THANK YOU for the outstanding turnout for the 5th Annual Walk for Life West Coast!!! Despite the threat of rain, we had well over 30,000 people walk with us in support of life! We stood together as one – and it showed. It showed in your enthusiasm and support of the wonderful Speakers. It showed in your faces through your laughter, your joy, your songs of praise, and your tears! It showed in your prayers and concern for all those who have been ravaged by the scars of abortion. It showed by your beautiful willingness to weather the elements and the difficulties of travel, to gather together as one voice, as one mind, and as one heart to represent the Culture of Life (even here in San Francisco!). One of our Speakers at the WFL Rally, Mother Agnes Mary, when asked of her experience speaking to the vast crowd, said in reply – “I FELT the goodness of the people gathered there!”

We offer special thanks to so many throughout the world, who while unable to attend in person, offer such heartfelt prayers for all of the needs and intentions of the Walk for Life. It is your prayers which have borne great fruitfulness over the last five years -- it is your prayers which have become the essential life-blood of the WFL. We could never do the Walk for Life West Coast without your prayerful support!

To so many of you who have taken up the cause of the Walk for Life with such great enthusiasm and passion, we say THANK YOU to: all of the WFL volunteers, bus captains, church leaders from various denominations and organizations, youth and young adult groups, high school and university groups, the young bagpiper group from Sacramento who played at the beginning and end of the Walk, all of the food vendors at Marina Green, and the various organizations who had displays at our Info. Faire. May God bless each of you for helping to promote the WFL in your own wonderful ways!

THE DAY ARRIVED WITH ANTICIPATION

As busloads of people began to fill Justin Herman Plaza, EWTN began their LIVE broadcast at 10:00 a.m. with Pre-Rally interviews of each of the WFL Speakers. As usual, we were blessed with a vast array of wonderful Speakers who each lent their own unique perspective at the Rally.

Frank Lee of Asian Americans Against Abortion energized the crowd with "we shall overcome!” as he made very lively and emotional appeals in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin.

Diana Nagy, a singer who had placed her son for adoption after becoming pregnant at 15, was a very beautiful witness of the joys of Adoption. The embodiment of her choice for life was made visible for the world to see – in the person of her wonderful son who stood there with his birth mother on the stage!

Mother Agnes Mary, S.V. of the Sisters of Life, told the beautiful story of a pregnant mother, Raquel, who while living under the Sisters’ care was able to reach out with love and compassion to another woman also in a crisis pregnancy, thereby saving the lives of this other woman’s twin girls. Mother Agnes’ exhortation to the crowd: “Let us pass on the love. Let us tell the truth, let us change the world.”

Karen Shablin of Feminists for Life, who had once been a very strong proponent for abortion, stood alongside her husband and gave her own personal testimony of the scars and ravages of abortion.

Rev. Clenard Childress, Jr., has been a most faithful Speaker each year at the WFL Rally. He has a special gift for energizing the crowds ― “We thank God today for this moment. You’re not going away, I’m not going away. This is our moment.” Nearby on stage was Rev. Walter Hoye, whom many of you know has put his very life on the line, to defend the lives of the unborn in the city of Oakland.

It was in this spirit, that the very energized and faith-filled crowd embarked upon the long procession of humanity as we made the 2.5 mile Walk down along the Embarcadero, through Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf, and ended up at Marina Green.

SAN FRANCISCO POLICE

Our deepest thanks are extended once again to the outstanding men and women of the San Francisco Police Department. Were it not for their careful watch and faithful diligence, Walk for Life would not be possible. Please help us express our gratitude to the Police Department by downloading a letter to Chief Heather Fong. A sample letter for your use is here.

WATER FOR LIFE

Very Special thanks go out to everyone who contributed to the Pastor Walter Hoye Defense Fund at Marina Green by buying bottled water and through your personal donations.  It is because of your kindness that we raised $2,564.91 for Pastor Hoye's Fund!  Some of you were able to greet Walter there at Marina Green.  Please know that your continued prayerful support means a great deal to Rev. Hoye and his family.

WFL COVERAGE

Many thanks once again to the wonderful crews of EWTN and Immaculate Heart Radio for their outstanding LIVE broadcast coverage of the Walk for Life.

Special note of thanks to our official WFL photographers, Darwin Sayo and James McKenzie. Each of you did an outstanding job, and we are so proud to have you on the WFL team!

We are greatly enjoying that so many of you have been posting your reflections, videos, and lots of your own pictures on our WFL Facebook group which now has 1,234 members throughout the world. We welcome everyone to sign up and invite your friends to do so here.

For those who use MySpace, we have just created a WFL Group page here:

Please spread the word to your friends.

DONATIONS

As the Walk for Life West Coast continues to grow, so too does all of the many expenditures that are required to make this event such a success each year. We are a very small group of individuals who volunteer our time and energies to put this event together, and we rely entirely on donations to make this event a reality. Your donations are tax deductible and no donation is too small. You can donate here.

Make the Walk for Life truly your own and become an even more integral part of the WFL family through your financial support (please pass this on to anyone who might be able to assist us in this need also). We thank you for whatever you can do to assist us financially in the growth of this great cause!

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Photos from the Mass for Life are here.
Photos of the Walk are here.