Memorial Crosses for Those Lost Through Abortion

from Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia


A special way to remember the lives of children who have lost their lives through the tragedy of abortion is the Memorial Cross display at local churches.

The display consists of  small white crosses and a sign indicating that each cross represents one million abortions in our country since the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling.

We have encountered many positive reactions to the crosses. Women who are mourning the loss of their own children have left flowers at the displays and one young man said that after seeing them, he and his girlfriend changed their minds about aborting their baby.

The Pro-Life Union will deliver the crosses to a church, install and then pick them up. They remain at a church for approximately one month.

Please consider asking your pastor to host the crosses at your church. They are a very powerful image and an education tool for passersby.

You can contact Pat Stanton at the Pro-Life Union by phone at 215-885-8150 or by email at mail@prolifeunion.org to arrange for these crosses to be delivered and placed at our church.  

The Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia affirms the sanctity of life through leadership, service to those making the choice for life, and witness to a culture of love.

For more information on this organization or to see what other services they provide, please use this link.

 

Voices for Life is an e-publication dedicated to informing and educating the public on pro-life and pro-family issues. To read our Mission Statement, use this link.  Follow us on Facebook, Google, and Pinterest.  Help us spread the pro-life message by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks.

Pregnant, need help or know someone who does?  

National Hotline: Call 1-800-712-HELP or Text 'HELPLINE' to 313131.
In Southeast Penna:  Call the Community Women's Center at  215-826-8090

If you or someone you know is suffering after abortion, confidential non-judgmental help is available.  Call Project Rachel's national toll-free number 888-456-HOPE (4673) or visit hopeafterabortion.org.  

Celebrating an Amazing Year for Guiding Star Ministries!

Note: The following was taken from the Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia's December Newsletter for Guiding Star Ministries and the Union's website.

What an incredible response to help the families at Guiding Star this year!  Five women and their children now call Guiding Star "home," and we are sprucing up the building to ready it for more incoming families.  Two more women and their children have participated in the program, but received housing and support in other locations, due to specific family needs.

This is all possible because of your great support.  We have had more than 150 volunteer hours donated, and $20,000 in donations and in-kind gifts in the last three months alone.

We are looking forward to this holiday season and hope your family will remember some of the families we serve in your prayers.  We look forward to an exciting new year of service ahead, and we wish you a very blessed holiday season!

Meet the Moms at Guiding Star

Mothers come to Guiding Star for help in all different ways, under different circumstances.  Some call the Pregnancy Hotline, or are referred from Catholic Social Services, or come through a church representative or friend.  While the situations vary, we strive to provide each woman in need with a safe home, counseling, and help while they prepare for their child. 

Jamie came to us through a church representative.  She was a few months pregnant and describes living in a dirty one room flat in the city, where the electricity only worked sometimes.  "I remember thinking, I have to do something," Jamie says now.  "I couldn't bring the baby there."  Jamie welcomed her sweet baby boy over the summer.  

Aimee called the Pregnancy Hotline a year ago, the week before Christmas.  She was married, but her husband had left, leaving her alone and scared about what to do next.  She needed a place to live, her herself, her mother, and her unborn child.   We were able to place her in an apartment with the help of a parish and generous contributors. She welcome her son this summer too, and felt a warm welcome during her journey from that parish.  Her baby was baptized, and this spring, Aimee and her mother will be as well.  

Our mission is to provide shelter to pregnant women and their children so that they may have a successful, healthy pregnancy, while creating a home that is structured, nurturing, and supportive Mothers work toward educational and vocational goals during their time at Guiding Star, and strive to build lasting relationships with the families who join our program.

Guiding Star Ministries have two upcoming events which are listed below.

Knights for Life Dinner
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Trenton Country Club - Trenton, NJ 

The Knights of Columbus, Fr. McCafferty Council #11013, invites you for the return of this auction and dinner, benefiting the Pro-Life Union and Guiding Star Ministries. Join us for dinner, open bar until 8:00 p.m., and silent and live auctions. Use this link to register for this event and purchase tickets.    

Save the Date! -Saturday, February 27, 2016
Annual Blaney Family Fundraiser 

More information on this event will be posted here as we receive it. 

