New Location, Time and Route for Walk for Life 2012!

The Eight Annual Walk for Life West Coast will be on January 21!

WALK FOR LIFE West Coast
New Location, Time and Route for Walk for Life 2012!
Saturday, January 21, 2012 at 12:30 pm
CIVIC CENTER PLAZA(Polk Street across from City Hall)

Walk for Life West Coast is only 33 days away. The excitement is really growing as we anticipate even more participants and an impressive walk down Market Street! It will be spectacular! We can't wait to see you with us.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS
Please help us spread the word to everyone you know - this year the Walk for Life will be held at Civic Center Plaza in front of City Hall (not Justin Herman Plaza as in the past seven years). The schedule of events are as follows:
Info. Faire – 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Rally – 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Walk (down Market Street) – 1:30 p.m.
There are no scheduled events after the Walk which will end at Justin Herman Plaza at the Embarcadero. The Walk from Civic Center Plaza to Justin Herman Plaza (end of Market Street) is approximately 1.8 miles.

OTHER EVENTS
There will be a Catholic Mass at 9:30 am at St. Mary's Cathedral at 1111 Gough St., San Francisco. We are honored to have 13 Catholic Bishops join us for the Mass and Walk. It's a short walk from the Cathedral to Civic Center Plaza.

The 25th Annual Interfaith Service for Life, sponsored by the San Francisco Archdiocesan Interfaith Committee for Life, will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, January 20th at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco.

The Issues4Life Foundation will be hosting the 5th Annual Standing Up 4Life Walk in front of Oakland City Hall on Friday, January 20th at noon. Guest speakers include Abby Johnson, Rev. Clenard Childress, Lori Hoye and Dr. Vansen Wong.

For additional information about these and other events, please visit our website.

BUS REGISTRATIONS

We require that all buses be registered by January 12, 2012. This will greatly aid us in facilitating the movement of the buses as there are going to be 200+ buses registered from all over the West Coast.

INFO FAIRE
The Info Faire will be held prior to the Rally at Civic Center Plaza. This will give everyone the chance to visit the booths as they arrive at Civic Center Plaza. The Info Faire will be open from 11:00am – 1:30 p.m. For those who wish to participate as a vendor, please sign up using our registration form by January 5, 2012. Space is very limited, and will be on a first-come, first-served basis for the remainder of available spaces.

If you have a large 12 or 15 passenger van and would be willing to be part of the WFL Van Brigade that follows along behind everyone as we process down Market Street, we are looking for volunteer drivers. This is a very important service that is needed each year and is provided for those who are unable to walk the entire route due to medical conditions, being advanced in age, etc. Please contact us if you would like to volunteer your van at wflwc@live.com.

DIRECTIONS AND PARKING
It is recommended (and convenient) to use public transit at this new location at Civic Center Plaza:

BART has stations at Civic Center and at the end at Embarcadero.

CalTrain will drop off at Townsend and 4th. Take MUNI KT (4th and King), then off at Metro Civic Center.

Parking: There is ample parking under the Civic Center plus 2-hour street parking.

MEDIA COVERAGE
We are blessed that the crew from EWTN will once again be providing live film coverage of the Walk for Life Rally as well as pre-rally interviews. As a special bonus, they will also provide live streaming video which will be available through our website during the event.
Immaculate Heart Radio will also be broadcasting live from the event. Check their website for your local station.

EMAIL LIST AND FACEBOOK
We have a new Walk for Life West Coast Page on Facebook. Please “like” our new Page and ask your relatives and friends to join us there so that everyone can keep informed of all the important news and changes for this year's event.

To keep up-to-date and receive all of the latest news, please sign up for our email blasts.

All of us at Walk for Life wish you a very blessed and merry Christmas!

Walk for Life's Dolores Meehan on ABC TV

She's discussing Planned Parenthood funding cuts on ABC San Francisco. ABC's "political expert" agrees with her. Some nice footgae of this year's rally, too.

A Deacon Shares His Experience at the Walk for Life

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Last month I drove one of three vanloads of teenagers from my daughter’s high school (St. Francis Central Coast Catholic High School in Watsonville) to the Walk for Life West Coast in San Francisco. (see http://www.walkforlifewc.com/ ) Over 50,000 of us gathered and walked the 5 miles along the waterfront from the Embarcadero to the Marina.

