Our Mission And Vision
Our Mission And Vision | ||
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 | CALL's Vision | CALL's History | Get Involved |
Mission Statement of Collegians Activated to Liberate LifeCollegians Activated to Liberate Life was formed in January, 1991 in order to foster passionate pro-life leadership trained for tomorrow. CALL maintains that any attempt to end the holocaust of abortion permanently are made in vain, unless the youth of today are willing to commit themselves, without reserve, to continuing the fight for the culture of life into the next generation.We are challenged to be collected and focused on God's greatest gift, the prize of Life. Understanding that life is a gift from God and that any attempt at success without His Divine aid is fruitless, we doubly commit ourselves to Him. We are unashamed in our commitment to the Christian faith, and evidence this in our everyday work. Our mission manifests itself in many forms, but most especially in that of outward and visible love for our neighbors. Through Christian activism and rescue we reach out to our peers, to mothers, fathers, and children, unconditionally extending hopeful and helpful hands of love. We travel throughout America cultivating new leaders and instilling vision and passion in this, the most crucial period in pro-life history. The need is great. The time is now.
CALL's vision"Let no one have contempt for your youth, but set an example for those who believe, in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity." (1 Tim. 4:12)This does St. Paul instruct Timothy as he takes on the task of preaching and teaching the Gospel of Christ. It is an important piece of advice to consider as you undertake loving action on behalf of preborn children and their mothers. When Jeremiah was called to be a prophet, he said, "Lord God...I know not how to speak: I am too young." But God didn't want to hear that lack of confidence, and He told Jeremiah, "Say not, 'I am too young.' To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak. Have no fear before them, because I am with you...I place My words in your mouth!" (Jer. 1:6-9) As a young pro-life activist, you probably have doubts about your experience, knowledge, and ability. However, you are not called to deliver your own message or rely on your own strength; instead, the pro-life message you proclaim and act upon is God's own message. It is timeless; it transcends our knowledge or lack of knowledge, our experience or lack of experience. Wisdom is not determined by age; rather, 'it is a spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding, not...many days." (Job 32:8-9) Paul reminded Timothy that he had received a "gift." (1 Tim. 4:14) It was not earned, but "conferred...through the prophetic word." So it is with you. You have been called and chosen by God to become activated to win hearts and save lives. You do not activate yourself through years of experience; you are activated by God. With His power working through your weakness, you can go forward in confidence to carry out His timeless directive: love your neighbor!
CALL's HistoryThe original idea for the CALL Weekend came from Peter Alban Heers early one morning in January of 1991 at his parents' home in California. At two o'clock in the morning, while watching "Eyes on the Prize," a video documentary about the Civil Rights movement, Peter had a vision of an activist pro-life weekend based on the Civil Rights movement. He realized that so much of what was present in the Civil Rights movement is lacking in the Pro-life movement. Disgusted with the lack of emphasis on college students, the lack of involvement of African Americans, and the lack of thinking big that he found in the pro-life movement, Peter launched his efforts to put on this newly envisioned pro-life activist weekend. That very same morning, Peter and his mother sat at the kitchen table to formulate some plans. They came up with the name Collegians Activated to Liberate Life (CALL) and decided that it should be a network-focused group of college students. From this point onward, it was the sheer initiative, determined persistence, urgency, and driven passion of one college student that made the first CALL Weekend a reality.The first CALL Weekend was held in October, 1991, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Over 150 students traveled to Madison from many colleges and universities including: Marquette University, Bethel College, University of St. Thomas, Moorehead State University, Creighton University, University of Nebraska, Judson College, Northwestern University, University of Illinois, Indiana University, Ball State, University of Michigan, Benedictine College, and Wichita State University. This weekend filled with speakers, activism, seminars, and prayer was truly the work of the Holy Spirit. The graces poured out during that weekend continue to bear fruit. The CALL Network that began with this weekend project is still growing. The first CALL Weekend event is what brought the directors of the first CALL