture of a baby holding a doctors finger, it was amazing.”  (Must have been Bob Newman’s new sign that shows the baby still in the womb reaching out to grab the doctor’s finger!)  We had a very nice discussion about value of life.  They didn’t realize they were standing in front of an abortion clinic.
We also gave Pregnancy Resource Center cards to 2 different girls who tried to go in the wrong doors to find PP.

When I (Nikki) got to the vigil for my 11am-3pm shift, Fr. Tim’s large group from Guardians for Life of Indiana & Westmoreland Counties were already there praying!  They didn’t waste a minute of their two hours…it was constant prayer, kneeling and singing!

Guardians for Life are powerful witnesses!

 

Fr. Tim is a strong leader of the faithful pro-life community in the Greensburg Diocese!

The Guardians for Life make such an impression on the bookstore owner that he usually comes out while they are praying to hang his famous sign, which quotes the bible verse from Matthew, which says, “Don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray in public“.  One of the vigil participants felt led to write him a little note in response to his sign, telling him that Jesus said this about the Pharisees because THEY were praying in public to draw attention to THEMSELVES.  But WE are praying in public to draw attention to something else…that is the injustice of abortion!  Actually, I don’t think our vigil participants particularly enjoy much of the attention we get while we are at the vigil.  (The bookstore owner should ask the brave souls who witnessed on Saturday if they enjoyed the attention they received from the inebriated St. Patrick’s Day “celebrants“).

The thought occurred to me that when we bring our faith to the culture so visibly, (when we kneel, pray and sing out loud), it get’s people’s attention in such a way that they almost don’t know what to think!  You can see a slight confusion on some folks faces…like they have never seen anyone acting in this way before.  Our culture has become so alienated from God and from Holiness…that many people have never even seen “religion” in action!  It is totally foreign to them.  But, I believe that our witness of faith may plant a seed of faith in people’s hearts! For instance, someone may pass by who has never had the experience of worshiping in church…was never introduced to God or to religion at all…is living a totally worldly and secular existence…but they somehow sense that they were made for more.  Seeing people praying and worshiping on the sidewalk in front of an abortion clinic MAY plant a seed in their mind and heart that could grow if they allow the Holy Spirit nourish it with His Water and His Light!  God is using 40 Days for Life to do more than save baby’s lives from abortion…He is using it to save eternal souls!

Here are some more photos from this afternoon:

Tom Venditti joins us

After 1pm, when the Guardians for Life left for their two-hour drive back home, I had the blessing of spending the remaining two hours of my shift with Mary Ann and Eileen.

 

Eileen and Mary Ann

While the three of us were praying, quite a few notable things happened.  First, just as we were beginning to feel the effects of the chilly temperature, a young man appeared holding a tray from Bruegger’s with three hot drinks!  He said he bought them for us to encourage us to keep up the good work!  I think his name was Eric.  We really appreciated the gesture of good will, and the drinks warmed us right up!

Next, a young couple pushing a baby stroller stopped to look at my fetal model display.  The woman was obviously pregnant and they asked us which fetal model was six-months.  We showed them and the man picked up the model and cradled it in his arms.  He said that is how far along his wife is and he can’t wait to hold his son when he is born.  They said they believe abortion is wrong.  In fact, they told us that they had previously taken some pro-life literature from our vigil participants and actually went into Planned Parenthood’s waiting room and left it with the magazines!  What a great idea!  We thanked them for sharing that with us.

Eileen then shared this amazing story with me.  She said that she had previously worked as the Director of Special Education at a local public high school.  One day as school was letting out, she was walking out the door to go home.  As she passed a group of students, she thought she heard one teenage girl say to her friends that she was going to have an abortion.  She immediately became distressed as she continued walking to her car.  Immediately, she began telling herself the reasons why she could not go and talk to this girl.  She does not have the gift of counseling, she told herself.  She tried to call two of her friends who DID have that gift…but neither of them could be reached.  So, she had no choice.  She turned around and walked back into the school. Seeing the girl, she walked up to her and told her that she thought she over-heard her saying she was going to have an abortion, and gave a heartfelt plea to please let her baby be born.  The girl told Eileen that she had not said anything about having an abortion…and so Eileen left her, having said what she said.  She forgot all about this conversation…until one day about a year later…when she saw that girl in school again.  This time, the girl had a new baby with her!!!  Is it possible that her words to this young girl were all that she needed to hear to change her mind and choose life?  It sounds possible to me!  I just wanted to share that story to encourage you.

