Sept. 23 marked the official kick-off of the Fall 2009 40 Days for Life Campaign. Because of the success of the Canada-wide debut of the campaign this past Spring, seven Canadian cities have joined the roster for 40 Days for Life this Fall along with some new locations. Not only will Toronto host 2 locations this time around, but Kitchener, Ont., will also join the efforts along with Ottawa, Fredericton, Halifax, Montreal and Winnipeg. Kick-off rallies were held in each city where participants gathered to pray and to be built up for the mission ahead.
Rebecca Kiessling addresses the kickoff of the Toronto 40 Days for Life at Canada Christian College.thickbox
Rebecca Kiessling, an attorney and mother of five participated in both the Toronto and Kitchener kick-off rallies where she courageously shared the story of how she was conceived in rape and how her life’s mission is to reinforce the truth that every child is a blessing, regardless of the circumstances surrounding their birth. “If you are pro-life with the exception of rape and incest, you are standing before me saying that you think my mother should have had the choice to abort me,” Kiessling explained to the captive Toronto audience at the kick-off rally on the eve of the campaign. “The rapist is not my creator. My identity is not product of rape. I am a child of God.”
Like Toronto and Kitchener’s rallies, the Ottawa kick-off event was similarly well-attended and because this is the third time that Ottawa has hosted 40 Days for Life, the word has spread throughout the city’s faithful and the event has become largely ecumenical. The kick-off rally, “a pep-rally, really” according to Paul Lauzon, included an address from Bruce Clemenger, the president of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and Don Hutchison, vice president of EFC’s Centre for Faith and Public Life. The EFC officially endorsed the 40 Days for Life Campaign.
Clemenger’s address was followed by talks given by Dr. Mary O’Connor, a doctor who left her general practice when she realized that the birth control pill is an abortifacient, Rebecca Richmond, president of Ottawa Students for Life, a pro-life club at the University of Ottawa and social conservative activist, John Pacheco.
Despite the presence of several individuals who were protesting the 40 Days rally on Parliament Hill, one 40 Days participant remarked that the whole evening was infused with a profound serenity and it did not go without notice that at times even the protesters fell silent.
In his talk to the crowd of 250, Pacheco put the whole effort in perspective as he assured the crowd that none of their efforts were wasted and that no act of faithfulness was too small to have a profound effect. “Do not think that your contribution in this work is minor or insignificant. In the light of eternity, I assure you it is multiplied a million fold,” he said.
The Winnipeg 40 Days for Life kickoff was held at Holy Cross Parish and it featured several speakers including Heather White, who works with Manitoba’s League for Life.
She gave her testimony about her own abortion and the difficulties she faced afterward. Nearly a 100 people attended the event.
