Dear Family and Friends in Christ,

I wish to convey my heartfelt appreciation for your faithfulness in standing and being a voice for the voiceless at the Pro-life prayer rally (Against the De-criminalization of Abortion Bill) on Sunday the 5th of Oct in the city of Melbourne. I was so sad that I could not personally be there, as I was ministering in Perth WA during the weekend. My wife and children were at the rally. They were so encouraged to see the thousands show up. I was told that the police had to close the streets and tram tracks down, due to the crowds.

Well done guys! It is certainly time to Pray and Stand for what we believe. Attached below is a report from Kirsten Jack, the coordinator for CADOA (Coalition against decriminalization of Abortion), an organization which was set up many months ago, as the Lord placed in my heart that we should unite as Christians to protect the next generation of Aussies, to fight this bill when it first raised its ugly head under the Steve Brax Government. We have spent more than $80,000 on news paper adds against this bill and have done all that we could do up to now.

I personally believe and trust God that this bill will not get through parliament this week, as planned by the now Brumby government and that we would have more time to continue our action in prayer and protest against this evil bill, with the hope of seeing it thrown out of parliament.

Many Blessings,

Pr Danny Nalliah

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much to those of you who made a stand with us today at the steps of Parliament. And thank you too for those who couldn’t be there, but who stood with us in prayer anyway, many of you from far away (even Townsville I hear).

We had such an awesome meeting at the steps of Parliament this afternoon. People were already arriving up to an hour early (well done Mildura!), and it was so moving to see so many people congregated on mass all around us. Crowd estimates ranged from 3000 – 5000 people. (The channel 9 cameraman was so surprised, and kept saying he should have brought more cameras!) What blessed me was the fact that just prior to our meeting, about the same number of people were praying at St Patrick’s cathedral with the Catholic Archbishop Denis Hart. I believe we made a powerful statement to the MPs, that not only do LOTS of Catholics care about this issue, but so does the rest of the church as well!!! God obviously planned the day as a day of prayer, and he planned for the whole body of Christ to be represented in making a stand. It was truly a privilege to be part of this significant occasion and we are so overwhelmed by the amazing support shown, especially by many people who have never expressed their stand publicly before. And God is incredible – all this was organised and advertised in a week and a half!!!

Channel 7, 9 and 10 all showed footage of the prayer rally, although they misunderstood the event to be a continuation of the Catholic service at St Patrick’s cathedral. I trust the four MPs who were present, will give the message to their fellow MPs, that it is not just the Catholics who oppose this abortion bill, but Christians from EVERY denomination!

We were blessed to have so many great speakers. Matt Prince was first to share, and emotionally conveyed his heart as a father. He was shown on channel 10 news saying that “this bill ignores the rights of the father and the unborn child.” Dale Stephenson (Senior Pastor, Crossway Baptist) and his 14 year-old daughter Courtney spoke next against the bill, and led us in prayer for repentance of our previous apathy and prayer for God’s mercy. They were also both shown on channel 9 news. Pastor Dale also gave honour to the Catholic Church for their continued strong stand for life! Jared Grant (Creative Pastor, Hope Generation Church) then led us in singing the great hymn ‘Amazing Grace’.

Several MPs spoke with conviction about their commitment to voting prolife: Thank you to Bernie Finn (MLC), Jan Kronberg (MLC) and Peter Kavanagh (MLC) for their well-thought speeches. Neale Burgess (MLA) was also there standing with us in support, and Peter Ryan (MLA & Leader of the Nationals) conveyed his sincere apologies for not being able to attend. We really are so blessed to have such MPs standing up so strongly for the unborn in Parliament!

Rob Ward from the Australian Christian Lobby spoke and prayed, that the bill would be defeated and for fathers & mothers to have courage to choose life when facing an unplanned pregnancy. Jenny Stokes from Salt Shakers prayed for our MPs and also for those in the medical profession. Lauren Grant (‘The Cause, Australia’) focussed on prayer for unity amongst the church and the prolife movement – this is so key to our success! Anne Lastman prayed for those hurt by abortion. (She founded ‘Victims of Abortion’, a ministry to help those hurt by abortion). Rhonda Fiddes (who has cerebral palsy) shared her convictions about the value of the disabled. Her friend Val read her speech on her behalf, while Rhonda sat beside her in a wheelchair. I was MC and was happy to look the part – I’m 31 weeks pregnant today!

Lastly we focussed on prayer for protection of the unborn, which the crowd prayed for in small groups, followed by a minute of silence – silent prayer for the bill to be defeated. (According to TV news, the earlier Catholic service also had a minute silence for the defeat of the bill).

We ended the rally with a heartfelt rendition of ‘How Great is Our God’ and ‘How Great Thou Art’, followed by everyone in unison praying the Lord’s Prayer. The enthusiasm and heartfelt prayer and praise from the crowd was inspiring!

For a news report of the prayer rally and the earlier Catholic service see http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/10/05/Thousands_rally_against_abortion_

Once again, bless you all for spreading the word so rapidly and faithfully. And please continue to pray. This is crunch week. Let’s pray this bill is defeated!

Regards,

Kirsten Jack

P.S. Don’t forget to visit Matt’s website: www.mattsprotest.com and leave comments on his blog. He’s still protesting at the Parliament, every day until the vote is made.