More witnesses from the Greensburg area! Shari and Linda pictured here with “regular”, Bill

Barbara and Richard managed the third shift, and Building Upon Christ Ministries, provided the witness.   Calvary Full Gospel Church also witnessed this evening with their youth!  Barbara wrote:

 

The evening shift on the first day of spring, (imagine that!), was crowded with praying souls.  The Building Upon Christ Ministry and Calvary Full Gospel Youth Group brought many people.  Their names are: Richard, Steve, Correy, Jessica, Kristen, Tony, Tim, Mimi, Kurt with his youth group, and, Jim, Ken, Pat and Bill.

Building Upon Christ Ministries

Calvary Full Gospel Youth Group

Also, some of our beloved regulars joined in.

A young man stopped to tell us that the bloody aborted baby pictures upset him because he had a younger brother die.  A woman stopped to talk and say that a baby she was tempted to abort is now her son, a semi professional football player, whose support helps pay her bills.

“When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls. Her husband, entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing prize.  She is clothed with strength and dignity, and laughs at the days to come. Her children rise up and call her blessed. Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting. The woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”  Proverbs 13: 10, 25, 28, 30.

“Chastity does not mean abstention from sexual wrong; it means something flaming, like Joan of Arc”.  G.K. Chesterton

While I stand for hours in front of Planned Parenthood downtown, these quotes help me remember what I am doing here.  Am I here just to say, “No!”  No, that’s not good enough.  I endure this vigil because I know that trying to be virtuous is a life worth living.  I am not a genius.  I didn’t make it up.  Chesterton would say that I am standing on the shoulders of giants. I know about the 10 Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount.  My parents and the Catholic Church taught me.  I have the chorus of saints whose witness strengthens me.  I am not a saint.  But I have Jesus’ company as I try for that joy.

When God blesses us, He sends out to share.   A Planned Parenthood site is a natural destination for sharing the Good News.  The people going in there are completely misled. They hope that contraception and abortion will help them manage the complications promiscuity ignites in a person’s love life.  They hear that chastity is an icy state that locks people out of all the fun.

We know other facts of life.  “God loves you right now, just as you are.”  Unlock your heart. Don’t be afraid. Let’s talk.

Barbara Lewis, Shift Manager

 

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Shift Manager Sally shared about her morning shift:

Not a bad morning except for the wind, which made it feel much colder in spite of some sun.  PP was busy for a Tuesday, but still not as bad as the weekends.  An abortionist we do not know went in at 9 a.m.
Two guys came out to use their cell phones and I was able to talk with the one and give him literature for the girl inside, who he insisted was only a friend. His own girlfriend is having his 3rd baby.  He doesn’t believe in abortion.  I told him a friend would not take a woman for an abortion because it is going to hurt her as well as kill the child.  He said she had to do it because of pressure from the father, and that she is afraid of him. He willingly took the literature into PP to show her, but came out some time later & said that she was still going to have the abortion.  I’m not even sure the second man could speak or understand English because he never spoke, although he accepted a flyer. I don’t think he even went back into PP.
This was a very fast-moving morning, full of good people from about 6 different churches. Five men from the  Knights of Columbus, from Mother of Sorrows parish in Murrysville arrived first, followed by 3 people from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish in Carnegie, & 3 from Holy Angels parish in Hays. When I left at 11 a.m., Deacon Dan from Holy Angels was leading everyone in a prolife Stations of the Cross, which is very beautiful.
A lady at my bus stop told me how she raised 7 children on her own when her man left her, and how terrible she thinks abortion is.  She accepted 2 flyers from me to give to friends.

-Sally

Tom, Don & Chuck from Manordale Knights of Columbus, with Joe from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish in Carnegie

Shift Manager Charlotte reported this as she was there at her shift:

There is a girl right now who came out but went back in.  Crying, she took a brochure from one of the vigil participants.   Please pray for her.  I feel bad that I missed her, but Katharine did talk to her and another person gave her literature.  I am hoping she comes out and we can talk to her.  They said she did say “I can’t do this.” 

