From Yonkers Advocates for Life: Yonkers pregnancy center to open in August

Some great news as the Advocates continue their fine work. The photo is from the Yonkers January Rally, kicking off Yonkers Respect Life Week, and attended by 600 people

It is projected that the new center, a partnership between the Advocates of Life and Kingdom Baptist Church, will officially open its doors in August 2010! 

Many of you know that the Advocates have been attempting to open a center in Yonkers since 2005, a city of 200,000 people.  There is no other pro-life center in Yonkers.  Despite hard work nothing happened.  I continue to learn, however, that WHEN GOD'S TIMING FOR A PROJECT HAS ARRIVED, he will FLING OPEN the doors!!!  No exaggeration!  People with time, talents, and a heart for Yonkers began to appear. We were even moved in a direction not planned.  It only took surrender and BANG...it happened!

 

 Rev. James Hassell, pastor of Kingdom Baptist Church, located right in the middle of tremendous need, is the one who suggested that we use his church basement as our center until we are ready to branch out further.  Pastor Hassell, pastor of one of the largest African-American churches in Yonkers, is the fire and base God used to get the center opened!  I will have to write another letter to describe the specific ways God opened the doors.  While we must continue to pursue the dream God has placed in the heart, nothing big happens until it is His will to act. Located right behind an inner-city project, and a few blocks up from Planned Parenthood in Getty Square, the new center will shine with God's love and light. This center will be a place of warmth and concrete assistance because it will be God's center!!!! The women and families who come there will not be treated like a number.  They will be treated as individuals made in the Image of God.  They will be treated with the respect and dignity they deserve. 

 

Our new center, LIFE OPTIONS, will offer self-administered pregnancy tests, mentoring (as opposed to counseling), referrals to community resources (the main resources being St. Joseph's Medical Center and Catholic Charities- both institutions voicing support and more than open to assisting our women and their families), parenting classes, and other programs to assist clients.  Clients open to the suggestion will be encouraged to connect or re-connect with the Lord within their own faith traditions.  One of the goals of Life Options is to help clients build healthy families based on Christian values!  The Center will begin slowly and progress with the needs.

 

The Board of Directors -in-formation (7 people) have been meeting on a regular basis over the past two months with meetings now being held on a weekly basis.  At the current time we are looking for mentors who would be willing to volunteer their services at Life Options.  We are looking for women and couples who would be willing to volunteer one day a week at the center.  There will be

5 mandatory training sessions beginning on Tuesday, May 25 and continuing every Tuesday through June for a total of 10 hours.  The sessions will be held from

7 p.m. until 9 p.m. If you are interested in exploring the possibility of becoming a mentor please contact Maryl at 917-667-2004.  All mentors must be completely pro-life and active Christians.

 

The Advocates have many activities going on and I will update everyone in a future letter.  In the meantime I thought it was time to let everyone know about the center.  If you believe you are not being called to serve as a mentor we could use other assistance, such as furniture for the office, people willing to help paint and clean up the place, etc.  To help with these requests please contact me at

914-815-3009.

 

Pleased continue to pray and fast to build up the culture of life...and please pray that God's Will be done in the center! 

 

    Tony Felicissimo