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The primary goal of the Respect Life Program is
to create and sustain respect for human life at
every stage of its existence and in every
situation. We are working for the establishment
of a Respect Life Committee in every parish in
the Archdiocese, and to offer support, resources
and networking opportunities for those
committees. Of course, a Respect Life
Committee will need approval by their pastor
before initiating any activities for their
parish.
If you would like to receive pro-life
updates via e-mail or would like
to become a Respect Life Coordinator in
your Parish (WE NEED YOUR HELP!),click
here.
Parish
Respect Life Activities
The primary goal of the Respect
Life Program is to create and sustain respect
for human life at every stage of its existence
and in every situation. We are working for the
establishment of a Respect Life Committee in
every parish in the Archdiocese, and to offer
support, resources and networking opportunities
for those committees. Of course, a Respect
Life Committee will need approval by their
pastor before initiating any activities for
their parish.
Our office periodically sends to
the parishes, through the Pastor or Respect
Life Coordinator, information and resources for
supporting or conducting various pro-life
activities. If you would like to receive
these emails, please click
here.
As set forth in the
Bishops' Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities,
there are four areas of the pro-life program:
Education,
Pastoral
Assistance,
Public Policy
Advocacy, &
Prayer and
Worship.
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Education
Here are some ideas you can use
for parish-based pro-life educational
activities, to raise people's awareness of the
dignity of human life:
- Promote High School
Leadership Day and other youth Respect Life
retreats
- Initiate the Spiritual
Adoption Program in your parish, youth
group. Click
here
for more information.
- Donate Respect Life
material/books to your school library.
- Have a Respect Life
speaker or panel discussion on one or more
of life’s issues.
- Keep yourself informed by
reading periodicals and church documents.
- Host a Respect Life
coffeehouse.
- Increase awareness of
local crisis pregnancy centers and other
organizations that respect life. For a
list of these centers and other maternity
services, click
here.
- Invite a Chastity speaker
to your parish, to speak to parents,
religious education and youth groups. (You
can contact the Respect Life Office for
ideas for speakers)
- Donate materials and
speakers to a school.
- Wear a pro-life symbol
such as a rose or precious feet pin.
- Set up a literature table
or bulletin board near an entrance to your
parish containing literature on life’s
issues.
- Distribute church
documents, and Bishops’ statements.
- Publish bulletin
announcements with Respect Life facts.
- Place an advertisement or
letter to the editor in the local newspaper.
- Hold a Mother’s Day
Rose/Flower sale.
- Help organize and promote
Family and
Marriage
Enrichment Programs and retreats.
- Insert flyers in your
parish bulletin.
- Dedicate a memorial or
shrine to the unborn in your parish.
- Include Respect Life
materials in materials for new parishioners.
- Co-host an essay contest
with your parish school.
- Sponsor a child
development display at parish events.
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Pastoral Assistance
As a Church, we are also called to serve the
Gospel of Life through pastoral programs.
Providing pastoral care to those in need is
a primary way that the Church expresses its
love for all God's children.
Here are some ideas:
- Familiarize yourself
and your parish with Post Abortion
Syndrome and the Entering Canaan
Post-Abortion Healing Program, and
promote these healing retreats.
Click
here for
more information.
- Sponsor an Advent
Tree/Giving Tree, and collect gifts for
a local pregnancy center or for persons
in assisted living situations.
- Host a Baby Shower -
At any time, you may wrap presents for
unborn babies and donate these gifts to
a crisis pregnancy center or other
agency.
- Have a Respect Life
Christmas card sale.
- Volunteer at a Food
Pantry or hold Food Collections for the
needy.
- Provide
transportation for persons with special
needs and/or companionship to those who
are homebound.
- Recruit volunteers
for a local crisis pregnancy center.
- Host a flea market,
breakfast or spaghetti dinner to benefit
a respect life cause.
- Co-host a walk/run
for life to support a local crisis
pregnancy center or assisted living
home.
- Assist or donate to a
shelter for persons living with AIDS.
- Host an awareness day
for persons with disabilities.
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Public
Policy Advocacy
Advocacy for change in
our law is also an integral part of a
parish's pro-life mission. Here
are some suggestions:
- Promote and join
the
Catholic Advocacy Network, which
uses the internet and email to
mobilize the faithful on crucial
issues.
- Conduct letter
writing campaigns or petition drives
in response to public policy issues.
- Have a list of
e-mail addresses and phone numbers
of persons who are interested in
participating in advocacy efforts.
- Sponsor a voter
registration drive in the parish,
school or community.
- Encourage
everyone 18 years of age to become
informed about Respect Life issues
and to vote.
- Write letters to
the editors of local newspapers on
pro-life issues.
- Participate in
the Annual March for Life in
Washington, D.C. Click
here for details.
For more
information about public policy
advocacy, click
here.
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Prayer and Worship
The most important
part of the pro-life cause is
spiritual activism -- celebrating
the Gospel of life in our prayer and
worship. Here are some ideas:
-
Vigil for all Nascent
(Developing) Human Life:
In 2010 Pope Benedict called for
a Vigil praying for developing
human life in the womb to
coincide with the beginning of
Advent. This vigil can continue
to be held each year on the eve
of Advent or at any time during
the Advent season. For more
information and to download
materials see
http://old.usccb.org/prolife/papalvigil/
-
Start a Cenacles of Life Group
in your parish.
The Cenacles of Life are prayer
groups that pray two rosaries
(ten mysteries) offering up
rosaries with fasting. Each
member fasts one day a week, to
end this culture of death (other
fasts permitted due to age or
health reasons). The prayer
group agrees to meet at least
once a week preferably inside a
Church, not at home. To find a
Cenacles location near you
click here. To find out
more about Cenacles of Life see
http://www.cenaclesoflife.org/
- Host a Holy
Hour for Life (click
here for a guide from the
United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops) or click here
to download the word document:
Program 1 or
Program 2.
-
Participate in
the Perpetual Rosary for Life
(click
here for a guide from the
United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops)
-
Host the National Night of Prayer For Life on December 8-9th,
bridging the feasts of the
Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8th)
and St. Juan Diego (Dec. 9th).
To download a full description
of the event, including a sample
announcement for your Church
bulletin:
bulletin announcement; For
Promotional flyers in
English
and
Spanish; For a sample
Prayer Service Booklet in
English (Spanish Booklets are
available by contacting
sr.lucy.marie@archny.org)
National Prayer For Life -
May 3rd,
2010 Archbishop Timothy Dolan launched and
introduced a new effort of the Sisters of Life
and the Knights of Columbus called the National
Prayer for Life Campaign. See here for more
info
http://www.nationalprayerforlife.org/ and
watch as this brand new website develops.
- Participate
in prayer vigils in front
abortion clinics and side-walk
counseling (Locations within the
Archdiocese)
- Initiate
Spiritual Adoption Programs
for Parish, Youth Group, or
school.
- Use pro-life
prayers, intercessions and
homilies at Mass, and include
pro-life information in your
Sunday bulletin (click
here for resources from the
United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops, updated
monthly)
- Coordinate
Liturgy/Healing service for
those who have lost a child
- Host a
Respect Life Day of Prayer
- Host Respect
Life Mass with other parishes
- Host a
Blessing of expectant mothers
- Participate
in the annual Mass for Life at
St. Patrick's Cathedral in
October
- Host a
Respect Life ecumenical prayer
service
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Here are some other resources for
Parish Coordinators:
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Sr. Lucy Marie, S.V.
Respect Life
Coordinator
 sr.lucy.marie@archny.org
646.794.3192
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