-Thanks,  Charlotte

Manordale Knights of Columbus, including Deacon Dan

 

Charlotte then shared these thoughts from after her shift:

Today coming in to the shift we had a large group praying on site.  They stayed well after 12:00 PM. We also had a large group in the afternoon.  It was nice to see so many giving up time from their day.  The deacon came up to place a blessing on me.  He probably didn’t realize how much I needed it.  Thanks, Deacon…
       As we all do – we hoped and prayed for a change of heart for someone planning such a terrible ending of their child’s life.  We know that ending will bring them so much pain and sorrow, but the evil one has twisted and marred the souls of those who think this is all they have.  What do we need to do to show them that this is so much a lie??  
       What I have seen and know in this last 40 Days is that most women agonize with the choice of killing their child.  Why do they do it?  They are afraid, maybe alone, wondering who can they rely on to help them, or where will they get enough money to raise this child??    This is what happens when God is missing.  Who can we trust, but God?   How can we make them know that God loves them and will not abandon them or their child?  How their child will truly be that blessing, if they only can trust that God will give them the means to get through tough times.  How can we help them to see this?  I think this question may be our challenge for future 40 Days. 
         Maybe in our time between the 40 Days, we can welcome our lost sheep who don’t know God and little by little we will bring them back to the arms of Him who they can turn to in the scary, sorrowful and worrisome cold, windy days of their lives.  We can bring them into the warmth of God’s love!

-Charlotte

 

Shift Manager Sheila had the last part of the day:

It sure was cold and windy this afternoon, and the big signs blew over several times!  But our group stood strong in praying for the unborn. 

 

Juanita, Lori, Cindy, Mark and Fr. Tony from St. Joseph, the Worker, St. Paul’s & Sacred Heart of Mary in Weirton. Also pictured are Kathleen from Triumph of the Cross in Steubenville and Maria

 None of the post-abortive women were receptive to taking the healing resource sheet this afternoon.  It was an uneventful afternoon.  The only tense moment came when I tried to give a young woman a resource sheet.  She was ready to take the information.  Then out of the blue, a woman who was referred to as ‘Miss Melanie’ ran out of Planned Parenthood, came within an inch of me and told me to leave the girl alone.    But I didn’t move and I asked the young woman if she still wanted the information.  She looked scared and then retreated when ‘Miss Melanie’ continued to yell at me, prompting the security guard to step outside. 

-Sheila

May the Holy Spirit continue to work and move powerfully in the lives of those who seek abortion.  May He take a firm and loving hold on their hearts, and move them to a place where they can acknowledge their need for Him.  May we all be open to the movement of the Holy Spirit in our own lives as well.

While I was standing in the cold, COLD rain for 4 hours this morning, I thought I was suffering.  Of course, my suffering doesn’t begin to compare to the suffering that Christ endured.  This past weekend the shift managers and vigil participants suffered under the persecution of many intoxicated passersby.  They were mocked and spit upon.  Again, nothing compared to what Christ went through for us.

The comparison is this;  We were HELPLESS in our sin and so because of HIS LOVE for US, Christ endured suffering and persecution to save us.  It is the same for the unborn babies in the womb that are in danger of abortion.  They are HELPLESS too!  And, just like Christ had to suffer to save us when we were helpless…sometimes WE have to suffer to save the unborn, who are helpless to save themselves!  When we look upon Jesus as He is nailed to the cross, we can’t help but know how much He loves us.  When passers-by see us standing in the cold rain for hours upon end…even if they hate us…they see how much we LOVE our unborn brothers and sisters.  And, if they are willing to stop and engage us in conversation, we can let them know how much we love THEM too!

Thanks to Dean who stood with me from 7-9am and Rose who was with me from 9-11am.  What faithful, gentle, soldiers for the Lord they both are.

At 11am three members from St. Coleman’s arrived to do the first half of their church’s shift.

Witnesses from St. Coleman’s in Turtle Creek, along with Bill

Two ladies from St. Coleman’s came to stand from 1-3pm, also representing Catholic Daughters of America.  They have witnessed for life many times before, so they were “pros”, which was a good thing…since we had a mix-up with the shift manager schedule and there was no vigil shift manager on duty with them.  But, that didn’t deter them one bit…they continued on with their witness!