Your gift to Guiding Star Ministries fills a very specific need: providing safe housing for women vulnerable to abortion, and their children. We invite you to learn more about this maternity home and ministry, and other homes we fund in the region, by coming for a visit, volunteering at a Saturday Works service event, or mentoring a family on the journey.

 To  make a donation to help Guiding Star Ministries, please use this link.  

The Pro-Life Union is committed to providing alternatives for women and families vulnerable to abortion. Guiding Star is a home for pregnant women and their children, and through this ministry women and families receive safe temporary housing, basic supplies, job, life, and parenting skills, and emotional and community support. Lives are saved and changed because this continuum of care is available, and Guiding Star Ministries is the only home in Philadelphia for both mothers and their children. We invite you to join us in this very special ministry.   

To learn more on the Pro-Life Union, please use this link.  

Celebrate Fatherhood

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!

From the Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia

The Pro-Life Union celebrates the gift of fatherhood and honors the men who courageously live out their vocation to protect the children whom God places in their care. The role of a father has an incredible, long-lasting impact on our lives. Men and fathers are needed in efforts to restore the sanctity of life. No law can take away the role a caring, committed father can play in saving the life of an unborn child.

Guided by a commitment to the sanctity of every life, the Pro-Life Union fosters a cohesive vision and strategy for a Culture of Life across Greater Philadelphia.

Our beliefs are incarnated in the context of the family and through service to those making the choice for life. We work in the four areas of the pro-life movement: outreach, education, public affairs, and alternaatives.

For more information on the Pro-Life Union or to become involved, visit their website at www.prolifeunion.org.

"Behold Your Mother"

by Jewels Green

This article first appeared in the Pro-Life Union of Grater Philadelphia's "Mother's Day Edition" newsletter. It is reprinted here with permission by the author.

The words spoken by Our Lord from the cross to His beloved disciple John, blessed all of humanity with the gift of Our Lady as mother to us all. It is to her we must look for guidance when reaching out to the mothers in need in our own communities.

As a terrified, vulnerable, and impressionable pregnant teenager, I did not fit the ideal vision of motherhood. However, when I learned I was pregnant at 17, I desperately wanted to keep my baby. Looking back on that fateful day, I wish that I had met selfless souls reaching out to me to encourage me to choose life - both for my baby and for myself. Lacking the strength and spiritual resolve to fight for my baby's life, I succumbed to the pressure to have an abortion.

My abortion instantly haunted me as grief and guilt overwhelmed me. I attempted suicide a few weeks after my abortion. I felt almost no gratitude at surviving and while recovering in the hospital, I decided to bury my emotions and sought solace in the welcoming arms of the pro-choice movement. I got a job at an abortion center.

Working at an abortion facility was not in my plan, but my years there helped assuage my own crushing remorse as I found myself surrounded by people who thought abortion was a legitimate - even laudable option. I counseled women, held their hands during their abortions and visited them in the recovery room, always avoiding the glaring truth that the sole purpose of our connection was to ensure the death of her child. All the while, I was missing my baby, knowing what I did was wrong, knowing I would never have another abortion, yet still maintaining that abortion was alright for others.

After leaving the abortion industry and becoming pro-life, I found myself eager to help pregnant mothers - eager to lead them away from death and toward life. I've seen many tactics fail, but peaceful and prayerful witnesses succeed.

When we are reaching out to women outside of abortion center, in pregnancy resource centers, in our families and in our workplaces, we must never lose sight of their motherhood. These women are already mothers - and if Christ resides in each of us through the Holy Spirit, then these women, too, are Our Mother and we are honor-bound to treat her with respect, compassion and love.

Pray for the strength, patience, and fortitude to connect with abortion-determined mothers to offer them practical and spiritual assistance with compassion. Treat her with the love you have for Our Blessed Mother, treat her as you would Christ - for whatsoever you do to the least of His people, that you did unto Him.

If you are pregnant and looking for help, please use this resource link for the northeast/southeast Pennsylvania areas and central and southern New Jersey. This link also includes resources for post-abortion counseling in these areas for both women and men.

For all other areas, please use this resource link to find help.

Five County Area Annual Pro-Life Candlelight Prayer Vigil and Pro-Life Mass in SE Pennsylvania

Candlelight Prayer Vigil

A candlelight prayer vigil will be held at Delaware Valley abortion facilities

 on Friday, August 8, 2014

 Area Pro-lifers will gather to pray to God that the scourge of abortion

 might be lifted from our land.

