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| February 10, 2012
Dear Parish Coordinators,
It has been another busy season for all of us as we fight to defend the gift of life and our Catholic faith. Hopefully your parishes received the pastoral letter on religious freedom from Archbishop Carlson to be read at Masses over the last two weekends. Even as different versions of the HHS mandate are proposed and debated, religious freedom remains an incredibly important initiative for all Catholics around the country, so we have a number of resources to assist you in this effort. Please talk with your pastors and clergy about how to best utilize these materials and keep the momentum building.
Letter Writing Campaigns and Petition Drives
We are linking to several form letters to address our state and federal representatives, either thanking them for their sponsorship of legislation to protect religious liberty, or asking them to support these bills. These are linked from our website, and we encourage them to be emailed or printed to share with others. For even easier communication with elected officials, please visitNCHLA's Action Alert to send automated emails. If you have not already offered similar materials from the NCHLA, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops or Missouri Catholic Conference after Masses,we strongly encourage parishes to do so in order to make it as easy as possible for as many people as possible to participate.
 Rally for Religious LibertyOn Tuesday, March 27, Archbishop Robert Carlson and Dr. John L. Yeats, executive director of the Missouri Baptist Convention, will join other prominent religious leaders from around the state at a Rally for Religious Liberty in the rotunda of the State Capitol in Jefferson City. TheMissouri Catholic Conference, Missouri Baptist Convention, and Missouri Right to Life are partnering to promote the rally. Archbishop Carlson is strongly encouraging anyone who is able to attend this event to demonstrate our commitment to our faith and its protection in our laws. Bus transportation from multiple points throughout the St. Louis area will be available. If you are interested, please call (314) 792-7555 or complete the online reservation form. A reservation is required to ride on a bus! We will request a donation to cover the cost of the transportation, but do not want the cost to prohibit anyone from participating.
Bulletin Announcements for all Letter Campaigns and the Rallyare linked and also available at the bottom of the Parish Coordinator Resource Page.
The Importance of Prayer and Fasting
While our human efforts are important, God’s power comes first! Archbishop Carlson has called on all of us to pray and fast in support of this effort because fasting increases the power of prayer. Individuals might consider committing to pray a daily Hail Mary or full Rosary. We also encourage you to consider if your parish might be able to dedicate a special Mass or Holy Hour. If so, resources are available in the “Prayers” section of the USCCB'sPro-Life Section, including Holy Hour formats and Word of Life Mass Intercessions.
Additional Information ResourcesThe USCCB and our own Archdiocese have produced and collected a number of helpful resources on these issues. Again, we encourage you to see these for yourself and share them with others:
Personal Note
 On a more personal note, I have to apologize if you have been trying to get in touch with me over the last few weeks about these and other important issues and I have not responded. On January 6, my husband and I welcomed our son, Christopher, through the miracle of adoption. As often happens when any new baby arrives, you are never as prepared as you would like to be! I do apologize if my absence has caused any disruption or difficulty for you, and I want to loud and clear thank the incredible staff of the RLA for bearing the brunt of this busy month and helping me to enjoy some time away with our precious baby.
It is now with very mixed emotions that I have submitted my resignation to Archbishop Carlson as director of the RLA in order to have more time with my family. I will continue to work part time until the transition to a new director is complete, but during that time, please contact the RLA staff with your day-to-day needs, and I will work with them to make sure we continue to effectively work together for the cause of LIFE! I will truly miss working with all of our staff and volunteers so closely, but as many of you know, I started as a parish coordinator, and will remain in that capacity as a volunteer. I am so glad to still have that opportunity to see you all, as one of the greatest blessings of this job has been the incredible people it has brought into my life!
With prayers and gratitude,
Beth Lauver
Director of the Respect Life Apostolate | |
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