Pro-life veterans from St. Colman’s and Catholic Daughters

I went back to the vigil for an hour at 3pm to fill in for another shift manager, and was there to greet the next group…the faithful pastor and his crew from West Hills Baptist Church:

Dave, Pastor Walker and Karen from West Hills Baptist

While we were there, a very angry African American man stopped to rant and rave at us, calling us racist because we had photos of black babies on our signs.  We tried to talk reasonably to him, but it was impossible.  When the next shift manager, Pat, arrived, he knew exactly who I was talking about.  He said this man stops often during his shift to yell about us being racist.

Thanks to Pat and Beth for doing the rest of this evening’s shift at the vigil!

Beth sent in the following report from tonight:

Dear 40 Days Family,
What a great group we had for our shift, Monday, 5-7.  There were beautiful prayer warriors from West Hills Baptist Church in Moon township, who even brought snacks (yeah), Ken, who left a note on the front seat of his car to remind him to stop and stay, people from St. Basils in Carrick and regulars like William and Greg so the time was always covered with prayer.  Very little action at PP although I did see Kim Evert the executive director leave, rather quickly it seemed.  Bus drivers honked and gave us a thumbs up; we were thanked by numerous people just passing by and the rain stopped.
beth
p.s. A million blessings on the morning shift.  Hell didn’t freeze over but Liberty Avenue came close!

Pastor Bryan, who is a regular witness during our 40 Days for Life campaigns, sent the following reflections for me to share with you:

My thoughts and remembrances from this past week:

1) I finally was able to be on the sidewalk when post-abortion girls were leaving PP.  Their expectation, fed by PP personnel, was that it was going to be a great thing being relieved of the “problem” in their body.  The ones I observed were very different.  No joy.  No smiles.  Just tears, obvious emotional distress and possibly shame as they tried to hide their faces and walk quickly away from us.  Acting on the Devil’s promises never leads to joy.

2) Two notable people I talked to were a young man and a woman in her 40s.  The young man had some thoughts that abortion was not a good thing, but a woman should have a choice.  He came to understand that it is a human being that is killed (my 12 week baby model is a great visual awakening), and left with a firm distaste of abortions and “choice”.  As always, I told him to spread the word to others.

The woman, as we talked, revealed she had had an abortion and nearly died in the procedure.  She subsequently carried two other pregnancies to completion, has a wonderful grown daughter, and had a son but he was murdered 2 years ago.  Fortunately she is Christian, but still carrying grief and self-unforgiveness for the abortion, and now with this added grief on top of it.   She was open to my praying to her right there (it’s interesting how we seemed to be in a bubble insulated from the outside world while praying).  Of course I told her that she needs to actively spread the word about abortion.

3) The other item is what I call ”the intolerance of tolerance”.  That applies to the people who consider themselves tolerant of everything, including abortion, but are vehemently intolerant of anyone having a different position.  In reading these blogs, it seems like this activity has been increasing, and was especially bad on St Patrick’s day.  I was also told of a lady who passes through every day and swears foully at us, and I was looking forward to her (these are my kind of people I want to talk to).  She did come through, but rushed away swearing, not listening.

Folks, we need to keep in mind that we are in a spiritual battle.  When people don’t know God and substitute themselves as their own ”God”. the Devil steps in just as he did with Eve.  We know the devil is vehemently opposed to all we do, thus the nasty comments, outbursts, and actions we observe.  Even so we are to love our enemies, but be proactive, as in 1 Cor 10:3-5  “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.  For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine poser to destroy strongholds.  We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”    Whether you can talk to them, get them to take literature or not, proactive includes all the praying we do against the lie, and for the people so deluded to come to know and follow Jesus.  In all, regardless of the person’s words or actions, we are to demonstrate the Lord to them with self control, love, gentleness, patience, kindness (Gal 5:22-23).

Blessings,   Pastor Bryan

Hang in there, we are nearing the finish line!

