Thursday 25 October 2012

Praying for an end to abortion

Today we have our first blog post by group member Chris (but due to technical issues it has my name at the bottom!!!)

40 Days For Life is an international campaign that, usually, runs twice a year and hold a peaceful vigil of prayer opposite the headquarters of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) in Bedord Square, London. Katherine and I went there on Sunday to show our support and also to see if it was something that the Parish might like to support in the future.
The vigil at the corner of Bedford Square, as you can see it
remained well attended after we retreated to find coffee!

We were booked into the 1pm to 2pm slot and arrived, much to our astonishment, at exactly the right time. We found three people at the vigil and in front of them were three boards, showing what the vigil was for and also a large sign with a passage from the Bible on it. The people were very welcoming and pleased to see us, especially the two Polish ladies, who had been standing there for two hours and we're rather cold! We took their place and had a chat with the man, Martin (who we assumed was one of the co-ordinators of the vigil), who was there.

He said that the Polish community had been very supportive of the vigil. He said that there was another vigil up the road and, between them, they had already saved 35 babies from being aborted. The other week, a Pro Choice group set up near them and began shouting abuse. A lady who works nearby came over to the Pro Life group and said that, although she didn't necessarily share their views, she was disgusted by the other group's behaviour. While we were there, only one person said a negative comment as he passed by. Most people looked and were respectful.

While we were there, we prayed as a group which was a beautiful and moving experience in itself as none of us knew each other but we had all been called there by our love for God and our neighbour. There was a blue book with various Scripture passages and prayers in it which we took turns to read aloud, we also said the Rosary. 

After an hour, we said our goodbyes and the man said that they'd be delighted if members from our Parish would be able to come to next year's vigil. Before heading home we stopped to light a couple of candles at the ever spectacular Westminster Cathedral. I'm really glad I went and I know Katherine feels the same. Please, please continue to pray for all those facing crisis pregnancies and for those helping with the vigil.

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