team together and has formed the basis which has brought following teams together. Currently the team lives in community in Madison where they operate the CALL Network Communications Center and coordinate projects for the CALL Network. CALL team members travel from campus to campus sharing the CALL vision, building the community and challenging college students to take action on behalf of their preborn brothers and sisters. CALL publishes a newsletter called the Trumpet. CALL networks college students with the national leaders of the pro-life movement. It also plans, organizes, and directs regional and national projects that mobilize hundreds of college students, witness the message of agape in action, save children and women from the horrors of abortion, and draw individuals closer to Jesus. All of this has occurred and continues to occur because of one weekend in Madison, Wisconsin. What did it take? It only took one person deciding that something more needed to happen than the usual pro-life activity, that college students needed to be responsible for a larger role in the pro-life movement. From the beginning, the CALL Weekend was to be set apart from most other pro-life activities or conferences. It was to be a refreshing blend of both speeches and activism. It wasn't to be merely the rehashing of our pro-life thoughts or arguments, but a weekend when students heard a message and then went out and did something about what they had heard. The intermingling of activism and speakers was a first from many of the collegiate pro-lifers involved and is what set the weekend apart from most other pro-life events. Diversity was also sought out in the initial CALL Weekend. Speakers included both conservative and liberal, black and white, men and women. All those who spoke were not only pro-life speakers, but activists, They were willing to do more than give a speech. In the immortal words of Mr. Joe Scheidler, they were willing to put their "faith in their feet." The activist speakers included Beverly MacMillan, M.D., Bryan Brown, Reverend Joe Dallas, Monica Migliorino-Miller, Ph.D., Juli Loesch-Wiley, Ph.D., Erma Clay Craven, M.S.W., Joseph Scheidler, and Reverend Patrick Mahoney. After a disruption by several pro-aborts, the weekend was kicked off with a rally on Friday night in Bascom Hall. The project continued Saturday with a morning of corner revealing at the Wisconsin-Iowa football game and annual farmers market. In the afternoon, Juli, Monica, and Elise gave a seminar on pro-life feminism. Afterwards, all 150 participants marched across town to the home a child killer and local N.O.W. heroine, Elizabeth Karlin. The prayer march was greeted by a mob of 300 chanting pro-aborts who throbbed to the beat of bongo drums and pelted the collegians with condoms. Pro-abortion signs were posted throughout the neighborhood and the pro-aborts continually heckled the college pro-lifers. After the convicting confrontation, the collegians returned to Bascom Hall for the Saturday night rally. The highlight of the evening was Rev. Patrick Mahoney's announcement that he would seek the Democratic nomination for president the following year. Saturday ended with a march up State Street and a vigil on the steps of the state capitol. The final activity of the weekend was a picket of Bethany Lutheran Church Sunday morning, where abortionist Dennis Christensen attended services. It was perhaps the most intense pro-life event any of the participants had ever experienced. The immense beauty of the weekend was in its intense prayerfulness. Although no heavy duty spiritual activity was planned or forced upon the participants, every speech and activity was preceded by prayer. The picket of Liz Karlin's residence included deep personal and group prayer, the Saturday night vigil included sharing by dozens of collegians, and a beautiful Mass was said by Father James Conley Saturday night in the basement of a school gym. Those who gathered for the Mass had a true glimpse of what it must have been like to be an early Christian who had to huddle in the catacombs to break bread and pray. The attacks of the pro-aborts throughout the day brought an instant and intense sense of unity and community to everyone involved. The weekend was most definitely graced with the Holy Spirit.
How You Can Be More Involved in CALLWe have been asked by Network leaders how they can be more involved in what we do. The following ideas originated in a brainstorming session, and by no means comprise an exhaustive list! The truth is: we can and will use any help offered to the CALL team -- we are open to suggestions and support. In fact, your support is essential if CALL is to continue. We have had the opportunity to meet many wonderful, committed, principled people and we hope that the Network will continue to grow so that the collegiate pro-life movement can become more cohesive and effective. We need your help! Please consider the following ideas and pray about putting them into action.Networking Ideas:
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