Thank you for enabling our modest charity to hear, help and offer hope. Of the two dozen clients we’ve provided support and resources just during the week of penning this newsletter:
Nine grieving women participating in our post abortion recovery retreat
A plan of escape for a woman in a controlling, abusive relationship
A 17-year-old, pregnant, scared, and not sure what to do
An adult woman, pregnant, stressed about finances and feeling alone
A single woman, abortion vulnerable, her baby may have health concerns
Material support for many pregnant clients and struggling new moms
Also this week, we received an unsolicited email from a post abortion woman. She graciously
shared of God’s healing:
“I am an abortion survivor. I had a crisis pregnancy that ruined my life. The Lord led me through Rachel's Vineyard. [Your RV retreat] changed my life. It showed me who I was and opened – for the first time in 20 years – a stone cold heart.
I am forever grateful for that journey. Thank you.”
Our volunteers and staff are humbled by the opportunity to serve women facing unintended pregnancies, abortion-related grief and domestic abuse.
God calls us to care.
Such a privilege to be a small part of God's very Big Plan.
7879 Edmonds Street Burnaby BC V3N 1B9 | 604-525-0999 | christianadvocacy.ca | Issue Summer 2016
Being heard is so close to being loved that for the average person
they are almost indistinguishable. David Augsburger, PhD
Seeking: Live-in Caregiver
We are looking for a single woman to live in
community to help abused women. This unique
opportunity is with our Burnaby Safe House,
a second-stage shelter. For details please go to
“News & Events” at christianadvocacy.ca.
Seeking: CPC Premises
Please pray with us for our CPC Vancouver
location. We need to lease or, God-willing, find
business men and women who love what we do
to purchase premises in a safe location and in
close proximity to a major transportation hub.
Liar Liar Pants on Fire
The Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada posted
a report (picked up by Global News) disparag-
ing CPCs. A rehash of the group’s previously
discredited false accusations. You can re-read
our 2014 publication, A Respectful Rebuttal to
a Disrespectful Report on our website.
YOUR PREGNANCY AND INFORMED CONSENT
Please check out the Trailer for our post-production client
options video, Your Pregnancy and Informed Consent.
Informative.
Evidence-based.
Medically accurate.
Offers hope and resources.
Our content has been previewed by 45 counselling and medical practitioners. Our video will be available via USBs
for thousands of clients visiting CPCs across Canada. View trailer at christianadvocacy.ca/YPIC.
Seeking: CPC Volunteers
We need valiant peer counsellors and Sexual
Integrity presenters. Trainings are scheduled for
mid-September. For details please visit “News
& Events” at christianadvocacy.ca.
News and Such Summer 2016
I wish I had learned…
1. That science can only describe the
magnificence of life, not explain it.
Despite learning about oocytes, spermato-
zoa, cell division and embryology, I failed
to appreciate the complex blueprint of life,
established in the early moments of con-
ception. A new life yet to unfold in all of its
wonder.
2. That in the name of “choice” many
women have no choice regarding their
unplanned pregnancy.
I never appreciated that the scared young
woman sitting across from me in my office
carried the fear of many others whose
lives would be impacted by her unintended
pregnancy – this fear often laden with
pressure, both subtle and overt.
3. That many men and women live with
great regret about their children lost to
abortion.
I wonder if we have done an adequate job
providing real choices. I know the answer
without hesitation. No, we have not. True
choice is a choice made when options are
real, tangible and available. True choice is
made from a place of confidence not fear.
4. That despite our ability to treat a
diseased heart, we have no cure for a
broken one.
I wish that all parents, teachers, pastors,
men and women facing an unplanned
pregnancy could hear the cries of regret
from those who have walked before them.
A profound consequence matters, whether
it is 1% or 100% of patients. Discussing
this is disclosure. Understanding this and
choosing still, is consent.
5. That a microscope, while magnifying
an image can actually dull our focus.
A chromosome count cannot measure
value. Prenatal testing cannot predict love.
6. That we have failed our patients.
That is my word for it, failure. Our patients
come to us for guidance, education and
help during the chaos of an unplanned
pregnancy. The response of the medical
profession has been weak and often
biased. It is my hope that the medical
profession will become part of a new sys-
tem of response to those facing crisis
pregnancies, looking beyond the scientific
process and returning to the Hippocratic
roots of our profession – a place where all
life is valued and protected.
SIX THINGS I WISH I HAD LEARNED IN MEDICAL SCHOOL Guest Column: Dr. Laura Lewis
Beyond the stethoscope. Learning a new heart sound.
Dr. Laura Lewis is the new ED of the
Canadian Association of Pregnancy
Support Services. Co-founded by our
CAS charity, CAPSS is the national
best practice association for pregnancy
care centres in Canada.
Community Education Coordinator Sarah Lewis and her valiant volunteer team have been busy
with Sexual Integrity presentations in classrooms throughout the Lower Mainland. Thousands
have participated in our interactive, evidence-based presentations on healthy relationships.
We always ask for constructive feedback from students and teachers. Some recent comments:
“The most beneficial part of the presentation was learning the risks of sex.” - grade 11
“I [wish] I saw this presentation prior to being sexually active.” - grade 10
“All of it was beneficial, especially on consent.” - grade 11
REACHING STUDENTS BEFORE THEY REACH US
Locally
By invitation, we have also been providing Sexual Integrity presentations outside our province.
Over the years, this has included the USA, Australia, Japan, Korea, Bhutan, Kenya and Uganda.
And in Nepal a few months ago.
And in Malawi a few weeks ago. Malawi has a low life expectancy and a high infant mortality.
HIV/AIDS is prevalent.
Globally
Volunteer Jessica with teens in Malawi.
Sarah at a local public school.
CAS Fall Banquet with Dr. Lewis
Save-the-Date: November 5th