I’d like to leave you with a reflection from a 40 Days volunteer who wished to remain anonymous:

“Why do I go out to pray in front of Planned Parenthood? What is the Victory I am seeking? What is the Change I am seeking?”

God loves our freedom more than anything. God loves US. He loves our heart — which can choose life — or death. There will be times when we WILL choose the path of death. And sometimes this death leads to the real death of someone, or we make choices that over time eventually mean our own death. God loves our freedom so much, that He lets Hell be an option.

So, in approaching others, we must be very, very careful to honor a person’s freedom as much as God does. In the case of the work of 40 Days for Life, that does not mean honoring the legality of a woman to have an abortion. But it does mean that we should have profound respect for the reality of the human heart, and for God’s mercy. Because what we an honoring is the love of God.
What we need to put our hope in — isn’t Zion, a good culture, or a good country. What we put our hope in is a good Christ.

We are beggars for love. That is the beauty of the movement of 40 Days for me. We stand in the cold, mostly empty-handed, without right argument, because we stand in solidarity with Christ, and we are beggars for God’s love.

The date has been set! The finale rally is this Thursday, November 5th at 7:00 pm at St. Mark’s Catholic church in Shoreline. It will be in the cafeteria this time, and will be potluck-style. In traditional potluck tradition, people with last names A-L please bring appetizers and non-alcoholic drinks, and M-Z bring desserts.

The address is: 18033 15th Pl. N.E. Seattle, WA 98155. This is a celebration to mark the end of another successful campaign in the Seattle area. We will have announcements, prayer, and stories from vigil participants of things that touched them when they were at this site this year. If you have such a story that you’d like to share with everyone, please email it to me (monicaoberlin@gmail.com) and we will add you to the program.

We will also be talking about a follow-up group that will meet throughout the year. Follow-up is not always something that gets emphasized as people are usually tired by the end of 40 Days. The reality is that the unborn are killed throughout the year and we cannot afford to lessen or cease our efforts as long as abortion is legal in this country. We will have a sign up for an email list at the rally, but if you are interested and cannot make it, please feel free to email me personally.

Peace,
Monica Oberlin
Seattle 40 Days Coordinator

We’re on the home stretch! We had a really good turnout for our midway event - more than 50 people showed up to pray and sing, despite the downpour. Fr. Raphael Mary gave a very inspiring impromptu talk on how abortion should be unacceptable to everyone, not just Christians, and we had quite a few honks and waves from passers-by.

Most importantly, there seemed to be a lot less traffic in and out of the parking lot: most likely some women changed their minds from our presence that day!!

With this in mind, now is the time to sign up for those hours I know you’ve been thinking about taking or have already been out there for and just never signed up officially.

We have some gaps Tuesday in the afternoon/evening.

Bring someone out who’s never been before! Bring your whole family after church! Bring a friend, spouse, priest, pastor, etc. Trust me, they will thank you for inviting them. I’ve had it happen to me multiple times. We can and are changing people’s minds and hearts. Remember, if God is with us, who can be against us?

In Him,
Monica Oberlin
Seattle 40 Days for Life Campaign Coordinator

P.S. Stay tuned for an update on our Finale Rally the week of November 1st!!!

There are lots of open hours. If you want to get a head start and reserve some hours. If you are available during the day, please consider signing up to spend some time in front of the abortion Facility.

May we all harness the energy and freedom that God has instilled in us on this day – day 39 – and be prepared for what is given to us on day 40.  It has been an amazing sight to see so many people dedicated throughout this vigil – truly giving of themselves to others in need, truly focusing on prayer and fasting, truly allowing themselves to be open to God’s Living Word, and truly giving of their time talent and treasure.  I thank you all from the core of my being, and I hope and pray that this vigil will transform you – YOU! – to God’s will of Love, in your life and the lives of others that you are called to. 

If you are able, come and pray today or tomorrow during these last hours of the vigil.  Come and pray.  May we pray for a transformation of our own hearts, our own life paths, and a transformation of our culture to that of love for life. 

I’m sure that there will be plenty of people present on Sunday night during the last hours – I can hardly wait!  (and don’t forget about Daylight Savings Time - FALL BACK an hour!!) And I hope that you ALL will come to the FINALE RALLY on MONDAY 11/3 6:30PM at ST. MARKS: 18033 15th Pl. NE, Shoreline, WA 98155.  Come and encounter others who you have been holding vigil and praying with you.  We’ll be sharing our experiences, finding out what has been going on throughout the nation (amazing awe-filled things!), and ensuring that this momentum in our hearts does not stop.  We’ll also be having a potluck, but please if you aren’t able to bring anything, or if you weren’t able to do all that much during the 40 Days for Life – come anyway!!  I mean it – discover all that has transpired through this vigil at our Finale Rally.   Thank you all!  Thank God!

• Getting up a half hour early and praying before work or school
• Having your family pray together after dinner for the unborn
• Making time to read the Bible each day
• Spiritually adopting an unborn child
• Wearing 40 Days for Life shirts, sweaters, bracelets to invoke conversations
• Going to a church for a little bit of time each day to pray in solitude
• Fasting from a certain food or entertainment
• Praying a specific form of prayer each day (Bible passage, Stations of the Cross, rosary, chaplet, lectio divina, liturgy of the hours)
• Supporting the other pro-life activities going on this month

These are continued ways, outside the vigil, to show our commitment and dedication during these 40 days.  These are also ways of simply keeping in mind, throughout the day, the unborn and their utter dependence on our Heavenly Father.  Finally, these are ways to show our total desire for the heart of Christ to transform our culture through ourselves. 

David Bereit, the National Campaign Director of 40 Days for Life, will be speaking and praying at the Seattle Vigil Site this Wednesday, 10/1 at 8PM.  I know it’s last minute, but don’t miss out!  David is an excellent speaker, a motivated follower of Christ, the founder of 40 Days for Life, and a family man.  He and his family will join us in unity and love and witness at our vigil site, at the Planned Parenthood on 45th and 9th, for a memorable evening from 8 to 9PM.  I’ve attached his biography at bottom, but I know from personal experience that no bio could ever adequately describe this man.  I was attending Texas A&M in Fall 2004 when David led the first 40 Days for Life, and I also personally knew him and his family from our church.  And all I have to say is that he is convicted, his desire is intense, and his love is always present.  He is my brother in Christ and I’ll never let him forget how instrumental he has been in helping me experience the great need in our culture for a sincere and devout love of life.  His family will be joining him so it should be a blast!  He is also the person writing the daily devotional emails - if you don’t receive those and would like to then note that you can sign up for them on the national 40 Days website or read them on the national website’s blog.

Peace in Christ,

Chris Haag

DAVID BEREIT - BIOGRAPHY
40 Days for Life National Campaign Director
David became an outspoken pro-life advocate after Planned Parenthood announced plans to build an abortion clinic in his Texas town in 1998. He helped to start and build a local grassroots coalition that rallied 60 churches and thousands of people together and dramatically reduced abortions in the region. Planned Parenthood recognized the effectiveness of David’s efforts when it labeled his town “the most anti-choice place in the nation.” David led the first-ever 40 Days for Life campaign in College Station, Texas.

David moved to the Washington, D.C. area in 2005 where he served as executive director of American Life League and national director of Stop Planned Parenthood until being asked to lead the national 40 Days for Life campaign. His pro-life work has been featured in the media hundreds of times, including coverage on Fox News, HBO, ABC, NBC and CBS television stations, numerous radio programs, and in over 100 newspapers across the country including USA Today, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times.