BY ANN CONANT

Aug. 13, 2013 (MarchforLife) - One year ago on August 13, 2012, Nellie Gray, foundress of the March for Life and pioneer of the pro-life movement, went home to be with God. On this, the first anniversary of her death, the March for Life is inviting local pro-lifers to join us for a mass in her memory at the Blessed John Paul II Shrine August 13, 2013, at 11:30 am.

Additionally, we are asking all pro-lifers worldwide- those who have (and have not) participated in the March for Life - to do something beautiful for life (something small!) and post it on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #marchforlife. This act could be a prayer, an act of charity, a donation to a pro-life group, praying in front of an abortion clinic, etc.

For those who may not have known Nellie Gray, following the Supreme Court decisions in Roe verses Wade and Doe verses Bolton in 1973, she retired from her federal career and dedicated the remainder of her life to the protection of pre-born babies. With the help of others, Nellie founded the March for Life, and coordinated the peaceful protest right out of her Capitol Hill townhouse for the next 39 years. Until her death on August 13, 2012, Nellie never stopped advocating for the preborn. Nellie was described by Cardinal Sean O'Malley as the "Joan of Arc of the pro-life Movement."

Today, the March for Life is the largest Civil Rights event in the world. The number of people who have traveled to Washington over the past 40 years to participate is in the millions. There have been countless stories of the young prolife activists who were "born" out of the March for Life, and are now changing the face of the pro-life debate. The March for Life is the engine of the prolife movement and we are all indebted to Nellie Gray.

If Nellie were here today, she would not want to be praised for her work; rather she would want everyone to do something concrete that will help to build a culture of life. Please consider making August 13 a special day for building a culture of life, and commemorate Nellie's work by doing something in her memory.

Here are a few ideas:

1.      Pray: Organize a group to pray for the end to abortion in front of a local abortion clinic.

2.      Advocate: call or write a letter to your member of Congress and ask him or her to support prolife laws which recognize the humanity of all people from conception to death.

3.      Write: a letter to the editor of your local news paper about the value of life, your experience at the March for Life, or the atrocity of abortion.

4.      Volunteer: at a local pregnancy resource center, there is nothing more prolife than helping pregnant mothers and their babies.

5.      Share this video about Nellie and her work at the March for Life!

Then, post it to facebook and tweet about it: #marchforlife.  Email us at info@marchforlife.org , and let us know what you did to commemorate Nellie Gray and her heroic work, and we may feature it on our website or on our social media!