God bless you,

Nikki

Yesterday at the vigil I saw the uglier side of many Pittsburghers, and learned what the word “persecution” really feels like…at least what verbal persecution feels like.  I’ve never been on the receiving end of so many cruel & ugly, crude & sinful comments as I was yesterday afternoon at the vigil while Liberty Avenue virtually slithered with hundreds (thousands?) of pagan-like drunkards who had begun drinking hours earlier for the St. Patrick’s Day parade!  I felt horrible leaving Jeanne for the 3-7pm Vigil, as I knew it would only get worse during that time frame. But the Lord delivered Jeanne and the other crusaders, and for that I give much thanks!   And I am SO GRATEFUL to those brave souls who came out to the vigil yesterday to keep our vigil shift managers company as they endured many hours of torment from the legions of passersby which took great pleasure in disrupting the vigil… in many wicked and sometimes grotesque ways (let’s just say we know what some of the drunk partiers ate for breakfast – YUCK!)  I felt terrible this morning (the day after) watching a young man who works for Pittsburgh Sanitation clean up after them. Please pray for all of the “lesser of these” who get no glory but do all the really hard work so thousands of people can get completely bombed as they defile St. Patrick’s name. Yesterday, at one point I wondered when the pagans were driven out of Ireland, did they come to Pittsburgh – it was that bad!  But God through Jesus saw us through. Praise Him on High!

But at the end of every rainbow is a pot of gold, they say. TODAY (Day 33 – what a great number!) The pot of gold was the ecumenical worship group called People of God, a very prayerful and devout group comprised of many Protestant & Catholics from throughout the Pittsburgh vicinity (I think I had over 35-40 People of God praying with me, making me proud to be Irish today as we sang many common hymns – but I especially liked when we sang the Breastplate of St. Patrick. I thank Pat of People of God for sharing his guitar skills, and ALL the POG can REALLY sing!  At one point we had maybe 15 POG worshippers singing on one side of the Planned Parenthood, and 6 St. Vincent College students (all the way from Latrobe!) singing with us on the other side of the Planned Parenthood building! Before the students left, the POG and the students and I formed a circle and prayed the Our Father.  Today (with the exception of some of the gross things still visible along the sidewalks and roads), was BEAUTIFUL, and I am certain that while yesterday he was fervently interceding for our safety, that today St. Patrick’s Irish Eyes were smiling down upon us as we were unified, Catholic & Protestant, worshipping Jesus Christ!

Pictured: St. Vincent College students sing along with People of God. We filled the sidewalk!

Pat (green scarf) with his guitar, and several of the other (first hour) People of God.

Julie managed the vigil from 11am-1pm, which was adopted by Catholic Mom’s of Pittsburgh.  She wrote:

The good people of Good Shepard Parish and a woman from Catholic Moms were annointed with the zeal of the Holy Spirit as we prayed the first hour! We sang and prayed the “Jesus Shut This Place Down” litany. The mom, Kelly, was brave when a woman came past yelling angry things and spit on her.   I think it was the same person that spit at us two weeks ago. God have mercy and melt her heart with His love for her!

They all took off at noon and I was alone for just a bit. Then Bridgette from Life Runners and John came… We prayed the scriptural rosary. I sensed the Lord’s presence very strongly!  One of the ladies from Good Shepherd said that really we aren’t the ones here praying, Jesus is made truly present and is there through us.  Amen!

It was a blessed morning and The Lord provided many good people to pray and endure the cold .

Julie

Dedicated prayer by Good Shepherd parish and Catholic Moms

Rose managed the vigil from 1-3pm.  She wrote:

Another cold Sunday but my heart was warmed today by some wonderful pro-lifers who came to pray today at PP.  John and Bridget were finishing up a rosary with Julie when I arrived.  Later Bryan and David from the Catholic Mom’s Group came as their wives were taking care of their children.  We prayed a rosary.  Tony joined us and so did William.  I was surprised later to see my son, Bob, and his wife, Caitlyn, show up to join us in prayer. We prayed the “Litany in Reponse to Abortion” and the “Shut This Place Down”  with the names of Jesus prayer. The time flew by quickly. What a peaceful shift it was!

