Dear Friend,



Welcome to the Friday Five! Every Friday we share our top five articles, stories, and quotes for you to read and share with your friends and church families. 



<[link removed]>We would be very grateful if you could make a donation of $100, $50, $25, or $10 today <[link removed]> towards our work producing these Friday Fives and fighting for your values on the public square!



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1. WATCH: NC Values Lt. Governor candidate forum



In addition to making an impact legislatively, it is just as important we make an impact in our local, state, and federal elections, because passing good laws always begins with getting the right people elected to office. With this year’s primary election right around the corner, earlier in the week we offered supporters an opportunity to get to know the top candidates in this year’s Republican primary for Lt. Governor with our candidate forum. In a race with eleven contenders, we invited the top candidates (based on their campaigning and fundraising) to participate in our statewide virtual candidate forum, hosted by our own Grassroots Director Courtney Geels and former radio host Steve Noble.



Click here to watch <[link removed]> the forum and learn more about these great candidates.



Also make sure to check out this great article from the North State Journal <[link removed]> about the event.











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2. VOTE: Early voting is now happening in our state!



We’re excited to share with you that polling sites have opened up all across the state for early voting in the 2024 primary election. To help you prayerfully select the best candidates, we’ve put together a number of election-related resources, which you can find on our 2024 NC Values Voter Toolkit <[link removed]>.



We strongly encourage you to get out and vote early. You just never know what can happen on election day.



Read more: [link removed] <[link removed]>



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3. CAROLINA JOURNAL: Closing the book on libraries?



"It’s no secret that libraries — public, academic, special, and school — have taken a sharp left turn in recent years. As more and more young people have graduated with degrees in library science, the profession has taken on a far more radical, activist turn than ever before. This is hardly surprising, given that colleges and universities are among the most radical and left-leaning institutions in the country, infecting every discipline taught. North Carolina has seen its share of examples."



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4. NEWS & OBSERVER: A ‘history changing’ moment in NC education as universal private school vouchers arrive



"North Carolina is about to see record expansion in the number of students who get taxpayer funded vouchers to attend private schools. For the first time in the state’s history, any family can apply for an Opportunity Scholarship to cover K-12 private school costs, regardless of their income. The initial response has been large, with more than 31,600 completed applications received during the first five days of filing. The application period runs to March 1."



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According to the NC State Education Assistant Authority, during the first two weeks of February there have been a record 46,790 applicants for the Opportunity Scholarship! This evidences the great demand for school choice options in our state. To learn more about this scholarship, including how to apply, check out our guide here. <[link removed]>



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5. NEWS & OBSERVER: Once a champion of casino legalization, NC Senate leader ‘not intent’ on it for 2024



“Senate leader Phil Berger took a step back from pushing to usher more casinos into North Carolina on Wednesday, saying that he was not “intent on moving anything in particular” related to casinos during the state’s short legislative session that starts in April. During last year’s legislative long session, whether additional casinos should be legalized in the state was one of the primary causes of a standoff between the legislative chambers over the months-delayed $30 billion state budget, which was supposed to be passed by July 1 but instead passed into law in early October."



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WEEKLY PRAYER: FREEDOM



LORD, you have blessed us with a spiritual liberty that is so wonderful and beyond description, that it can only be understood through experiencing a life-giving relationship with Christ. However, we also recognize that in your grace, you have blessed our country with a political liberty that enables us to openly proclaim the experience of a life lived in the freedom of the Gospel.



LORD, as individuals and as a nation, may we never take the inalienable right of religious freedom for granted. Right now our country has faced a rapid increase in the number of attacks made against this cherished right. We have seen groups across our public arena increase in boldness and frequency their smears against religious liberty. They claim it is bigotry, when we know it is the security of the greatest of all possible loves.



Be with your people and our country as it continues to protect the constitutional right protected by our nation’s Founders. Be with legislators and the Supreme Court, as they determine through their actions the protection of this particular and fundamental freedom. 



“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)



“For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” (Galatians 5:13)



“Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.” (1 Peter 2:16)



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. <[link removed]>



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Sincerely,



Tami & Team

NC Values



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NC Values Coalition - 9650 Strickland Rd, Suite 103-226, Raleigh, NC 27615-1902, United States

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