Should We Bother to Pray Near Abortion Centres?

You might well wonder what is the point of attending a prayer vigil outside an abortion centre, especially since the buffer zone law came in a year ago. What purpose does it serve to stand 150 metres away from the centre? You’ll see so many people walking past and so few actually going into the centre. Would those attending the vigil receive a lot of abuse? These were all my thoughts as a new intern before attending my first vigil.

To answer my first question, yes, most of the people passing by are not heading to the abortion centre but it is 100% worth being there even though you may never know what good you have done. Attending a vigil really makes you realize the power of prayer as you can never change hearts without it. I admit it can be hard standing on the pavement in the pouring rain and everyone refuses the leaflets you try to offer but you never know what’s going on behind the scenes, it could be that a woman sees the sign we display at the vigil and realises someone cares for her and her baby and she might never turn up to that abortion appointment. It could even be that the leaflet that someone grabbed off you and threw on the ground further down the street might get into the right hands and help a mother in need! God has a plan with everything.

To talk about the abuse received, I find it is not nearly as bad as I expected, generally passersby just walk past and pay no attention. However there are always a few exceptions to this, a few people will hurl insults as they stride past. I find it helpful to remember in these cases that there is no knowing what this person has gone through in their life, many of these people have probably been directly affected by the horrors of abortion and they take their anger out on those of us who oppose it.                                    

Rose

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Moments of Grace: How Your Prayers & Financial Support Help Mothers Choose Life

As you can see in the picture,this little boy is about to receive the grace of baptism. His Mother came to us in her pregnancy when her son’s Father abandoned her and told her to abort him. Thankfully, she found Good Counsel through a friend, and she spoke to us on the phone instead. Although she was in a very distressed state, crying and wondering how she would survive without any support, she was eager to accept the basic help we offered: food vouchers and help to find accomodation through her pregnancy and beyond, while helping her to sort out her situation and gradually become independent again.

Thankfully this year we have helped over 50 Mothers do likewise.38 of them have had (or will have) their babies this year. Others are expecting their babies in 2026. Without your regular financial commitment, we cannot offer the help and support that some expectant Mothers really need.

Geraldine went for an abortion in 2021. Although she received a leaflet from us at that time, she was not sure we would be able to help her and she had the abortion. In 2024, her neice became pregnant in difficult circumstances and Geraldine found the leaflet we had given her offering help. She brought her neice to see us and she chose life for her baby instead of abortion. 6 months later Geraldine herself was pregnant again, this is not unusual for women who have already been through an abortion they did not really want, but which they could not see a way out of. This time she had decided that she would not have an abortion again for any reason. And so pulling out her Good Counsel Help Leaflet once again, she called us and chose life for her baby. Keeping this baby has cost Geraldine everything, she lived in a homeless shelter for part of her pregnancy but before the birth of her baby we were able to part-fund a place for her to stay. Now we are helping her get support to become independent and support herself as her baby grows up. Despite the tragic loss of Geraldine’s first baby’s life, it is a grace to see her change her mind forever on the issue of abortion. And two babies lives saved by one leaflet is also a grace. These are the kind of graces your prayer and financial support can help us obtain every day in 2026. Please consider committing to a regular (e.g. monthly) donation of whatever you can afford.                        Clare

WAYS TO DONATE TO HELP OUR LIFE SAVING WORK

Donate by Bank Transfer to: The Guild of Our Lady of Good Counsel

Sort Code: 40-06-30   Account Number: 13994678

By Credit Card over the phone:

Call 0207-723-1740   Monday to Friday 10.30am-6pm

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Serving Christ in the Mothers We Help

One of my tasks as a new intern has been to spend a day at the office shadowing our Mother’s Help Co-ordinator, Michelle. My role helping her, involves a wide range of things such as sorting through baby clothes, helping her with admin work, or sitting in on her counselling sessions.

My greatest privilege on these days is sitting in on Michelle’s counselling sessions with the women. Michelle works to provide practical support to the mothers, after they have decided to keep their baby.

Through these sessions, and learning more about the different women they currently help, I have been amazed to see the extent of the practical help which The Good Counsel Network offers to women.

