Church Awareness Project 2012
Help Your Pastor Address Abortion
With Our Free Book and Pastor's Tools

Mark Your Calendars for
Coerced Abortion Awareness Week
April 15-22, 2012

It's a new day!

Last year, the Elliot Institute conducted a survey that illustrated what many of us already know:

Many people in churches and pro-life circles want their pastors to speak out loudly, clearly and compassionately about abortion.

Unfortunately, most of our respondents also told us that they seldom, if ever, hear anything about this issue from the pulpit.

Addressing this issue from an evidence-based and pro-woman/pro-life perspective can help end the silence that surrounds this issue. Encourage pastors to focus first on the epidemic of unwanted, coerced or forced abortions (a human rights abuse endangering babies and mothers) and then on its aftermath. In this way, pastors can compassionately address the real-time needs of their flocks and the realities of heartbreaking pre- and post-abortion issues.

Give Your Pastor A Free Copy of The Jericho Plan Guide for Pastors! 

The good news is that more church leaders and advocates are waking up! You can help by giving your pastor a free electronic copy of The Jericho Plan: Breaking Down the Walls which Prevent Post-Abortion Healing by Elliot Institute Director Dr. David Reardon (more about this below).

Hope is on the horizon and we can help light the way!

Where we are and why it matters:

• Many pastors and parishioners still don't know that most (not all) abortions are unwanted or coerced -- an internationally recognized human rights abuse that may be illegal, even under current lax laws.
  
  
• Many don't know that women and girls in our churches and communities are often pressured, coerced or forced to abort, or even killed for refusing abortion (homicide is the leading killer of pregnant women) -- even in America and other free nations.
  
  
• Many don't know that pre- and post-abortion issues are causing immeasurable heartbreak among teens, women, men and families in our churches and communities, yet their pain is often stigmatized and ignored.
  
  
• For some, including our own teens and their friends, agenda-driven "sex education," abortion (including unwanted and coerced abortion) and post-abortion grief are real-time risks. This can even lead to suicide, with some parents never knowing what happened to their daughters.
  

Silence isn't golden. The flock is looking for leadership.

There are clear and present risks in our churches and communities, not to mention the  grave moral issues involved and the loss of countless unborn children, and mothers who die before or after abortion.

As our survey revealed, many pro-lifers are frustrated with the perceived lack of leadership on these issues. They are also concerned that silence can leave those facing pregnancy-related challenges more vulnerable to abortion, especially coerced and unwanted abortions ... or lead those suffering post-abortion issues to despair. Many sit in the pews feeling ignored and alone -- or end up leaving the church altogether.

We can change all this!

Join the Church Awareness Project for free resources and action steps to:

• Urge your pastor to speak about abortion from an evidence-based, pro-woman/pro-life perspective.
• Involve your church members and leaders in these issues.
• Educate church leaders and communities and unwanted, coerced and forced abortions that can take place in their midst.
• Educate church leaders and communities about post-abortion trauma, grief and suicide risk that may be suffered by those around them.
  
• Share the good news that those in our churches and communities who are facing these issues are not alone. Tell them that help, hope and healing are available, whether for pregnancy-related challenges or post-abortion issues.
  

Get a free e-book for your pastor and other resources when you sign up!

Sign up to be a part of the Church Awareness Project. You'll receive a free e-book to share with your pastor or church leaders, free educational materials, resources for your church and more. Plan to participate in a special awareness event in April to mobilize our churches on this issue.

When you sign up you will receive our Church Leader's Kit, including a free electronic copy of The Jericho Plan,

This copy can be read on any computer with Adobe Reader; you don't need a special e-reader for it. You'll get other educational materials, too, to use and share with church leaders and others in your faith community.

Click here to join the Church Awareness Project. You will receive an email with instructions about how to download resources, plus other information about how to participate.

If you have already joined the Church Awareness Project, you don't need to sign up again. We'll send out updates and links to all our resources in the coming days.

Mark Your Calendar for Coerced Abortion Awareness Week

Coerced Abortion Awareness Week is April 15-22. This includes two Sundays for added planning and flexibility. We will send out more on this soon.

Light one candle, and spread the word!

Please forward this email to your pastor, church leaders, fellow-pro-life advocates and leaders, and others you know. Individually, we can light one candle. Together, we can enlighten our churches, and illuminate the world!