40 Days for Life closing ceremonies set for March 25 in Bloomington, Indy
Criterion staff report
The 40 Days for Life spring campaign will end on March 25. To celebrate, the two active vigil groups in the archdiocese—Bloomington and Central Indiana (Indianapolis)—will hold a closing ceremony on that day.
The closing ceremony in Bloomington will take place at St. John the Apostle Church, 4607 W. State Road 46, in Bloomington, at 5 p.m. Lee Ann Zatkulak, director of the local Women’s Care Center, will speak about the life-saving work going on at the pregnancy care facility. Father Daniel Mahan, St. John’s pastor, will also speak. Guests are asked to bring a covered dish to share. Drinks will be provided.
The closing ceremony for the Central Indiana group will take place at St. Luke the Evangelist Church, 7575 Holliday Dr., E., in Indianapolis, at 2 p.m. Mike Fichter, president of Indiana Right to Life, will discuss several current pro-life issues in Indiana and the importance of prayer and outreach in creating a pro-life society.
40 Days for Life is an international campaign that seeks to end abortion through peaceful prayer vigils at abortion centers, and to raise community awareness of the consequences of abortion.
The campaign runs twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. During the 40-day campaigns, individuals silently pray during one-hour time slots in front of abortion centers around the world.
Since the campaign was launched in the United States in 2007, the peaceful prayer vigil has resulted in many answered prayers. According to Shawn Carney, 40 Days for Life president and CEO, 13,998 lives have been spared from abortion in 49 countries, 170 abortion workers had conversions and quit their jobs, and 94 abortion centers where 40 Days for Life vigils have been held have closed their doors forever.
The Bloomington campaign takes place on the public right-of-way outside of the Planned Parenthood abortion facility at 421 S. College Ave., in Bloomington. The Central Indiana campaign takes place on the public right-of-way outside of the Planned Parenthood abortion facility at 8590 Georgetown Road in Indianapolis.
According to the Indiana State Department of Health’s 2016 Terminated Pregnancies Report—the latest report available—1,016 babies were aborted at the Bloomington Planned Parenthood facility in that year, while the Indianapolis facility aborted 2,837 babies. Those figures do not include chemically induced abortions facilitated by the two centers.
For more information on the Bloomington 40 Days for Life campaign, contact Monica Siefker at 812-330‑1535 or monica.siefker@gmail.com. For more information on the Central Indiana campaign, contact Debra Minott at 317‑709-1502 or debra@goangels.org. †