They never just say no to someone. For example, even if the mother is not currently considering an abortion, they will not just turn her away saying, ‘We only deal with abortion-vulnerable women.’ Rather, they will carefully and compassionately assess every woman’s individual situation to understand exactly what help she needs and how they can best assist her. Even if they cannot directly help her on certain issues, they will try and direct her to places where she can receive support in the specific area, providing her with references if needed. No woman will leave the office without being offered real help (or being directed towards it) that will better her present circumstances.

The Good Counsel is charity in action. Here, I have witnessed how each woman is truly treated as Christ come knocking at the door. With every woman they strive to see how they can best serve Him through her.

The women arrive with visible distress written on the faces and in their body language but, as the session progresses and they are offered real, practical offers of support, they slowly begin to relax, sitting more comfortably in their chair and beginning to make more eye contact. By the time they leave there are smiles upon their faces and they thank you repeatedly – and you can see they really mean it. Through you, Christ has given them a glimmer of light in the face of such great darkness: ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’ (John 8:12).                                                                                                                                                                           Jacinta

WAYS TO DONATE TO HELP OUR LIFE SAVING WORK

Donate by Bank Transfer to: The Guild of Our Lady of Good Counsel

Sort Code: 40-06-30   Account Number: 13994678

By Credit Card over the phone:

Call 0207-723-1740   Monday to Friday 10.30am-6pm

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Preparing To Receive Christ This Christmas

 Whosoever shall receive one such child as this in My Name,

receives Me.

And whosoever shall receive Me,

receives not Me,

but Him that sent Me. Mark 9:37

As we begin preparing our hearts and our lives to receive the Christ-child at Christmas, we are often preparing our homes to receive other guests to celebrate with us. We may have to clear up that pile of papers that’s overwhelmed the living room or find somewhere to hide all the stuff that has accumulated in the not-so-spare room! Even if no guests are coming, putting up the Christmas decorations makes us feel we should at least make some symbolic act of tidying or cleaning. Meanwhile, we might also be trying to buy presents for our loved ones, that terrible battle between making Christmas all about material goods and genuinely wanting to remember those we care about with something special at this time. For some, those times in life have faded into the past and Christmas may now feel like quite a lonely time. Yet for all of us, underneath all the worldly chores, there remains a real call to encounter Christ made vulnerable, Christ made man and Christ made child, in the care of Mary and Joseph and to prepare our hearts to meet Him and discover the real meaning of Christmas once more.

In the birth of every human baby, Christ comes again in a particular way. Although it is when we are baptised that we most carry the image of Christ upon our soul, each child is willed by God, created by Him to know, love and serve Him in this life and to be happy with Him for eternity in the next. No matter the circumstances of any child’s conception, we can be certain that we are doing God’s will when we welcome one of these little one’s for His sake. One profound way to prepare ourselves for Christmas is to give sacrificially so that others can live. Remembering Our Lord’s words that “Whosoever shall receive one such child as this in My Name, receives Me. And whosoever shall receive Me, receives not Me, but Him that sent Me.” we can participate in receiving Our Lord and God the Father, simply by welcoming a little child in His Name.

As St Teresa said, 'The child must be someone very special if God Himself became a child'. Please help us to welcome and care for the expectant Mothers and, later, their children, who approach us for help in 2026. Every donation helps us to keep a roof over their heads and food on their tables. In particular, regular donations allow us to commit to ongoing support for Mothers who may otherwise consider abortion. If you can help us this Christmas, please see below for ways to donate. If you can help us with a regular donation, please consider setting up a standing order/regular payment from your bank. You can download a standing order form on our website, ask us to post you one, or you can set up a regular payment online via online banking. You can cancel or amend this at any time via your bank.

May the Christ Child and His Mother make their home with you this Christmas, and may the peace of Christ be with you, your family & friends this Christmas and throughout 2026.

WAYS TO DONATE TO SUPPORT OUR LIFE SAVING WORK

Donate by Bank Transfer to: The Guild of Our Lady of Good Counsel

Sort Code: 40-06-30         Account Number: 13994678

By Credit Card over the phone:

Call 0207-723-1740   Monday to Friday 10.30am-6pm

Via Paypal: Paypal.me/SaveLivesGCN