Denver Catholic

10 OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 13, 2015 | DENVER CATHOLIC F orty Days for Life is nearing its end, but that doesn't mean advocacy for life has to. That's what Morgan Rosand, program coordinator to the respect life o¨ ce at Catholic Charities, hopes for. The pro-life campaign recently reached its mid-way point and celebrated the occasion by holding a candlelight vigil at Lighthouse Women's Center across the street from Planned Parenthood in Stapleton. The campaign has been a truly con- certed effort by the archdiocese this year, Rosand said. Twenty seven di„ er- ent parishes and organizations will have sponsored 12-hour prayer days by the end of the campaign on Nov. 1, and 50% of those are parishes and organizations that are participating for the fi rst time. "It's been really neat to see new life being involved in it," Rosand said. By the end of it, they'll have also cele- brated a total of 23 Masses in the lot across from Planned Parenthood, a new record for them, Rosand said. Additionally, in an effort to engage the H i s p a n i c community more, eight o f t h o s e Masses have been said entirely in Spanish or in English and Spanish, she said. Rosand said it can sometimes be dis- heartening for people when they don't see the immediate e„ ects of the campaign, but as "people who believe that prayer actually does change things and convert minds and hearts," she was delighted to share that in the fi rst 20 days of the campaign, there had been two known redirections from Planned Parenthood, and there could have been more, she said. "That's two that we know of, [but] you never know where the other graces and prayers could apply," Rosand said. For the second half of 40 Days for Life, Rosand's hope is to keep the parishes and parish leaders energized and motivated, she said. She also hopes that parishes uses the 40 Days campaign to get excited and mobilized to come together in the biggest way: the March For Life in January. "This is kind of the warm-up to the rest of the year," Rosand said. 40 Days for Life still needs volunteers to cover prayer hours at Planned Par- enthood for the remaining days of the campaign. Go to 40daysforlife.com/ local-campaigns/denver/ to sign up. 40 Days for Life energized by new life Around the Archdiocese Donate today to help Bishop Machebeuf High School continue to form disciples of Christ. machebeuf.org/donate Community Service a Machebeuf Core Value MACHEBEUF Bishop Machebeuf High School an academic community of faith BY AARON LAMBERT 303-715-3138 | aaron.lambert@archden.org www.twitter.com/AaronLmbrt i PRAYER HOURS NEEDED Sun., Nov. 1: 7 a.m. - 2 p.m. J enny Lagness wasn't sure why she was hired to work at a crisis preg- nancy center after half a lifetime of marketing experience. Then, as she moved deeper into the pro-life world, she realized her experience was exactly what the movement needed. Specifi cally, she realized that crisis pregnancy centers needed common branding if they were ever going to com- pete against Planned Parenthood. "It just puzzled me that everyone was working so independently. It was ine„ ec- tive. How can women fi nd you when you're competing against a company that does something very di„ erent?" Langness said. According to Langness and Catholic Charities, there are around 3,000 crisis pregnancy centers across the country. Planned Parenthood's website claims only 700 locations nationwide. Even in Colorado, there are only four Planned Parenthoods to 59 crisis pregnancy centers, over 30 of which are in the Archdiocese of Denver. However, most crisis pregnancy centers operate sepa- rately from one another, making them lessrecognizableto women. In addition, Planned Parenthood has medical stan- dards for its clinics. There are no o¨ cial standards or policies uniting crisis preg- nancy centers, other than what the law requires. "There are only so many Planned Par- enthoods across Colorado, but everyone knows who they are and where they are. The see pink and 'Care. No matter what' and they know who that is. Why can't we do that?" Langness asked. Langness operates Real Choices, a crisis pregnancy center in Boulder. She contacted Catholic Charities to see if they would endorse her center, and possibly join her in branding. "Apparently Catholic Charities had been having the same thought I had," Langness said. They enthusiastically agreed to bring Real Choices under the Catholic Charities umbrella. Larry Smith is the CEO of Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Denver. He said that if crisis pregnancy centers are going to reach more women, they need to have common branding. "If we're going to compete with the likes of Planned Parenthood, we have got to standardize this name," Smith said. "One of the struggles that we face is that young women don't know where to get ser- vices. When they investigate through the Internet or their phone, they will search for a name. The name that pops up most frequently is Planned Parenthood...We need a standard name that is identifi able BY MELISSA KEATING 303-715-3123 | melissa.keating@archden.org www.twitter.com/mkeats42 Real Choices, Catholic Charities join Participants in the 40 Days for Life hold a candlelight Parenthood in Stapleton. PHOTO BY ANDREW WRIGHT/DENVER CATHOLIC [We are] people who believe that prayer actually does change things and convert minds and hearts." MORGAN ROSAND "

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