Blessings, Rose

Rose took these photos of the prayer warriors that shared the sidewalk with her today:

David and Bryan of Catholic Mom’s Group

Bryan, Tony, Caitlyn and Bob

My dear friends Jim and Cathy Shantz managed the 3-7pm shift today and Ascension Church in Ingram adopted this time slot.  Emily, who coordinates the group from this church took these photos :

Ascension Roman Catholic Church in Ingram…including their pastor, Fr. Brian.  It is So enouraging to have the support of so many clergy at our vigil. Thank you Fr. Welding!

Emily wrote:

It was pretty quiet, though there was quite a large group after most of the folks from Ascension had to leave. The bookstore owner had his ‘hypocrite’ sign out. The only other thing that struck me was a Port Authority bus driving by, honking his horn and waving at us in support.

Shift managers Jim and Cathy wrote:

Another great Sunday at 933 Liberty Avenue; no one was killed! Everyone was praying, singing and reciting Litanies and we had many people drop by that didn’t sign up ahead of time.  This seems to be the situation most Sunday’s that we are on the street.  Many people were there for the first time so it was joyful for many of us.  Weather was cold and blustery but bearable.  Several people mentioned coming for the closing next Sunday.’

Thank you to everyone who came to the vigil today, fasting and prayed!  Let’s keep it going for one more week!

God bless you,

Nikki

But WHY has the celebration of the patron saint of Ireland become an excuse for getting purposefully intoxicated?  I’d have to do some research on that one, but I have neither the time nor the inclination to do so.  The point is…. our faithful friends were praying today.  Simply praying to end what was happening at Planned Parenthood THIS VERY MORNING in OUR VERY CITY.  That’s ALL they were doing.  And no doubt, St. Patrick is also one of those, now in heaven, who prays right along with us for the end to abortion.

May those who fail to see the true meaning of the reason for prayer and the Christian Faith never fail to see Christ IN US and in our demeanor toward them.  This is as St. Patrick himself has prayed:

Christ with me,          

Christ before me,          

Christ behind me,         

Christ in me,

Christ beneath me,          

Christ above me,

Christ on my right,          

Christ on my left,          

Christ when I lie down,          

Christ when I sit down,          

Christ when I arise,          

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,          

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,          

Christ in every eye that sees me,          

Christ in every ear that hears me.

(One version of only one stanza of the prayer known as the “Breastplate of St. Patrick”)

Down Cathedral in Ireland, the burial place of St. Patrick

We express a big thank you to all the faithful from Guardians for Life of Indiana and Westmoreland County, New Life Community Church, and St. Joseph parish in Verona.  You helped to make a HUGE difference in the time at the vigil today.  May God bless you for your time and prayers!

Here are some photos from this morning:

Guardians for Life of Indiana and Westmoreland Counties…faithful witnesses!

Guardians for Life bring Christ to the culture!

Diane and David

Al, Tim and Earl

Shift Managers Al and Sally held their posts this morning.  Sally had this to share:

PP was steadily busy all morning.  Not as bad as yesterday, but almost. The escorts stayed until 10:30.
Practically everybody who came to our vigil this morning came with Father Tim. 

We had prayer and singing all morning, which astonished most of the celebrants who came walking by wearing something green from hair to shoes.  Some just hurried by those “strange people,” others smiled or made silly comments, or danced a little jig. Occasionally someone took a picture.  One girl came past us with a half full bag of plastic wrapped condoms, which she proceeded to scatter all over the sidewalk the way people scatter candy to children in a parade.  And one man crossed the street while yelling, “We’re supposed to be having FUN today.  And I don’t want to look at any pictures of dead babies.”  Of course there were none of those, but he evidently equates such pictures with abortion even if he doesn’t see any. Quoting from an ancient Chinese proverb, “One picture is worth a thousand words”. Whatever he saw at some other time has stayed in his memory.
The bar was playing very loud music and the bartender came out 4 times telling people to move away from his window.  I had them move away the first time, but two older people insisted on being just to the side of the window and when they changed position they were in violation of his order again, and again.
Then before 11 a.m. the bookstore opened & that lady insisted that everyone move off “her sidewalk” completely.  No hanging around the curb either. “That’s loitering!  It’s illegal to loiter.  I’ll call the police.”  But nobody wanted to move, even though the other side of the circle was almost empty.  Fortunately Pat had arrived by that time and I asked him to send them to the other side of the yellow line because my bus was coming. God bless him, he was taking care of the situation as I got on the bus. 

