1. NC VALUES: 📗 The Standards are no Better
The NC State Board of Education is in the process of revising the
standards for health education. Standards are the educational goals
required to be achieved in each course. This process will impact what
your children are or are not taught in public school sex ed classes
for the next decade. We could use your help again. It will take about
5 minutes.
We need individuals who are able to submit feedback to this second
draft (we’ve provided directions in the link below).
Read more: https://ncvalues.org/the-standards-are-no-better/
2. OP-ED: Christian Voters by Laura Macklem
The primary season for the 2024 election has started, and during
this time you will hear many candidates in Republican primaries claim
to be conservative.
But as Christians we need to look beyond the talking points and
slick ads to answer the question–will this candidate stand up for
Biblical values?
Read more: https://ncvalues.org/op-ed-christian-voters/
NC Values Coalition also launched its first endorsements this week
for the 2024 election, including an endorsement for Mark
Harris running in North Carolina’s Congressional District
8, and Fred
Von Canon running in Congressional District 13.
3. NEWS & OBSERVER: Conservative Group Marshaled the
Opposition
"Others, by going to the website of the N.C. Values Coalition, sent
their representatives in the House and Senate emails urging them to
vote 'for a pro-values budget WITHOUT predatory gambling.' The
conservative Values Coalition was a major supporter of many GOP
priorities this year, including the state’s new 12-week abortion ban,
but strongly opposed the push for casinos that had delayed a budget
for nearly three months that contained funding for crisis pregnancy
centers and universal school choice."
They're talking about your efforts. Thank you all so much for
participating in these important click-to-contact campaigns. They go a
long way towards amplifying your voice to your legislators.
Read more at: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article281886888.html
4. CAROLINA JOURNAL: Our law requiring age verification for
pornography websites is working
"Late last year, the General Assembly passed legislation that
required pornographic websites to verify the age of those visiting the
site. We didn’t want anyone under the age of 18 to have access to such
content. This was a commonsense measure, and I was proud to help get
it across the finish line. Our message was clear: We need to be
protecting our children. That law took effect on Jan. 1. But shortly
before that happened, one of the largest pornography sites in the
world, Pornhub, announced it would be blocking user access in North
Carolina. Other sites have since disabled access as well. This is a
positive development for children and families in North Carolina. It
also shows that the conservative-led General Assembly is keeping true
to its mission of protecting the youth."
Read more: https://www.carolinajournal.com/opinion/our-law-requiring-age-verification-for-pornography-websites-is-working/
5. WRAL: New NC law on parents and schools begins shaky rollout.
Opponents and supporters aren't happy
"Tami Fitzgerald, executive director of the North Carolina Values
Coalition, said some school boards are fleshing out their policies in
ways she believes contradict the state law. Orange County Schools and
Buncombe County Schools, for instance, now have policies that instruct
staff to consult first with students or counselors before notifying
parents of a request to change a student’s name or pronoun. . . . 'The
absolute right of a parent to know about a name or pronoun change is
spelled out in this law,' Fitzgerald said. 'And this is important
because parents need to know about major medical decisions that are
being implemented in their child's life.”
Read more: https://www.wral.com/story/new-controversial-law-on-parents-and-schools-begins-its-shaky-rollout-both-opponents-and-supporters-aren-t-happy/21207821/
Weekly Prayer: Family
LORD, we cry out to you as Father. You are a model of the love,
mercy, and authority of the perfect parent. We thank you for modeling
for us what every parent should strive for, and for creating this
wonderful institution called family.
LORD, we thank you for creating us with a basic nature designed
to not be alone. You made us to desire the intimacy of relationships,
and it is here where we experience joys indescribable: the joys of
marriage, the joys of having children; the joys of seeing our children
have children. What a blessing and mercy you gave us in the family! In
it we find our first teachers, our first guardians, and our first
authorities.
LORD, we recognize how deeply you love your children, and how
deeply it pains you when they go astray. Alongside our adoration and
thanksgiving, we pray in confession—as individuals and as members of
larger communities—over any sins we may have committed that undermine
your beloved institution. Forgive us when we endanger your institution
through selfishness and arrogance. Forgive our communities and nation
for attempting to redefine some of the most basic and deepest parts of
being human—being made male and female, having lifelong marriage vows
and responsibilities, and having parental rights over educating one's
children.
"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved,
compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13
bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another,
forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must
forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything
together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your
hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing
one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do,
in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving
thanks to God the Father through him." (Colossians 3:12-17)
Amen
Will you chip in
$100, $50, $25, or even $10 to help the NC Values Coalition continue
to fight for your rights? You can donate by clicking
here.
Sincerely,
Tami & Team NC Values
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