Mass Schedule

Our Lady of Calvary – Philadelphia – 7:00 p.m.

Our Lady of Good Counsel – Southampton – 7:00 p.m.

St. John Chrysostom – Wallingford – 7:30 p.m.

St. Rita of Cascia Chapel – Broad and Ellswortlh, Phila., 19146 – 7:30 p.m.

St. Agnes Chapel – West Chester – 8:00 p.m.

Prayer Vigil Locations

Planned Parenthood Roosevelt Blvd. at Comly Rd. – prayer time from 8:00 p.m. 

Planned Parenthood 610 Louis Dr., Warminster, PA

Planned Parenthood 1144 Locust Street, Phila.

Crozer-Chester Medical Center, Upland, PA

Planned Parenthood – 8 S. Wayne St., West Chester, PA

Cherry Hill Women’s Center, 502 Kings Hwy, Cherry Hill, NJ - prayer time from 8:00 p.m.

Please plan to spend part of this night of prayer and reparation at the abortion facility convenient to you.    

For more information, please contact the Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia at: www.prolifeunion.org. 

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 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane.  He said to His disciples, “Stay here while I go over there and pray.”  Then he said to them, “My heart is nearly broken with sorrow.  Remain here and stay awake with me.” Matthew 26:36-39

Help Sponsor a Mother and Child at Guiding Star!

Guiding Star Ministries (GSM) is a home for pregnant women and their children, a safe haven for women who seek an alternative to abortion.  The mission of GSM is to provide shelter to these women and their children and to educate them so that they may have a successful, healthy pregnancy, while creating a home that is structuring, nurturing and supportive.

The staff provides counseling, parenting classes, group meetings, case management and a nurturing faith-based environment to help the residents work towards achieving total independence and becoming productive members of society.

More information on GSM can be found using this link: http://www.guidingstar.org/

Please help support GSM in their ministry, in changing the lives of these women and children.  Donations to support their work can be made to:

Guiding Star Ministries
P. O. Box 19094
Philadelphia, PA 19138

Guiding Star Ministries is a 501 (c3) non-profit-organization. Donations are tax deductible.

Use this link  for earlier article on the history of Guiding Star Ministries.

A Tribute to John Stanton

   

 By Edel Finnegan, Executive Director
Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia

John Stanton was the loving and proud father of 12, grandfather of 46, great-grandfather of six, and faithful husband to his dear Harriet, who has selflessly sacrificed along with John for the cause of life. John was a protector of the unborn and a champion of chastity.

In the mid 1960s, while working as a businessman, John was alerted by Dr. Francis McGeery, to the oncoming abortion onslaught, and offered his talents generously and faithfully to resist. He has been an organizer and a leader for the pro-life movement on both the state and national levels since then. He was a founding member of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation and the National Right to Life Committee, and has been a mentor to countless pro-lifers over the years.

article continues at http://prolifeunion.org 

For more tributes from the Board of Directors of the Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia, use this link.

Edel Finnegan has served as the Executive Director of the Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia since 2006.

Archdiocese of Philadelphia to Host Pro-Life Summit on January 18, 2014

Re-posting to remind everyone of this event which will take place this coming Saturday.

 

A pro-life summit will be held on Saturday, January 14, 2014 in center city Philadelphia, PA, beginning with prayer at  the center city Planned Parenthood and ending with a meeting at the Archdiocese Pastoral Center.  Events for the day are as follows:

The day begins as pro-lifers gather for prayer outside the Planned Parenthood at 12th & Locust Streets from 7:30 - 8:30 am. 

Mass will be celebrated at 9:00 a.m. at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in the Chapel at 18th and Locusts Streets.

Immediately following the Mass, the Summit will be held at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center located at 222 N. 17th Street.  

Topics covered at this summit will focus on dealing with a poor pre-natal diagnosis, a talk on in-vitro fertilization and an update on the Gianna Centers.

For more information, contact the Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia.  Their website is http://prolifeunion.org.

