Spring Campaign Welcome

Posted on January 18, 2010

This spring, from February 17 – March 28, our community will be uniting with other cities across North America and around the world for a massive coordinated pro-life mobilization – the 40 Days for Life campaign. People of faith are praying that, with God’s help, this effort will help bring an end to the tragedy of abortion.

40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life campaign that has generated measurable lifesaving results in hundreds of cities where it has been implemented. Some locations have reported as much as a 28% drop in local abortion numbers and hundreds of new people getting involved in local lifesaving ministry efforts. The 40 Days for Life campaign is made up of three key components:

Prayer and Fasting: inviting people of faith throughout our city to join together for 40 days of fervent prayer and fasting for an end to abortion

Peaceful Vigil: standing for life through a 40-day peaceful public witness outside the local Planned Parenthood facility, 1731 Jefferson St, Napa.

Community Outreach: taking a positive, upbeat pro-life message to every corner of our city through media efforts, church presentations, petition drives, and public visibility

Learn how you can “speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves” here in Napa by contacting Howard Haupt, phone (707) 257-6041, or Ron Maxson, phone (707) 337-6887.

National information is available at: www.40daysforlife.com.

Click here to sign up on the Vigil Calendar

Click here for a map of the location of the Napa Vigil.

A Visit from Bishop Jaime Soto

Posted on March 5, 2010

On Friday, Sacramento prayer warriors were very blessed by a visit from Bishop Jaime Soto, leader of the Sacramento Catholic Diocese! Thank God for a Bishop leading the way, setting a prayerful example, and being such an outstanding, courageous and compassionate Good Shepherd in defense of the Sanctity of LIFE! Read Bishop Soto's Letter of Endorsement, encouraging everyone to participate in the 40 Days for Life! At least four babies have already been saved due to people just like you, praying in front of abortion clinics across the nation. Please come join this life-saving ministry! Ask a friend to come with you.

Abby Johnson, former Planned Parenthood Executive and "Employee of the Year", who is now a leading PRO-LIFE supporter, spoke eloquently about our powerful prayer campaigns at the West Coast Walk for Life. Abby's conversion took place because faithful Christians just like YOU were praying outside her clinic! How many conversions within the abortion industry will take place this 40 Days for Life? We pray for many! Sign up to participate at our online schedule!

Rescue those being led away to death;
hold back those staggering toward slaughter.
If you say, "But we knew nothing about this,"
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who guards your life know it?
Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?
Proverbs 24:11-12 NIV

An interesting letter from a local pastor

Posted on October 15, 2009

I want to share something that came about this past weekend that tells us how far we have to go. One of our wonderful teens came up to me after Mass and asked "my friends and I can’t understand why those people picket in front of Planned Parenthood when all that is done there is to prevent pregnancy before it happens with condoms and the pill and other stuff" nearly a literal quote. "I asked my mom, and she didn’t know either."

I thanked her for her 'great question' and then proceeded to describe what goes on in the abortion clinic and the number of women that come to me afterwards full of remorse for taking a life. She thanked me and said she was going to tell her friends and would pray about it. The young lady graduated from a Catholic elementary school. Her mother is a graduate of a Catholic high school.

This great young lady represents many of our Catholics, not only youth, but their parents and other adults. I am so grateful for the many members of Respect Life in your continued efforts to help people understand the ramifications of a national and global attitude of 'all things disposable'.

Please feel free to share this story and to encourage people to know that we must do more not only with prayer but EDUCATION. I'm sharing this with a few people who influence youth greatly and to encourage them to continue to see the importance of value formation in Christ.

Keep up the witness!

So here is another challenge for us to EDUCATE the public and those around us by what we say and what we do about the dignity of life.

-- Howard Haupt

Letters from Vigil Volunteers

Posted on October 9, 2009

My dear Ron I have just returned from spending two hours at the Planned Parenthood in Napa. It was such a blessing. The response was overwhelmingly positive and I made some new friends with whom I prayed. It is so good to observe that despite the few hecklers who hurl obscenities there are others who are not afraid to show their support. Many people honked and waved and gave us the thumbs up as they drove by. I was especially impressed by the public workers obviously on duty who weren't ashamed to show their support. We had a bus driver honk and wave, a police officer wave from her patrol car and firefighters smile and give us a thumbs up from their fire truck. I wish I could spend more time with you but I live and work in San Francisco. I do want you to know even when I'm am not with you in person I will be with you in prayer.

-- Vanessa

Little Things that Mean the Most

Posted on September 24, 2009

a reflection by Jennie Kersting in Napa

Sometimes it's the little things that mean the most. I was driving home from 40 Days in front of Planned Parenthood, and I was thanking God that the timing of my dropping off my husband to pray for an hour had allowed me to hold open the parking spot used by our home base vehicle, while Ron drove it around the block to repark in the same spot, thus avoiding overparking in a newly established 2 hour parking zone. I had seen one Planned Parenthood escort on her cell phone watching us, and then a second escort had driven her car up, no doubt hoping to take the vacant spot. Too bad -- I was there. God provides! And I was praising Him as a drove home, when I had to stop at a red light. The fellow in the car next to me to my right was playing rap music. I pulled up a little more, as I often do, so that my Mother Teresa bumper sticker on my driver's door was more likely to be visible. A moment later he rolled down his window to call to me, "That's quite a profound bumper sticker you have on your car." I nodded in agreement and said, "That's Mother Teresa." He said, "I never thought about it that way before," to which I answered, "She's a profound lady." The bumper sticker was one I had bought at the last Walk for Life West Coast, and reads: It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.

-- Jennie

Letter from a Young Mother

Posted on September 8, 2009

The following letter was handed to a volunteer at our sister 40 Days for Life team in Fairfield, CA. YOU are making a difference and this young mother is grateful for your prayers and dedication.

Hi, I am 10 weeks pregnant. I want to thank you for taking time out of your day to do what you do. It’s because of you I am understanding I have other options. I work down the street {from planned parenthood], and everyday I want to run down and get an abortion, because I am pregnant by a man who wants me to have one. I am already a single mother, so I know I can do it again, but when I see you in the morning on my way into work, it helps me understand I am doing the right thing.

I know you may have days when you think you have not touched someone’s life, but you have given me hope.

Thank you for taking a stand in a peaceful way.