Church and Life

Church news:
Well, last night was great. The Rite went well, and we had more time than we thought before jetting off to the sleep study.
I had a nice conversation with another sponsor, Claire about the parish in Soddy Daisy. After the Rite, at the reception, we got to see Darlene who went through RCIA with us! She is managing the Ladies of Charity Thrift Store downtown. Saturday morning Matthew and I are going to go check it out.. they need volunteers.
We have also decided to get back into helping the library. I was on a hiatus after my back surgery, but I feel like I could move boxes of books around all day now!

East Tennessee to take part in ‘40 Days for Life’ campaign
Taking as their theme the transformation experienced by Noah, Moses, Jesus, and his disciples over a 40-day span, Christians across the country are uniting to dedicate themselves to “40 Days for Life.”

The Coalition for Life, based in Bryan, Texas, launched the first 40 Days for Life campaign in 2004, relying on prayer, fasting, constant vigil outside a local Planned Parenthood clinic, and community outreach to end abortion. Those who couldn't be present at the clinic could pray at home, with the aid of daily e-mails.

“It was the longest continuous prayer vigil in front of an abortion business,” said Coalition for Life’s executive director, Shawn Carney, quoted in a recent article published by National Catholic Register. “As a result, abortions dropped by 28 percent locally.”

Planned Parenthood has been the focus of the prayer vigils because it is the single largest U.S. provider of abortion. According to the 40 Days for Life 2007 campaign overview (available as a pdf download from 40daysforlife.com), Planned Parenthood reported in June “that it raked in record amounts of taxpayer funding in the last year—over $305,000,000—forcing you and all people of faith and conscience to underwrite the organization which aborts a quarter million children every year.”

Since 2004 a number of other cities have undertaken the effort, and the Knoxville area will participate in the campaign scheduled for Sept. 26 through Nov. 4 this fall.

For more information on 40 Days for Life efforts in the Diocese of Knoxville, call Paul Simoneau, director of the diocesan Office of Justice and Peace, at 865-584-3307. To sign up for e-mailed updates, visit 40daysforlife.com.