-Sally

Shift Manager Pat shared about his shift as well:

When it’s cold, you can’t stay out too long before your body tells you that it’s time to come in and get warm.  And the colder it is, the shorter the amount of time your body is able to tolerate it.  I think the same can be said for our souls being out in the culture for too long.

Today I was in the midst of our culture from 11-1.  Not only was it an abortion day, but the occasion of the St. Patrick’s Day parade.  Between the things I saw and heard on the street today (you do not need the details) and the noise coming from the very busy gay bar next door, I’d say it was the cultural equivalent of 10 below.  Thank God for the good people who came and prayed (there were never less than four of us) and offered the culture at least a glimpse – for those with the eyes to see it – of the fire of God’s love.

-Pat 

Vicky, Ginny, and Cathy from New Life Community Church

L-R: Dee from St. Thomas More, Kevin from St. Elizabeth, Fr. Terry, Pat from St. Damian of Molokai, and regular, John

Shift Manager Jeannie tells about the evening shift here:

We had our hands full with the street theatre of St. Pat’s.  It seems that the lack of inhibition brought on by a few drinks encouraged many folks to approach us.
Some good, most negative.   We held fast to our prayer and thought about Jesus on the road to Calvary— this was nothing compared to His suffering. I think we’d all agree that that it bound us together—
Alcohol truly made many uninhibited  in mostly bad ways, but sometimes for the good.
I started at 3 with a hearty group of sisters in Christ from New Life Community in Bellevue.  We had several conversations with our gay brothers and sisters who wanted to clarify where we stood on the gay issue…. They were mostly surprised to learn that we felt God loved them and had a plan for their lives…   They were clearly searching, clearly uncomfortable with the path they were on.   PRAISE GOD.
This first picture finds us with a friend who lingered far longer than we thought he would.  Michael seemed truly open to our message which we simplified for all who stopped.

New Life Community Church let Michael know that he is loved by God!

We were joined at 4 by a  delightful group from St. Joe’s (Verona), and later Tom and Diane from St. Paul Cathedral (and of sign fame), who were there to see one particularly vulgar young woman knock our “HELP” sign into the street.   Tom and Diane were then joined by Dan from St. Louise de Marillac and our finally our “bouncer,” Will, who plays football for CMU.   We had a few tense moments but nothing was going to unglue this crew!

 

Great group of prayer warriors from St. Joseph parish in Verona

Through the snow and sleet with many hurling obscenities, we graciously witnessed for the unborn.   Even the security guard from PP intervened to move a particularly loud, offensive woman along— The guard said, “These people are here to pray.  Leave them alone and move on.”
We (literally) wrapped a blanket around a sorry-looking PP client who emerged and was waiting for a ride in the bitter cold.  You could see her expression change as she accepted the gesture and  the loan of a  phone to call her friend.   It made us all realize that PP does NOT empower women!  Every heart is movable!
We interacted with 100′s of Pittsburghers on St. Paddy’s day and I can honestly say it was a real opportunity to accept the vulgarity and mocking in love.  With the remembrance of Jesus’ trip to Calvary so near, it was a very small sacrifice to make.
With deep gratitude for the afternoon St. Paddy’s crew.-Jeannie

Thank you to all of you prayer participants.  You are a great team, and this vigil would not exist without such strong witnesses for life as you are.  May the Lord bless you all.

The good news is that these babies didn’t die alone…un-noticed and un-loved.  There were many selfless individuals who took the time to come to the vigil to be advocates for them and to show by their mere presence on the sidewalk that these lives had immeasurable value.   Thank you to all who came to the vigil today!  I believe you wil be greeted in Heaven by some of these little ones, thanking you for your sacrifice today.

Early morning shift manager Sally took the following photo of the group from St. Catherine parish in Beechview, who adopted the morning shift:

Sally wrote the following account:

A very cold, windy day, which gradually warmed up when a little sun appeared.  Most of todays pray-ers came from St. Teresa in Perrysville, St. Catherine in Beechview & St. John Neumann.  PP was extremely busy.  Robert Thompson, the abortionist, went in before 9 a.m., much earlier than usual.