We started with a rally featuring wonderful speakers. I was especially impressed with Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood clinic director and 2008 Employee of the Year who was instantly converted in October 2009 when she witnessed an ultrasound guided abortion in her clinic. A few days later she ran over to the Coalition for Life office next to her clinic and asked for their help. They embraced her lovingly and gave her the support she needed to resign and become a powerful worker for life. I encourage everyone to get a copy of her book, Unplanned, read it and pass it along. It is the unique and powerful story of her journey from death into life. Once you start it, you may not sleep much until you’ve finished it!

The 50,000 who did the walk were a beautiful representation of the Church and of the human family, people of all ages, races, lay, priests, religious, including thousands of teenagers. We were praying, singing, smiling and feeling God’s love and peace and grace. The stream of people stretched along the San Francisco Bay waterfront was like a river of life and light shining in the darkness. And we did encounter several ugly pockets of darkness – small groups and individual counter-protesters, most of them bizarrely dressed and saying or chanting cruel, intolerant, vulgar and blasphemous things. We maintained a prayerful silence as we passed by, but I was distressed that our teenagers were exposed to their filthy talk – things I don’t even want to remember, much less repeat. I almost lost my cool when we passed by a particularly obnoxious group who were singing the tune of the Gloria from “Angels We Have Heard on High” with the most blasphemous words I have ever heard in my life – I mean truly blasphemous words against Jesus. But as I went back into prayer Jesus showed me that this was a sharing in his walk to Calvary when people mocked, cursed and blasphemed him. And he forgave them and died for their sins so that they could be with him in Paradise forever.

That’s the kind of love that we must have for those who are lost in darkness and sin, who hate us for what we believe and practice. If we hate them for what they believe and practice, then the saving grace of God cannot work through us. In churches all over the world today we heard Jesus commanding us to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us. If you ready Abby Johnson’s book, you’ll see what a beautiful and effective strategy this is!

But most of the march was a beautiful, peaceful experience. We felt the presence of God very powerfully. I’ve walked the streets of San Francisco for the past 18 years, but never in this way before. Being a part of this holy presence was truly a blessed experience. Fisherman’s Warf was packed on that beautiful, warm and sunny day and all the sidewalk tables were filled with tourists eating crab and chowder. I can only imagine how this miles-long stream of holiness passing in front of them has touched them forever. I felt like I was in church and they were all there with us.

The Gospel reading that weekend told of Jesus walking around Galilee and proclaiming, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” The Walk for Life in San Francisco was the Kingdom of Heaven at hand – right here, right now. Please visit its website, http://www.walkforlifewc.com/ for more impressions of that day.

Thank you for all your prayers, sacrifices and efforts to bring the light and love of God to the world and to the people right around you. None are ever in vain.

Your servant in Christ,

Deacon Patrick

Another Nice Walk for Life Video

This one is courtesy of Hannah:

LIFE from Hannah Benjamin on Vimeo.

A Seminarian Reflects on the Walk for LIfe

From "A Journey Through Seminarian Life":

"There have been so many blessings that have come my way in the last few weeks. I am ever grateful for each one. I will begin this journal session talking about last weekend’s trip to San Francisco for the Walk For Life. The fellowship amongst the 45 of us on the bus ride to and from was great. We watched some great movies, prayed together and also got to know each other a lot more. I mean 22 hours on a bus will bring anyone together! Once we got Saint Patrick’s Seminary, where they were gracious enough to open their doors for us, we hung out as a big family of about 80 seminarians strong."

More Photos from Around the Web

Michael Franzwa has posted some nice pictures of the Walk for Life West Coast,
including this one of good Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento:

Judging from the other photos, looks like they are from St. Maria Goretti parish.

If anyone can identify the priest and lady with His Excellency, please post in the comments.

UPDATE: I guess that is Father Terry. The group posted a youtube video, too:

"Sitting on the Dock of the Bay"-- Ike Ndolo Prepares for the Walk for Life Youth Rally

This year the Walk for Life was blessed by the presence of a number of young people who travelled all the way from Arizona.

Now, from the blog of Phoenix's "The Catholic Sun" newspaper comes this video of Ike Ndolo, assistant music director at
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Tempe, Arizona.
Mr. Ndolo is practicing before the beginning of the West Coast Walk for Life’s Youth Rally.




His website is here, and you can check out his first album "We Are Beggars," released in 2009.

St. Margaret Mary Parish at the Walk for Life

Good Father Moreau, of the Institute of Christ the King, leads the flock from
St. Margaret Mary in Oakland at the Walk for Life.

They celebrate a beautiful Traditional Latin Mass at St. Margaret Mary.

Parish young people were there.

This gentleman is always at the Walk, singing, playing music, and radiating joy.
We have another picture of him somewhere on the media blog
but this one is even better. God bless him!


