Received a call earlier today from the sidewalk. A sidewalk counselor visiting from out of town was able to reach out to a young mother and father who were considering abortion. She was able to send them over to the Women’s Care Center and they reported back that they chose LIFE for their baby! Please keep them all in your prayers!
Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever!
40 Days for Life Closing Prayer Vigil with Eucharistic Procession
One week to go for this year’s 40 Days for Life campaign! Thus far in this campaign (that is happening simultaneously in 375 cities in 25 different countries) there have been a reported 366 babies lives saved from abortion. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! While we have not heard of any direct saves in our Madison campaign, our witness during this 40 Days for Life campaign has sent numerous young mothers over to the Women’s Care Center where we know more young mothers choose life for their babies than not!
Monday, 10/30 – 1 needed at 2a; 1 needed at 3a; 1 needed at 4a; 1 needed at 7a; 1 needed at 6p; 1 needed at 7p; 1 needed at 8p and 2 needed at 9p.
The main motivation for sidewalk counseling is concern for the woman facing a problem pregnancy and her unborn child. But this ministry is also about confronting the reality of abortion—not as a philosophical concern but as a real human tragedy taking place today. When one stands in front of an abortion clinic and watches a real woman walk inside to pay an abortionist to kill the baby living and growing inside her, the issue is no longer philosophical. Those who witness this recurring scene at an abortion facility cannot help but recommit themselves to the task of trying to save lives. – Pro Life Action League
Sunday, Oct. 22 – 1 needed at 3a; 1 needed at 5p; 1 needed at 6p; 1 needed at 7p and 1 needed at 11p.
Jan has been with Vigil for Life for almost 2 months now. Vigil for Life is thrilled to announce her as our first Executive Director. You may have heard from Jan as she is charged with outreach and fills in as a vigil captain. Please welcome Jan Hess!
Below is the official announcement/press release of her hiring:
Vigil for Life of Madison, Pro-Life Wisconsin’s Dane County affiliate, plans to greatly expand the peaceful, prayerful presence in front of Madison’s only abortion center by hiring a new, part-time executive director. “With this executive director in place, we expect to see more prayer volunteers on the sidewalk and, therefore, more women finding alternatives to abortion,” said Gwen Finnegan, Vigil for Life’s Volunteer Director. “This is our way of defunding Planned Parenthood, depriving it of the abortion income, and truly helping women facing crisis pregnancies.”
Since 2011, Vigil for Life has scheduled for peaceful, prayerful volunteers to be present in front of the Planned Parenthood abortion facility on Orin Road on Madison’s east side. For more than a year, this location has only offered abortions; no other services are provided. Volunteers pray for an end to abortion 30 hours per week. With this new executive director position in place, Vigil for Life has set a goal of expanding the volunteer presence to cover every hour that Planned Parenthood is open.
Peer-reviewed research shows that nearly 80% of women who have had abortions indicated that they were not informed of alternatives to abortion. “Knowing their options other than abortion may very well have led these women away from abortion. Our prayer volunteers are able to offer real alternatives to these women in crisis pregnancies, but we must be present on the sidewalk at the time a woman walks into Planned Parenthood if we want to help her,” explained Finnegan.
The new executive director, Jan Hess, will build Vigil for Life’s network of prayer volunteers by reaching out to pro-lifeand church groups all over southern Wisconsin. Hess brings to the table her professional experience –a master’s degree in Education and 33 years of service in the public school system—and decades of involvement in the pro-lifemovement from fundraising for pregnancy help centers to assisting with retreats for post-abortive women seeking healing.
But, it is Jan Hess’s own brush with abortion that motivates her in this new position. When a prenatal screening revealed that her third child would have spina bifida, Hess and her husband Mike were advised by their doctor and strongly pressured by close friends to have an abortion. Yet, they chose life, and Hess gave birth to a very healthy baby boy with only minor medical issues. Jan Hess said, “Abortion is a choice that is often made when a young mother and father feel that is their only option. As a community and culture, we need to surround these young parents with support and give them alternative choices to abortion if they are unable to care for their child. We need them to hear the message that we are here for them as a community…”
With this new executive director position, Vigil for Life will be sending out that supportive message to more young women and men and defunding Planned Parenthood one lost abortion sale at a time. “The ultimate goal to close the abortion facility here in Madison,” stated Hess.
On Friday, Oct. 6th, a man and woman came out of the Women’s Care Center with their baby. They approached our sidewalk counselors on the sidewalk outside of Planned Parenthood to say, “Thank you.” This couple had been contemplating abortion however were directed over to the Women’s Care Center by one of our sidewalk counselors and chose life for their baby who is now 6 months old. All glory to God!
Join us on Tuesday, Oct. 17th at 7:15 p.m. for our 40 Days for Life mid-point candlelight prayer vigil. We will be lead in prayer by Fr. John Sasse, pastor of St. Christopher Parish in Verona/Paoli. We will come together in prayer to share stories and encourage one another to finish strong as we pray for an end to abortion in Madison and the surrounding area.
Please open the link for Peter Weinkotz’s obituary. In this life, Peter was a very kind man who spent many years witnessing for life in Madison. He is missed! Eternal rest grant unto Peter, O Lord. May perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
40 Days for Life in Raleigh, North Carolina – “Prayer works!” said Eileen in Raleigh. And keep praying, because Saturdays are usually one of the busiest days of the week at the abortion facility there. However, she said, this past Saturday was slow. “One car drove up and then drove off. Then another couple went into the clinic and came back out!” Mothers having second thoughts? The Raleigh volunteers don’t know for sure … but they’re certainly hoping and praying that is the case. “Remember that 40 Days for life is occurring all over the world,” Eileen said, “so every second of every minute of every hour of every day, there are hundreds, sometimes thousands of prayer warriors out there calling on God’s grace and mercy to change hearts and minds. “While you or I may not think being there is making a difference,” she added, “God never lets prayer go to waste!”
OPEN HOURS
Dear Friends of Vigil for Life –
OPEN HOURS
Baby Silas at 2 mos. old.
