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Denny Hartford
Denny Hartford has been the Director of Vital Signs Ministries for over
25 years. A courageous and creative Christian activist, Denny has
not only led one of the most active, most influential pro-life agencies
in the nation, he also has maintained a busy regimen of traveling,
speaking and organizing similar ministries across the nation.
Denny's popularity as a speaker and inventive educator, however, is
based largely upon his own example of personal spirituality and
commitment to effectively "rescue those being led away to slaughter."
For example, he has served a quarter of century as a sidewalk counselor
at Omaha-area abortion mills and was one of the first evangelicals to be
involved in peaceful "rescue" actions. In addition, Denny and his
wife, Claire, were the principal founders of the AAA Center for
Pregnancy Counseling.
Denny's contributions to the Omaha community and especially the pro-life
movement have been recognized in several ways. In 1984, he was
asked by Nebraska State Senator Bernice Labedz and then-Governor Robert
Kerrey to accept a position as the 7th District's State Senator when it was
unexpectedly vacated, but Denny decided he could better serve the cause
of Christ and His "little ones" as a non-political Christian activist
and, remarkably, he declined this prestigious offer. Denny's work
has been gratefully acknowledged by such outstanding leaders as Joe
Scheidler; the Director of Boys Town, Fr. Val Peter; Judie Brown; the
late U.S. Senator Edward Zorinsky, Governor Kay Orr; Congressman and
Mayor Hal Daub; and even President Ronald Reagan. Wrote President
Reagan in September of 1985: "There is no cause more noble, no cause
more necessary, than to restore full legal protection to innocent unborn
children...You have been in the thick of the struggle, and your courage
and effectiveness have inspired many others...God bless you."
Under Denny's leadership, Vital Signs Ministries has untiringly
championed the sanctity of all human life in a
variety of services. Indeed, a hallmark of the ministry is a
defense of the sanctity of human life which is 1) comprehensive and 2)
deeply grounded in the Word of God. In the course of Denny's
wide-ranging service, he has organized and conducted peaceful, prayerful
demonstrations against the abortion industry; developed a daily sidewalk
counseling ministry outside Omaha's abortion clinics; created an
inspirational drama outreach; hosted numerous pro-life conferences and
public educational outreaches; initiated regular visitations of area
elders in nursing homes, and more.
Through all of this, Denny has continued a ministry of inspirational and
informational public speaking, testifying before innumerable audiences
throughout the U.S. and in Canada, Great Britain (three month-long
tours), Germany, Russia, Nigeria, India, Poland (3x), Burkina
Faso, and ten times in Belarus regarding the case for the sanctity of
life, the gracious invitation of the gospel, and the necessity of
Christian activism. It is a responsibility that has involved him
with civic groups, churches, schools, pro-life events, the state
Legislature and hundreds of media interviews.
In specific media outreaches, Denny has produced and hosted the radio
programs "Doers of the Word," "Vital Signs," and "Vital Signs Weekend."
These popular programs have featured not only Denny's own insightful
commentary regarding a whole host of critical issues, but the
perspectives of innumerable Christian leaders who brought their learning
and experience to bear on these matters. Those Christian heroes
have included: Melody Green; Edith Schaeffer; John Whitehead; Frank
Peretti; Scott Wesley Brown; Joe Scheidler; Molly Kelly; Meadowlark
Lemon; Chris Godfrey; Sal Bando; Judie Brown; Larry Norman; Randy
Stonehill; Norm Geisler; James Mills; UNL Coaches Tom Osborne, Turner
Gill, and Ron Brown; Dave Breese; Joseph Sobran; Dr. Jack Willke; Alan
Keyes; Joni Eareckson-Tada; Calvin Miller; Rep. J.C. Watts; Phyliss
Schlafly; Terry Talbot; Ray Boltz; Marvin Olasky; Governor Kay Orr;
Erwin Lutzer; John Walvoord; Rosie Grier; Dave Dravecky; Walter Wanegrin;
Os Guinness; Sherword Wirt; Senator Bill Armstrong; country music
superstar, Charlie Daniels; Steven Curtis Chapman; Mary Beth Bonacci;
Carol Everett; A.C. Green; Randy Alcorn; Congressman and Mayor, Hal
Daub; and many more.
Denny possesses a Bachelor's degree in Liberal Studies from the
University of Nebraska at Omaha, graduating magna cum laude, and a
Master's degree in History from the same institution. Now 56,
Denny has been a Christian since the spring of 1970 when he was
converted to the Faith through the ministry of Young Life in his home
state of Colorado. Denny later moved to Omaha where he worked with
an inner-city evangelism and discipleship ministry, the Christian
Brotherhood. Following his marriage, Denny's primary Christian
service was conducted through his church, home Bible studies,
Inter-Varsity Fellowship and Metro Right to Life until helping found the
Omaha Christian Action Council in 1982. He and Claire (a former
high school English instructor and now a leading pro-life activist
herself) have been married 36 years.
Claire
Hartford
Claire Hartford (actually,
Claire Marie Theresa Aylward Hartford!) was born and raised in Lincoln,
Nebraska. She was the oldest daughter in a family of eight
children and was educated at Cathedral School and later at Pius X High
School. Being very close to their father, it was a severe tragedy
for the kids to lose him to a massive heart attack when he was a
relatively young man. Claire's mother, Evelyn, bravely took over
the helm, raising the children even as she returned to work to provide
for them. Claire was 12 when her dad died.
Graduating from Pius in 1970,
Claire migrated north to Omaha to attend the University of Nebraska at
Omaha. As a freshman, she shared an apartment with high school
friends and waited tables while beginning her preparation to be an
English teacher. But her university career was put on hold for
awhile after that tumultuous first year - a year in which 1) she made
the momentous decision to receive Christ as her personal Savior and 2)
by accepting Denny's proposal of marriage. They were wed November
4, 1971.
Claire returned to UNO in 1974,
eventually graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education
(English and Journalism). She started teaching at Bellevue East
High School in January of 1977 and was an effective, popular teacher
there. She "retired" however in 1986 in order to assume full-time
duties with Vital Signs Ministries. Those tasks have involved
arranging and overseeing Denny's schedule, running the computer,
correspondence and phone contact, organization, finances, occasional
speaking, and participation in virtually all of Vital Signs' outreach.
Claire has also served during all of our 25 years of ministry as our
primary sidewalk counselor and was a key leader in the AAA Crisis
Pregnancy Center. She has also accompanied Denny in travels to
Germany, England, Poland, Canada and various locations around the
States.
Claire has a passion for
literature. In fact, she and Denny formed the Notting Hill
Napoleons Literary Society which has been reading and discussing quality
books for 16 years. They also helped begin the Omaha Chesterton
Society and still serve as its discussion leaders. They also love
gardening and lawn work, old movies, entertaining and music, everything
from classical to big band to classic rock and roll. Denny and
Claire attend Grace Bible Church in Bellevue, Nebraska.
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