Kick-Off Rally, Sunday September 20

Here is 40 Days Co-ordinator Wanda Hartlin's account about the Kick-Off rally held last night on Sept. 20th.

The Ottawa 40 Days for Life had a good start with the kick-off rally, on the Sunday preceding the 2015 Fall campaign. The evening began with candle lighting as Paul, a staff member of Campaign Life Coalition, welcomed over 80 people to the 9th Ottawa, 40 Days for Life.

Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Ottawa, greeted everyone with some words of encouragement in both English and French. Archbishop Prendergast has been a steady supporter of the prayer campaign, often attending the downtown vigil to pray alongside the prayer warriors. His talk was followed by two minutes of silence in commemoration of the aborted babies.

Gary broke the silence with a moving rendition of the song, Alleluia. Deacon Chuck followed by explaining the new direction that the Proclamation of the Word is taking; it will be concentrating this year more on the New Testament. He also explained a new on-line prayer project to pray for the success of the 40-day campaign. Bernard welcomed our French counterparts with his bilingual talk and he went on to tell us about the bilingual Facebook page and blog. Helena answered questions about the church and group vigil days and encouraged everyone to register their participation on the vigil calendar.

Wanda wrapped it up with some local statistics and updates on the campaign, concluding with a heart wrenching story about a woman named Cliona. This young mother had the challenge of carrying a child, diagnosed with anencephaly. This is a fatal disease, and although it was recommended that she abort her baby, she chose to complete her pregnancy and give birth to her child. He was named John Paul and he lived for 17 minutes after birth. Cliona told about the impact his young life on her and on her family.

Everyone is invited to join the prayer warriors at the Bank Street vigil, located across from Ottawa’s main abortion facility at 65 Bank Street. We are gathering for prayer, daily from 7 am to 7 pm, from Sept. 23 to Nov. 1, 2015. Please come, your prayers make a difference.

Proclamation of the Word Daily scripture reading that takes place from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. Volunteers are welcomed. To sign up contact Deacon Chuck, deaconcfink@gmail.com

on-line prayer Prayer support for the 40 Days for Life campaign. People gather on-line for half an hour. To participate contact Deacon Chuck, deaconcfink@gmail.com

Dates include: October 15 and October 29 at 9:00 pm

Facebook www.facebook.com/40days4lifeottawa