This seemed to be “scream at a prolifer day”.  First came a lady with a cane, swearing and hollering, on and on.  Then a young girl, with her mother, who has been by other mornings.  She calls the 40 Days for Life people a bad name each time she sees us.

Then our restaurant “friend” Emil, who went on and on about how “you people are turning Liberty Avenue into a wasteland with no people.  No customers for the restaurants. It’s all your fault! Those people going into PP probably have AIDS anyway, and their babies would be born infected…etc”. He continued on and on.  One lady from St. Teresa tried to talk with him, but it was a total lost cause.  He never wants a 2 way conversation. However, at the end of my shift, when I was going up Liberty to catch my bus, he was putting his folding sign out, and I smiled and said, “Hello again”.  He just stared at me, looking confused, as though he had never seen me before. Please pray for Emil.

He is a sad case. Thanks.  Sally

The second shift was managed by our dear shift manager Barbara (who along with her husband Richard has been at the vigil for at least 10 hours this week!)  Dear Barbara took the following photos and wrote this beautiful reflection:

Wonderful witnesses from Holy Sepulcher!

“Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins?  Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God.  Even the hairs of your head have all been counted.  Do not be afraid.  You are worth more than many sparrows.” Luke 12: 6-7.

Pittsburgh generously gave us 50 degrees today.  We enjoyed it.  Joining us in prayer for Day 31 were parishioners from Holy Sepulcher Church; Barbara, Jackie, Deb, George, Gretchen, Bob and Colleen.  Our numbers were rounded out by some hardy regulars; Bill, Rick, Tony and Richard.

We have become part of ordinary time at the corner of Smithfield and Liberty. People passed by, many blessing us for our efforts.  Staff went in and out of Planned Parenthood. Young people, in spite our efforts, went in for birth control, pregnancy tests, and reasons they didn’t care to share with us.  We were ready to help.

Are we wasting our time?  Does it matter that we bundle up, stand downtown and join each other in prayer to end abortion?  Does it matter that so many of our brothers and sisters believe that abortion is an authentic solution?  Does it matter that since the USA legalized abortion in January, 1973, 56,020,286 abortions have been done in the United States?

It matters to the 12 people who stood vigil today because it matters to our Beloved Father. Mother Teresa said, “God doesn’t require us to succeed, he only requires that we try.”

God loves each of His children.  He counts the hairs on our head like a parent brushing the hair of a child.  We are His.  He tells to love each other.  We are trying to share God’s love with all the people at the corner of Liberty and Smithfield; and their brothers and sisters and their brothers and sisters – everyone – to the total sum of God’s people.  There are no extra people.

Barbara Lewis, Shift Manager

The third shift was managed by Pat from 3-5pm.  He took the following photos and wrote about his time tonight:

Earl from Peter’s Creek Baptist Church and Rev. Bryan from Christ Church Ministries

Just this past Tuesday I attended one of the 40 Days for Life planning meetings.  One of the things we discussed was how important it was for shift managers to calmly manage those situations which occur from time to time when those who pass us by and are looking for a little conflict with us.  Today, I felt good about my not reacting in the slightest to the man who, after giving me a scornful look, intentionally spit about a foot away from where my feet were planted.   But I don’t feel so good about how I handled another situation.

There’s a black gentleman (he’s about 35 years of age) who has baited me three or four times before into an argument about why we only have black babies on our signs.  Once again I fell into the trap of trying to reason with a person I knew to be unreasonable.  As he and I were engaged in our “discussion” a woman passing by overheard our argument (which didn’t get to the point of being “heated,” but was clearly an argument) and joined in.  Although she was trying to help me out, she became more and more upset with the man and her adult son had to pull her away.  Hopefully the next time I see him God will give me a little reminder to just smile at him and walk away.

Pat

I (Nikki) managed the 5-7pm shift and had the blessing to stand and pray with the wonderful Cahill family and watch as Rev. Bryan witnessed to so many passers-by with his gentle and loving manner.  Here are some photos:

Nikki’s husband Joe, with the Cahill family and Jim who stopped on his way home from work

Rev. Bryan engages a woman on the sidewalk while Earl and Bill stand nearby

It was definitely a blessing to not freeze today!  Thanks to all of you who are continueing to pray and fast and witness for life!  Let’s keep it up for this last week!

Your sister in Christ,

Nikki