Global Prayer and Fasting Movement Tackles World Peace, Pro-Life Issues
by Bill Fancher
September 12, 2006
(AgapePress) - - The International Week of Prayer and Fasting Committee has seen a huge expansion of its original mission and continued growth. Originally established to promote a "culture of life" around the world, this organization has witnessed a transformation of sorts since it began nearly a decade and a half ago. Committee coordinator Maureen Flynn says the expansion of the group's mission is ongoing. "This is actually a coalition, a grassroots effort, of groups from all over the world that we have been working with for over 14 years," she notes, "and as we have approached more problems in the world, especially with terrorism, this grassroots movement has grown."
Flynn says the Committee organizes prayers for world peace, works to promote pro-life issues, and sets up "prayer cells" to counter global terrorism. "The more we have these terrorist cells all around the country, all around the world," she explains, "we are working to put all these prayer cells together to counteract them. We call it the Prayer Network of Counter-terrorism."
The specific goals of the International Week of Prayer and Fasting include converting the nations, ending abortion, and building a "culture of life." The weeklong observance officially begins October 1, "Respect Life Sunday," with life chains, prayer rallies, and other events taking place around the world.
According to a Christian NewsWire report, the coalition mobilizing this international grassroots effort is asking individuals, families, and parishes to participate through prayer, fasting, special church services or masses, and other means. And, in addition to these worldwide activities, two special events are planned in metropolitan Washington, DC.
One of these events is a Youth and Family Conference, scheduled for October 7 and titled, "To Build a Culture of Life." The conference will take place at St. Joseph's Catholic School in Herndon, Virginia, and will feature a number of prominent pro-life speakers, including Dr. Alan Keyes, Rev. Ron Stone, and Lisa Epperson of LIFETEEN.
The other special event is an All Day Prayer Vigil, which is planned for October 9 at the Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in DC. Scheduled to speak at the vigil are a number of dynamic religious and lay speakers, including Father Frank Pavone of Priests for Life, abortion survivor Gianna Jessen, and Steve McDonald, a paralyzed former police detective who opposes embryonic stem-cell research.
Bill Fancher, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