A group shot at Marina Green after the Walk.

Photos this post courtesy Veritatem facientes in caritate.

Sacrifice at the Walk for Life: "Their Goal was Humiliation"

A new and interesting take from Louisa at Catholic Phoenix on her experience at this year's Walk for Life West Coast:

"You may know the expression 'looking evil in the face.' I never quite understood it . . . until I had people screaming in my face. 'Have you even read a science book before? Do you even BELIEVE in science? You believe the Bible is real? Have you ever read a book before? . . . that is why ALL CHRISTIANS ARE FASCISTS!'

Perhaps I’ve lived a sheltered life. Never before had I seen such anger, hatred and misery in the faces of others. At first, I couldn’t even pity them. I was livid. I was surrounded by posters and placards that had nothing to do with abortion. Their messages were anti-religion and anti-establishment. These people were looking for a fight, carrying posters making fun of the sex scandals involving Catholic priests and defiled images of our Holy Father, John Paul II. Instead of civil protest, they chose open contempt and mockery. A few mixed in with the pro-life marchers and screamed at us. They were two girls younger than me. Others taunted us with megaphones announcing a “poll of our ignorance”. There was a girl carrying a black cross, cross-dressers with “halos” and crosses painted on their faces, and the most creative group, the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.”

I was mad. I couldn’t respond to these people. They didn’t want to debate or recognize any common ground. Their goal was humiliation.

As I contemplated punching Mr. Megaphone Man in the face, I reminded myself of the whole point of the Walk – sacrifice.....

'Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.' I may not have suffered a gruesome death, yet I experienced a persecution. It was a blessing I did not immediately recognize.

So take that, second grade Louisa. You didn’t quit. You didn’t give in to your anger. You finished that Walk and you left feeling sorry for all the people who yelled at you. You stood up to those that hated you for Christ."

We repost a video of Thomas Aquinas College students
which complements Louisa's observations quite well:

YEAH BABIES!

St. Mary's High School of Phoenix visits San Francisco and attends the Walk for Life.
The good Marianist Brothers at Riordan High School opened their doors to them.

Here's a nice video, with lots of good footage of the city, too:

Stanford Students for Life at the 2011 Walk for Life

God bless them!

More Stanford pix at the Ruth Institute blog.

Young People / Young Priests at the Walk for Life West Coast

Another fun video from our talented young people. Great to see these young priests, too:

More Walk for Life Media Team Photos

Walk for Life West Coast media team member Jim McKenzie
is a master at capturing faces in the crowd:

Six-Part Walk for Life West Coast Video

A videographer with the handle "hptoheaven" has uploaded a six-part video of the walk on his youtube channel.

Check it out here.

Thanks, hptoheaven!

Jill Stanek: Wholesome vs. Creepy at the Walk for Life West Coast

Pro-life heroine Jill Stanek offers this observation on the Walk for Life West Coast:

West Coast’s wholesome Walk for Life vs. creepy Walk for Death

"About the West Coast Walk for Life held last Saturday, January 22, on the anniversary of Roe v Wade, KTVU’s John Sasaki reported:

'San Francisco is known for its protests. But this is no anti-war demonstration. This is some 50,000 people fighting against abortion…. Abortion rights supporters were vastly outnumbered but still vocal…. Police confirmed to me this walk for life was the biggest one this city has seen...'

The SF Walk for Life goes a little differently than DC’s March for Life. Pro-aborts march right alongside pro-lifers. As KTVU reported, the counter protesters were unsurprisingly 'vocal' even though “vastly outnumbered.”

The difference in protesters could be no more starkly demonstrated than by contrasting these 2 photos, posted by ProtestShooter.com…

Wholesome vs. creepy, that pretty much sums up the differences."

Yes, it does. If you were not there, this video gives perhaps an even greater example of wholesome vs. creepy

Some Observations from Walkers

So many people attended the Walk, and so many have interesting things to say, that we cannot publish them all. Here are three, the first from Jennifer Fulwiler at Conversion Diary:

"There were tons of people there aged 16 – 25, and they were full of energy for the cause. I wondered if that had anything to do with the fact that they all grew up in the age of ultrasounds, where we have a whole lot more information about what really goes on in the womb."

From a young woman named Allyson Rae Escobar, writing in Have Heart:

"Now I was a part of something greater, something beyond comprehension. Walk for Life was one of the coolest things i've ever been blessed to participate in, thank God. Walking with tens of thousands of other people, all for the same cause. For LIFE. It made me realize how precious life is, how forgiving God is, and how we owe it not only to Him but to ourselves to be a part of it, not just watching from the sidelines."

