Prayer

Sharing Pro-Life Ideas Listed below are just some of the 2008-2009 projects completed by parishes in our Diocese. Prayer  Holy Hour for Life once a week.  Lenten Rosary for Life: Sign up on a Lenten calendar to pray the rosary each day during Lent.  Spiritual Adoption of unborn children with updates educating people about their baby’s development and a baby shower when the babies are due. Donate all items to a local crisis pregnancy center.  All night prayer vigil for death row inmate scheduled for execution.  Introduce a daily rosary before Masses with intentions for furthering respect for all life.  During Lent, hold a pro-life stations of the cross.  Always include pro-life Mass intentions. (See the USCCB website for a list.)  After Mass, have the priest lead the following prayers before he processes out: the election prayer (during election time); the conversion prayer (contact Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Kansas City, MO); and the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel.  Hold a special Adoration and Benediction on a certain day of the week to pray for the conversion of the world.  Encourage a special time of Adoration, and/or prayer and sacrifice during specified times when critical life decisions are being made locally, nationally, or internationally. Public Policy  Encourage parishioner’s attendance with diocesan pilgrimage to the March for Life in Washington D.C.  Participate in FOCA postcard campaign including education of parishioners on the issues.  Encourage all parishioners to participate in petitions and emailing, and calling elected officials by staying informed on current events and updating parishioners.  Plan a carpool to the statehouse for those in your parish who cannot attend the annual March for Life in Washington D.C.  Hold a Voter’s Registration day.  Attend Missouri Catholic Conference Annual Assembly in Jefferson City.  Create an election display in the vestibule of your church educating parishioners about intrinsically evil topics and where candidates stand.  Have a pro-life float in your local parade. Education  Schedule educational talks and/or study groups by respected and well-informed experts on life issues.  Schedule a Project Rachel speaker who can provide a personal testimony to the devastating effects of abortion.  Host a booth at a Parish “Ministry Fair,” encouraging people to become part of a parish pro-life committee.  Keep informed on upcoming events within the area and promote within your parish (Showing of “Thine Eyes,” etc.—Keep informed with Respect Life Office newsletters and “calendar” section on website.)  Have parish movie nights, showing DVD’s such as “The Terri Schiavo Story.”  Promote attendance at the Gospel of Life Convention  Start a High School Truth Illuminated group. (See www.respectlifemissouri.org for more information.)  Provide a constant supply of pro-life literature in the vestibule of your church.  Begin a “Right Start” program for Junior High kids in your parish.  Promote the Priests for Life website.         Include educational information in weekly bulletin announcements. Display crosses on the parish lawn to educate people about the number of babies killed in surgical abortions. Hold an informational session on the true motives of Planned Parenthood. Host a speaker to educate parishioners about Natural Family Planning. Start a Pro-Life library at your Parish and include books and DVD’s on Theology of the Body, abortion, stem cell research, cloning, euthanasia, adoption, church doctrine, papal encyclicals, saints, eugenics, the history of Planned Parenthood, etc. Encourage parishioners to join pro-life email newsletters such as The Susan B. Anthony List, Missouri Right to Life, etc. Encourage parishioners to listen to Catholic Radio (1090 AM). Facilitate presentations on abstinence and other Theology of the Body topics for teens. Pastoral Care/Outreach  Begin a schedule for parishioners to carpool and pray outside of Planned Parenthood Clinics on specific days of the week. Contact the Respect Life Office or Jennifer Gordon (with LifeFront) to plan a schedule.  Visit a rehab center, hospice, or nursing home for the elderly, offering communion service, praying the rosary, etc.  Collect baby items for local crisis pregnancy centers.  Support fundraisers and banquets put on by crisis pregnancy centers.  Hold a “Baby Bottle Drive,” collecting cash for crisis pregnancy centers.  Hold a diaper drive for crisis pregnancy centers.  Take part in the annual Life Chain during October (Respect Life Month).  Have a “giving tree” at Christmas for baby items for crisis pregnancy centers.  Hold a “jeans day” at school or work for a small fee and donate proceeds to a local crisis pregnancy center.  Hang a large pro-life banner outside of the church during Respect Life Month.  Hold a taco dinner, spaghetti supper, etc., including a showing of the March For Life Documentary “Thine Eyes” to raise scholarship funds to send parishioners on the diocesan pilgrimage trip to Washington D.C.  Hold a “Baby Shower for Jesus.” Set up a baby crib and encourage people to donate gifts to fill the crib and donate items to a crisis pregnancy center.  Designate your parish as a “Gabriel Project” parish—helping women in crisis at the parish level. (see http://www.diogh.org/RespectLife/gabrielproject.htm)  Hold a Mother’s Day baby shower.  Sponsor a “Pennies for Life” ongoing campaign to help crisis pregnancy centers.  Begin a 40 Days for Life Campaign in Kansas City.  Encourage participation in the Legion of Mary, a Catholic organization of prayer and service that visits parishioners, provides religious education, and organizes community services such as prison ministry.  Provide Project Rachel post-abortion counseling and healing contact information with brochures. (Contact the Respect Life Office for brochures.)  Encourage men’s groups such as “That Man is You,” a Catholic men’s group focused on the roles and responsibilities of Catholic fathers, brothers, uncles, etc.  Encourage parishioners to join groups such as Missouri Right to Life and Knights of Columbus.  Sponsor a pro-life billboard in town. Special thanks to all parish coordinators who submitted their ideas and to Sasha Bredeman & Larissa Nordhus for compiling them.