40 Days for Life Campaign Starts Wednesday

Special Report - September 23, 2008
On Wednesday, September 24, the second annual national fall 40 Days for Life campaign will kick off. The campaign will take place in 170 cities in 45 states between September 24 and November 2. According to the national website, “the mission of the campaign is to bring together the body of Christ in a spirit of unity during a focused 40 day campaign of prayer, fasting, and peaceful activism…bringing an end to abortion in America.” The campaign consists of a three point approach including

• Prayer and Fasting: Inviting people of faith to commit to 40 days of prayer and fasting for an end to abortion;
  
• Peaceful Vigil: Standing for life through a 40 day peaceful public witness outside an abortion clinic; and
  
• Community Outreach: Taking a positive, upbeat, pro-life message to every corner of the country through media efforts, church presentations, petition drives, and public visibility.
  

The 40-day timeframe comes out of the Biblical tradition of God using 40 days to bring about major transformation in such instances as Noah and the flood, Moses on the mountain, and Jesus’ appearances to His disciples after His resurrection.

In North Carolina, volunteers in Alexander County, Charlotte, Greensboro/High Point, Raleigh, and Winston-Salem have organized peaceful prayer vigils at local abortion clinics. The vigils will be around the clock for the entire 40 days and are still in need of volunteers to physically participate. Organizers emphasize that prayer is the most important help that participants can offer. See www.40daysforlife.com for more information.

“The existence and acceptance of abortion are terrible tragedies,” says Jere Royall, director of community impact for the North Carolina Family Policy Council. “Efforts to recognize the sanctity of human life and to promote a culture of life, as with the 40 Days for Life campaign, need to be focused on prayerfully and peacefully asking God to turn the hearts and minds of Americans on this most important issue of respect and protection for innocent human life.”

Copyright © 2008. North Carolina Family Policy Council. All rights reserved.