Archive for the ‘The Front Lines’ Category

On Good Friday, pro-lifers from every Christian background gathered at their local abortion facilities to pray "A Way of the Cross for Victims of Abortion."

This moving ecumenical service offers prayers for children in the womb, mothers, fathers, abortion workers and our whole nation in union with the suffering of Christ in His Passion.

As we celebrate the Easter season, check out some pictures from these services from across the country. If you attended a Way of the Cross on Good Friday and don't see pictures here, e-mail them to us and we'll add them to the slideshow! (Take the slideshow into fullscreen mode and click "Show Info" to see the location of each photo):

On a bleak Friday afternoon, our savior Jesus Christ was crucified at Golgotha, "the place of the skull." Today, we have our own Golgotha: the abortion clinic, where two thousand years after the Crucifixion, His image is violently destroyed, again and again, by abortion.

That's why, for the last five years, the Pro-Life Action League has marked Good Friday with a pro-life "Way of the Cross for Victims of Abortion" at our local Planned Parenthood.

We've found this activity to be such a blessing, one of our favorite pro-life activities of the year. So this year we're calling on pro-lifers like you nationwide to join us in hosting a "Way of the Cross for Victims of Abortion" at your local abortion facility.

And, we're providing you with all the tools you need to make it happen in your area, including an ecumenical prayer service book, templates to promote your event through e-mail and in churches, advice on practical considerations and more!

Though the devotion of the Stations of the Cross has Catholic roots, the service we conduct is completely ecumenical. People of every denomination join us every year and there is no material in the book that would be offensive to non-Catholics to pray. Please feel free to join or host a Way of the Cross no matter what your denomination. [Continue reading . . . »]

A crowd of over 50 pro-lifers gathered on a cold, windy winter morning last Saturday to protest Planned Parenthood's "Abortion Fortress" in Aurora, Illinois as they have every third Saturday for over five years now.

Among them was a group from Christian Liberty Academy (CLA) in nearby Arlington Heights, Illinois. The group of students has taken to coming out on third Saturdays to protest, pray and offer help to abortion-bound moms through sidewalk counseling.

Several of the young ladies from this group even spoke at the TeenSpeak teen pro-life conference earlier this month about their sidewalk counseling ministry. The talk was inspiring for many of the students present. [Continue reading . . . »]

On Saturday, February 9, I was pleased to join a group of nearly 70 pro-lifers to kick off the Spring 40 Days for Life campaign in Aurora, Illinois outside the Planned Parenthood mega-center.

I had worked with Karen and Kathleen from Holy Cross parish in Batavia, Illinois as they discerned whether or not taking on the campaign was the right thing for them to do, so it was extra special to be able to address the crowd as the effort kicked off.

Before the Rally even started, God gave an incredible blessing. A couple stopped on their way out of the Planned Parenthood and told our sidewalk counselors that they had decided not to go through with the abortion. Though the 40 Days Campaign hadn't even started yet, God was already doing wondrous things!

Karen and Kathleen opened the Rally and Deacon Jim Newhouse of Ss. Peter and Paul parish in Virgil, Illinois gave an opening prayer. Next came a wonderful pro-life song from Catholic singer-songwriter Karl Miles called "Where are the Warriors?", which you can listen to above. [Continue reading . . . »]

The Pro-Life Action League is proud to announce our 10th annual "Empty Manger" Christmas Caroling day Saturday, December 22.

Each year, the League brings the light of Christmas to the darkness of the abortion facility by singing the songs of Christmas right outside their doors.

Join us this year for two tours, one in Chicago and one in DuPage county to make your Advent a pro-life one. [Continue reading . . . »]

Every year the Pro-Life Action League brings the light of Christ to the darkness of the abortuary with our "Empty Manger" Christmas caroling day. The video of last year's event shows just how moving this effective pro-life witness can be.

More and more groups around the country have started holding their own Christmas caroling events at abortion clinics, and now it's your turn to get involved in this Advent pro-life ministry.

To help you do just that, the League has put together some critical resources that will make your caroling day a success.

• Caroling Day How-To Guide [PDF]—This step by step guide will help you plan and execute a great pro-life caroling day
• Empty Manger Building Plans [PDF]—Simple, detailed instructions for building an empty manger to symbolize our anticipation of Christ's birth and the emptiness left behind by abortion
• Christmas Caroling Booklet [PDF]—The carols in this 8-page booklet highlight the Christmas message of hope coming in the form of the infant Jesus

[Continue reading . . . »]

Eric Scheidler leads pro-lifers in song outside Planned Parenthood in Aurora, IL [Photo by Matt Yonke]

This past Sunday, October 2, marked the 4th anniversary of the dark day that Planned Parenthood opened the doors of their "Abortion Fortress," the first of their mega-centers which are now spreading across the nation.

Though it might seem counter-intuitive, the Pro-Life Action League marked this grim day with a "Do-it Yourself" pro-life concert on the vacant lot across the street from the midwest's largest abortion clinic.

The DIY concert is an idea League Executive Director Eric Scheidler came up with to celebrate the closing of the second 40 Days for Life vigil in 2008 and we've held them several times since. Pro-lifers bring a lawn chair and copies of their favorite hymn or praise song and an instrument if they play one, and we sing praises to God thanking Him for the victories He's granted us as a movement. [Continue reading . . . »]

 

Picket outside Planned Parenthood in Aurora, IL [Photo by Sam Scheidler]

On Saturday, September 17, over 50 pro-lifers beat the pavement outside the "Abortion Fortress" of Aurora, Illinois just as they have every third Saturday since the facility opened in the fall of 2007.

With signs reading Moms for Life, Dads for Life, Planned Parenthood LIES to You and Planned Parenthood: BAD for Aurora the group witnessed to the community's continuing resistance to the presence of the Midwest's largest abortion mill in their town.

I've been a part of the League's protest efforts at Planned Parenthood Aurora since the very beginning, and it's been a great encouragement to get to know the area's faithful activists. As I handed out signs on Saturday, I saw many of those who have been there since the beginning as well as some new faces. [Continue reading . . . »]

Planned Parenthood is on the defensive.  Just yesterday, they showed up to counter-protest against the Defund Planned Parenthood Truth Tour, led by Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave and Lila Rose of Live Action, held at the offices of Rep. Randy Hultgren (who voted in favor of defunding Planned Parenthood). [Continue reading . . . »]

On October 19, the city of Aurora held a hearing asking for public input on proposed changes to their "Peddling Ordinance." The problem stems from a glut of unwanted advertising newspapers piling up on local citizens' porches.

But rather than restricting unwanted newspapers, the solution the city has proposed for this problem stands to muzzle free speech in our community by requiring citizens to seek the government's permission to exercise their 1st Amendment rights!

Find out more about the egregiously unconstitutional and undemocratic changes in Eric Scheidler's comments in the YouTube video above and in my blog post on the previous hearing on this topic. Also be sure to check out the local news coverage linked below and leave your feedback in the comments sections, both here and at the newspapers' websites.

Press Coverage

• Free speech vs. litter in Aurora—The Daily Herald
• Aldermen get earful on free speech—The Beacon News