40 DAYS FOR
Jude Charmak tells us about her experience with this Pro-life campaign.
THE CAMPAIGN
I’ve always thought of myself as Pro-Life, I believe that human life is a gift from God and should be protected from the moment of conception until its natural end. Each human life is unique and unrepeatable. Looking at the differences between siblings from the same two parents can help you to understand that there is only one of each person. I first got involved in 40 Days for Life because I thought it was the best way for me to become more active in the Pro-Life movement. I’d given money to Life Charity, but never really done anything practical. So when I saw the poster for the first campaign in my Diocese I really wanted to go along. It sounded so simple; based around prayer and fasting, community outreach and a peaceful prayer vigil outside an abortion facility and it seemed like something that I could do.
I VOLUNTEERED
But other things got in the way and I kept thinking “I’ll go next week”, and before I knew it the forty days were over. At least I had managed to sign up for emails, and over the summer, an email was sent out from a priest who had been helping with the campaign, appealing for people to help organise and run the next one in the autumn. So I thought, and prayed about it and decided that if I was helping to organise it, I’d make more of an effort to attend the prayer vigil. So one morning, while on the bus, I replied to the email and volunteered to help out in whatever way I could. I must admit it was one of the scariest and best things I’ve ever done.
HELPING OUT
There were five of us helping to arrange the Autumn campaign, and at times it was really difficult but through much prayer and hard work, we did it. I thought it was a really good idea for me to start as I meant to go on, and volunteered for the first few hours on the first day of the vigil. I had never been to the area before, I didn’t know the person who would be there with me and I was a quite nervous all the way there on the bus, hoping that everything would be ok. It went really well, the volunteers were very friendly and really grateful that I had been able to join them. Some of the people I already knew and some were new friends that I made.
MIXED REACTIONS
Over the forty days we had some mixed reactions to our prayer vigil. Abortion is a very divisive issue and it has hurt a lot of people. Many people do not see the harm it can cause and believe that it is as simple as going to the dentist to have a tooth out. In reality, from the moment of conception a new life is created with completely unique DNA. This means that an abortion takes away a life and forces a woman to go against her instincts to protect her child, although she may not realise this at the time.
AN ALTERNATIVE FOR WOMEN
Women may have an abortion for different reasons. They may feel they wouldn’t be able to cope or they could feel pressured by the baby’s father or their parents. One of the reasons it is so important to be present outside the facility, is to have an opportunity to show these women that there is another way and that someone cares about them and their baby. We had made some links with the local Life charity group and could give information on free counselling and any practical help the charity could provide. We also had information about counselling for people who were struggling to cope after an abortion. The main thing I realised from the experience was that alone we can do nothing but with God anything is possible. He inspired us all to be His hands in the world, working to make His love visible to everyone. It wasn’t always easy but things that are worth doing usually aren’t.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Not everyone feels that they can be a part of a public prayer vigil and that’s ok. There are many things that people can do to help in the Pro-Life movement, including raising money for Life charity that works to provide practical help and support, getting involved with SPUC (Society for the Protection of Unborn Children) who have more to do with politics and raising awareness of Pro-Life issues. Attending your local March for Life (in the UK this is in Birmingham), helping counselling charities like The Good Counsel Network or Rachel’s Vineyard but most of all by praying. Pray for the unborn and aborted children but also pray for their parents and families. Also pray for the people who work in abortion facilities, pray for people who are working to defend life from conception to natural death, pray for our lawmakers and pray for the courage to speak out for all those without a voice.
