EFFINGHAM — During Respect Life Month, members of 18 Catholic parishes and some Protestant churches in the Effingham Deanery are participating in solidarity with an international "40 Days for Life" prayer campaign to witness and pray peacefully to show their opposition to abortion. The "40 days" began Sept. 26, continue through October, which is Respect Life Month, and end on Nov. 6.
Father David Hoefler, dean of the Effingham Deanery, asked Valerie Kemme to coordinate prayer vigils held outside Planned Parenthood in Effingham during Respect Life Month.
At 9 a.m. on Oct. 1, under an overcast sky with the threat of rain pending, a prayer vigil was already under way, when a bus with a group of students from St. Anthony High School arrived. Father Brian Alford, the school chaplain, led the students in praying the rosary outside the Planned Parenthood office.
By the end of the day, over 200 adults from four Catholic parishes, several Protestant churches, and Catholic high school students participated in the Oct. 1 vigil.
In subsequent weeks, other prayer vigils were held outside the Planned Parenthood office by other church groups, Effingham Knights of Columbus and by students from Eastern Illinois University.
"We've had a good response from people volunteering to participate. Rain or cold weather has not kept people away," says Kemme.