Here's another from T. S. Wood, writing in The Garden and the Zoo:

"Yesterday, for the first time, I participated in the Walk For Life West Coast, and it was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. I have no proper word to describe it, and must settle for less than accurate. The closest is serenity. We were 40,000 strong. Where would you find 40,000 people marching peacefully with only one voice, one mind? When I reached close to the end of the beach walk, before the uphill left turn towards the greens of Fort Mason, I looked back, thinking I was somewhere near the end of the line. Was I wrong!
As far as the eye could see, the snaking water edge was lined with us, and the end was nowhere in sight!"

That last sentence sounds Biblical:

"As far as the eye could see, the snaking water edge was lined with us, and the end was nowhere in sight!"

To read more wonderful observations from those who attended, check out the links in the "2011 Blog Coverage" panel on the right sidebar.

More Walk Photos from "Couples for Christ"

The "Couples" attended Mass at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption before the Walk:

Then down to Justin Herman Plaza:

Trying to stay together!

The rally is over; the Walk begins!

God bless them!


Men....



Women....

and tons of young people!

After the Walk, a prayer of Thanksgiving at Marina Green.

Thanks, Couples for Christ! To see all the photos on the Walk for Life West Coast Media blog,
click the "2011 Walk Photos" label at the bottom of this post, and to see

the official Walk for Life West Coast Media Team photos, select one of the links at the top of the right sidebar.

Even More International Coverage this Year: China

As the Walk for Life West Coast grows, it is being covered in many countries. The "Press Coverage" and "Blog Coverage" panels in the right sidebar link to stories from Brazil, China, Ecuador, France, and Spain. We are sure there are more, but are still finding them.

We especially thank the great friend of the Walk for Life, Mr. Frank Lee, for his work with Chinese-American pro-lifers, and the overseas Chinese community, too.

Here is a story on the Walk in Sina News, the most popular news website for Chinese speakers worldwide. It reaches hundreds of millions of people China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, U.S.A., Canada, Europe, etc.

Go here for a long story in the Chinese Gospel Herald about the Walk. Of course, you have to be able to read Chinese, but you can look at the pictures, too!

Thanks again, Frank!

"Shine a Light and Let the Whole World See"

More nice work, a video montage, by some young people who visited the Walk. Great music.

Something New This Year at the Walk for Life West Coast...

The Walk for Life West Coast Navy!

Our navy shadowed the march from the bay and took these photos:

On the Embarcadero.

In front of the Maritime Museum (great building!) at Aquatic Park.

A longer-range view of some of the Walkers at Aquatic Park.

At the foot of Van Ness Avenue.

Then heading up over the little hill into Fort Mason and the Marina Green.

Thanks to Captain Rod, and you can see more here.

More Video: Young People Visit the Walk for Life

God Bless them!

More Walk for Life Media Team Photos

These photos are by Paul Ryan, Walk for Life Media Team member.

Young people at the rally.


The Walk passes under the bridge at Pier 39. Wow!


Then down Jefferson Street. Click either crowd shot for a very large image.
You might find yourself in there!



At Marina Green after the Walk.
Wonderful how many Walkers bring their instruments to the event.

"Catholic San Francisco" Stories on the Walk

This week's edition of "Catholic San Francisco," the newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco,
has a couple of good stories on the Walk.

This great shot, by CSF photographer Jose Luis Aguirre, is on the front page.

Photos from the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist

The sons and daughters of St. Dominic, standing for life:

Sister converses with good Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento.



A beautiful end to a beautiful day. Praise God!

Photos courtesy Sr. Thomas Augustine, O.P.

To learn more about the sisters, go here.

EWTN's Full Coverage of the Walk for Life West Coast

"I believe people are alive today because of this March."
--Fr. Joseph Mary Wolfe, EWTN Chaplain.

Great Video: Life versus Death

A must-see video. The contrast could scarcely be clearer. Thomas Aquinas College students confronted by those bound to the Culture of Death.

Video courtesy Chez VH:

Another Nice Walk for Life Video from YouTube

Great shots, especially of the enormous crowd of pro-lifers as we moved down from Fort Mason onto Marina Green.

Walk Photos from "Couples for Christ"

These photos were sent by Mauril Mariano of "Couples for Christ."

That is a great organization that annually send hundreds of people
to the Walk for Life West Coast.

You can learn more about them here.

Thanks for standing up for life, young man! God Bless you!