2013 Stand Up For Life Dinner Sunday Nov. 24, 2013

The Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia has hosted the annual Stand Up For Life Dinner since 1982. This incredible event brings together more than 1,500 people to celebrate the Culture of Life. This event also has a strong youth presence of more than 500 students from area schools. Among our past keynote speakers are recognized politicians, authors, and cultural leaders. At the dinner, the Pro-Life Union honors citizens who have courageously defended human life by working to transform our culture. Sr. Jane Dominic Laurel, O.P. will be the keynote speaker at the 2013 Stand Up For Life Dinner on Sunday, November 24th – Reception 4:30 p.m. – Dinner 5:30 p.m.

Sister Jane Dominic Laurel, O.P., is a member of the Saint Cecilia Congregation of Dominican Sisters of Nashville, Tennessee. She holds a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Italy, and is an Assistant Professor of Theology at Aquinas College in Nashville.

Sister has been active in her community’s teaching apostolate for over fifteen years and assists with the theological formation of the newest members of her religious congregation. In addition to contributing articles to several Catholic journals and magazines, including L’Osservatore Romano, Sister has also appeared on EWTN, served as Spiritual Promoter for the Third Order Dominicans, and presented on topics related to theology, religious life, and marriage and family, speaking at various conferences, as well as to parenting groups, university students, religious women, priests, and seminarians. Among her audiences have been students of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, the North American College, Loyola Chicago, Vanderbilt University, Franciscan University of Steubenville, St. Mary’s College, and the University of Notre Dame.

Register Here for the November 24 Pro-Life Union Stand Up for Life Dinner 

 

 

The Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia Hosts Annual Stand Up For Life Dinner, November 24th

 

The Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia has hosted the annual Stand Up For Life Dinner since 1982. This incredible event brings together more than 1,500 people to celebrate the Culture of Life. This event also has a strong youth presence of more than 500 students from area schools. 

Among our past keynote speakers are recognized politicians, authors, and cultural leaders. At the dinner, the Pro-Life Union honors citizens who have courageously defended human life by working to transform our culture. 

Sr. Jane Dominic Laurel, O.P. will be the keynote speaker at the 2013 Stand Up For Life Dinner on Sunday, November 24th – Reception 4:30 p.m. – Dinner 5:30 p.m.

Sister Jane Dominic Laurel, O.P., is a member of the Saint Cecilia Congregation of Dominican Sisters of Nashville, Tennessee. She holds a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Italy, and is an Assistant Professor of Theology at Aquinas College in Nashville. Sister has been active in her community’s teaching apostolate for over fifteen years and assists with the theological formation of the newest members of her religious congregation. In addition to contributing articles to several Catholic journals and magazines, including L’Osservatore Romano, Sister has also appeared on EWTN, served as Spiritual Promoter for the Third Order Dominicans, and presented on topics related to theology, religious life, and marriage and family, speaking at various conferences, as well as to parenting groups, university students, religious women, priests, and seminarians. 

Among her audiences have been students of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, the North American College, Loyola Chicago, Vanderbilt University, Franciscan University of Steubenville, St. Mary’s College, and the University of Notre Dame.

Register now for the November 2013 Stand Up for Life Dinner 

Respect Life Sunday Life Chains in SE PA

Life Chains are a beautiful witness for the unborn to thousands of people.  On Respect Life Sunday, October 6^th, several will be held in the SE Pennsylvania area.  Please consider attending a Life Chain.  Your gift of approximately one hour may change the hearts and minds of those who need to see this message.

List of Life Chains in SE PA

• Montgomery County - Abington Hospital, 2:00 – 3:00 pm – Old York Road at Horace Avenue

• Chester/West Chester County – 2:30 – 3:30 pm – High St. from Union to Washington

• Collegeville – 2:00 – 3:00 pm - Route 29 (Second Ave) at Acme Plaza

• Downingtown – 2:30 – 3:30 pm – Route 30 Business (Lancaster Ave) at Manor Avenue

• Kennett Square – 2:30 – 3:30 pm – 225 Cypress Street at Meredith Street

• Warminster/Bucks County – 2:00 – 3:00 pm – Street Road from Your Road to Louis Drive

• West Grove – 2:30 – 3:30 pm – 105 W Evergreen Street at Prospect Avenue

Use this link for more info on the Pro Life Union http://prolifeunion.org/

If you would like your life chain listed on our blog and on Pro Life Events Finder, contact Voices for the Unborn at pdowling1947@gmail.com.