Respect Life Committee
"Choose life! Was the ultimate reason for our obedience to all God's commandments. Perhaps we have lost
sight of this: in a society where the Church seems legalistic and institutional to many people, our most
urgent challenge is to communicate the joy born of faith and the experience of God's love."
- Pope Benedict XVI, New York City
The focus of the Respect Life Committee is to educate and deepen the respect of human life from birth to death. We promote this here at St. Francis, as well as the community in general, by participating in the annual March for Life, promoting awareness of outreach programs for pregnancy support agencies, e.g. Project Gabriel, Lifeline, Birthright; abortion healing, and care for the elderly and dying. The committee promotes advocacy on the national, state and local levels to adept laws that defend and protect human life. And finally, we encourage prayer among our parishioners to promote a "Culture of Life" and respect for human dignity.
For more information or if you are interested in becoming involved in this committee, please contact Michele Cohoon at 540-554-2049 or Keith Crawford at 540-751-0171.
Choose Life Virginia License Plates issued July 1, 2009
The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles will begin issuing Choose Life license plates on July 1, 2009, using the 481 pre-paid applications submitted by State Senator Ken Cuccinelli.
Anticipating fabulous demand for the Choose Life plate, DMV and plate sponsor Richmond Coalition for Life encourage Virginia citizens who have not applied to apply directly on the DMV website starting July 2. The Richmond Coalition for Life (P.O. Box 17902 Richmond, VA 23226-7902) will however receive pre-paid applications, review them for completeness, and submit complete applications to DMV after the first week of July.
The Choose Life Team expresses grateful appreciation for the tremendous support and encouragement of so many Virginians and advocacy groups who worked tirelessly to promote the plate, obtain the required pre-paid applications, lobby members of General Assembly to vote for the bill and encourage Governor Kaine to sign the bill. All of the dedication and hard work now make it possible for Virginians to proudly display their Choose Life license plate starting in July 2009.