GO LOCAL is coming to southwest Michigan! View in Browser "Go Local" Conference Coming to Southwest Michigan July 29th! How do you influence a community? It starts with using your unique position and talents to make an impact on the local level. Whether you're a pastor, precinct delegate, school board member, or passionate citizen, your voice is important and we want you to reach your full potential! Join us on July 29th in Stevensville (south of St. Joseph near the Lake MI beaches)! "Go Local" is a dynamic training event hosted by CTV and Salt & Light Global that will equip you with practical tools for servant-statesmanship. Lunch and a resource folder will be provided to all attendees. Register today at CTVMichigan.org/GoLocal What Do People Think of "Go Local?" “The Go Local Conference brought together three powerful and experienced organizations who combined practical experiences with deep insight and wisdom.” – Robert H, City Commissioner “If you want to be encouraged to persevere, emboldened to get involved, and receive practical strategies, this training will be invaluable. I wish more of my friends could have been here.” – Don F, Engaged Citizen When: Saturday, July 29th, 9 AM – 4 PM Where: Lakeside Family Church, 6999 Red Arrow Highway Stevensville, MI 49127 (just south of St. Joseph in Berrien County) Who Can Attend: All local officials, school board members, precinct delegates, city & township officials, and citizens interested in learning more about good governance. Cost: $25 per person. Lunch and resources provided! Register Now The Founders' First Principles As the July 4th holiday concludes and the summer wanes, we want to take a step back and remember the foundations our country was built on. Where did it all begin? How do we approach modern issues with the right perspective? To answer these questions, we will be presenting a series of short articles like this one. We'll cover the first principles of America laid out by our founding fathers and bring in modern examples. Freedom of Religion Let's begin with the recent Supreme Court decision on the Christian postal worker who refused to work on Sundays for religious reasons. In case you didn't hear, the case was resolved in favor of the postal worker. This is because we've had the freedom of religion secured in our country's foundation from the very beginning. Thomas Jefferson wrote, "Among the most inestimable of our blessings is that ... of liberty to worship our Creator in the way we think most agreeable in His will; a liberty deemed in other countries incompatible with good government and yet proved by our experience to be its best support .... The rights of conscience we never submitted (to government). We are answerable for them to our God." This is reflected in the Declaration of Independence, where the authors acknowledge a Creator who endows us with unalienable rights. It's especially visible in the Bill of Rights, where we read that congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion. Without the freedom of religion, society crumbles. Our moral grounding is in our faith in God. The founding fathers understood that. They knew that without protection, this moral grounding would be quickly swept away. In "Rediscovering the Ideas of Liberty," W. David Stedman puts it this way: America's Founders acknowledged religious influence as a vital support for the kind of Constitutional government they were forming. They realized, as Adams wrote, that a strong, free society depends on a level of virtue among the people and that virtue is rooted in religious convictions which, in turn, are meaningful only in an environment of Constitutionally-guaranteed religious freedom. What they did not want was government officials possessing the power to establish a national religion or interfering with their God-given right to freedom of worship. They feared that government might become a threat to religious freedom. Let us never take for granted this right to worship God freely in the manner we see fit. It's a unique blessing granted to us that we live in a country where this right is protected even today. References: Stedman, W. D. & Lewis, L. (1995). Rediscovering the Ideas of Liberty. W. David Stedman Associates – Publications Division. Consider How You Can Support CTV Citizens for Traditional Values relies on the support of grassroots activists and concerned citizens who care about preserving, protecting, and promoting the faith-based values that sustain good governance. Your prayer support and financial contributions enable us to be effective as we stand for truth in local communities, Lansing, and beyond. Donate now!   Citizens for Traditional Values | PO Box 80295, Lansing, MI 48908 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected] powered by Try email marketing for free today!