Years ago I read a book entitled “Golf is not a game of perfect”. It described the unexpected things that happen while playing golf: The ball doesn’t always bounce or roll the way we want, or Golfers don’t always swing the club the right way. Yet the overall outcome of the game is based on how we react to the bad things that happen, how we control our emotions, accept that we are not perfect, stay focused on the goal and play on.
The same holds true for our efforts outside pp. Things don’t always go our way. It’s easy to get discouraged when those approaching the mill don’t accept any of our literature or want to engage in conversation and then proceed inside. We can second guess what we said or did. Yet we cannot despair nor become despondent but with great confidence, we must submit ourselves to HIS holy will. (Sound familiar?) We must persevere. God will hear our prayers and transform our efforts and presence into His efforts and presence and will let HIS grace flow through us to those whom we come in contact with. We just need to show up and let God work through us. Those we encounter have the free will choice to ignore us, but we must be there to give them the choice.
You don’t have to be perfect, just show up. So put on your joyful, loving smile and show up downtown during our campaign. Ideally we’d like you to sign up but if you don’t want to, just show up and courageously ask and bring a friend, student or family member. GBY Tim
Keep reading for today’s sidewalk stories…
Joe
Joe and Nikki began day 13 on a frigid morning…23 degrees.
Luckily, no one entering PP except for workers. (Nikki)
Elsie
Joe W and Nikki had everything beautifully set up well before I arrived. For the next two hours things seemed pleasantly uneventful on the cold sidewalk, with no victims entering the killing center, thanks be to God. Joe silently prayed the Rosary for all endangered babies and their parents. I handed out educational leaflets to passers-by. Bernie arrived at 10 to continue offering Rosary prayers. Mike and Marie arrived early for the 11AM shift. (Elsie)
Mike & Marie
Appears no abortions were being performed. Good responses by 90% of people. Only one ‘F Bomb’ so missed my goal of two per shift! (Mike)
Elsie & Tom
It was a pretty quiet day today in front of PP, evidently no ” customers” were scheduled but the staff was there. We saw several of them leave the facility… The cool weather kept for traffic down, but we had several very positive interactions to note – first, a young lady (Deanna) approached us and asked if she could pray over us and our effort, of course we said yes. Evidently she is a new mom and is also a Christian but not Catholic, so her prayer was a heartfelt blessing for our efforts to end abortion and also for Elsie and myself. Next, just as we started to pray a rosary, Michael stopped to listen to our prayer and then he started for a while to tell us his story… He has a 5 year old granddaughter who is the apple of his eye, and Michael told us how he and his fiancee had to fight and convince the mom to not get an abortion. Long story short, she is now his sweetheart as she learns to read, spell her name, and otherwise make Grandpap and Grandma happy! I think Michael stopping to share that was a direct result of us starting to pray a simple but powerful rosary!! Amen for that, and here’s hoping the weather gets a little warmer as we continue prayer and intercedents just ‘outside the yellow line.’ (Tom)
There were no victims seen entering the killing center during this shift, other than a lady who perhaps thought it was open for its grisly business. When Tom started a gentle, audible Rosary, a male passerby stopped and joined us in a prayer or two before commending us for being there and sharing some of his own life-story with us. M and his wife had spoken
up strongly in defense of an unborn granddaughter who is now five years old and their delight! He was on his way to meet up with the little one and her dad, to take them out for a meal together.
Before he parted from us, M accepted a Blessing Bag to give to a pregnant mom whom he knows needs help. He had already given her one of our Yellow Cards a few weeks ago but hasn’t seen her since. Please pray that God will give him the opportunity to talk with her again and offer her the Blessing Bag!!
Jeff and Nikki both arrived early for the last shift. (Elsie)
Jeff
It was Jeff and I during a very quiet Monday afternoon. No people entering or exiting. It was a good chance to get some quiet prayer time in. (Nikki)
https://blog.equalrightsinstitute.com/the-abortion-clinic-escort-who-defended-me/
If you’re a sidewalk counselor, consider how you try to start a conversation with the people entering the facility. Are you acting in a way that would make someone turn to one of the clinic escorts for protection? No one is going to listen to what you have to say if they don’t feel safe coming near you.
And if you’re sidewalk counseling outside an abortion facility with clinic escorts, then interacting with them will probably become a part of your outreach efforts. It’s understandable that some pro-lifers may feel frustrated when a clinic escort prevents them from sharing information with an abortion-minded woman. But how does it make pro-lifers look if we antagonize clinic escorts by calling them “deathscorts,” or scream at them that they’re terrible people? It’s extremely counterproductive—in order to show women that they can turn to us for help instead of the clinic, we have to show that we are peaceful and approachable.
And it’s also just plain wrong to antagonize people.
Yes, I know some clinic escorts are not exactly kind to pro-lifers, and I’ve experienced that myself. I also know some pro-lifers have encountered clinic escorts who became threatening and physically violent, and you should absolutely call the police if that happens.
I’m not saying pro-lifers should just be silent if a clinic escort is behaving rudely or aggressively. I am saying we should keep a few things in mind when we’re deciding how to respond:
Does your response embody the peaceful and loving approach you’re using when sidewalk counseling? If you’re quick to anger and snap back with an aggressive response, then how can you genuinely embody these traits when approaching women on the sidewalk?
And how can they expect you to? Consider how the women walking into the clinic are going to feel if you respond to a clinic escort’s taunts with yelling and name-calling. Not exactly someone you’d want to talk to, right? Remember that you don’t want to be seen as the aggressor. If you respond at all, it should be to de-escalate the tension, not add to it.
How are you behaving when a pro-life person antagonizes the clinic escorts? Even if you aren’t hostile towards them yourself, do they know that you don’t support aggressive behavior by other pro-lifers? Are you willing to speak up if another pro-lifer’s behavior is inappropriate?
We have an opportunity when we’re sidewalk counseling to show abortion-minded women and clinic escorts that the pro-life movement is about supporting non-violent solutions to the very real difficulties that women and families face. Even if they don’t change their mind about abortion right away, we can build trust by demonstrating that we’re kind people who want women to feel supported. We want them to see that there are pro-lifers who genuinely care about women and who are mindful of what they’re likely going through as they approach the abortion facility. And we don’t support violence, regardless of whether that violence threatens an unborn child or a pro-choice clinic escort.
I’m just wondering where you got the idea that we antagonize the escorts or scream at them that they’re terrible people?? Many people do this to us, but I’ve never witnessed it from our side in my 10 years on the sidewalk
https://equalrightsinstitute.teachable.com/p/sidewalk-counseling
Thanks to all witnesses for your reports on this chilly day today. Not easy standing vigil for hours in the cold. Very grateful to God for a quiet day for you and some good encounters. A blessing on your efforts to save the precious lives of our pre-born brethren.