Dear Jack,

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.

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

1. NC VALUES: We Don’t Follow Polls—We Follow Truth.

From the beginning, we have carried this conviction into every battle—whether leading the successful effort to pass the NC Marriage Amendment, championing HB2, or defending women’s sports and private spaces. While others waited for public opinion, we acted in obedience to truth. And time and again, history has vindicated our stand.

But we cannot do this alone. To continue leading on these issues, we need your help—especially in tough months like August.

Read more: https://ncvalues.org/we-dont-follow-polls-we-follow-truth/

Make a donation: https://secure.anedot.com/nc-values-coalition/nc-values

2. CBS17: NC-Based Groups React to Supreme Court  Taking Up Same-Sex Marriage Case

"The United States Supreme Court may take up a case that could potentially lead to the overturning of the landmark Obergefell ruling, the case that legalized nationwide same-sex marriage in 2015."

"'Marriage has been the union of one man and one woman for thousands of years, it’s always been the union between one man and one woman, that is a God-given right to marry according to principles that were created by God,' Tami Fitzgerald, the Founder and Executive Director of NC Values Coalition, said.

Fitzgerald founded NC Values Coalition on the basis of opposing same-sex marriage.

'Our view is that unions between same-sex couples are not marriage, they’re just agreements and contracts, but that the government has no right to redefine marriage, marriage should be and always has been the union between a man and a woman,' she said."

Read more: https://www.cbs17.com/news/capitol-report/nc-based-groups-react-to-supreme-court-potentially-taking-up-same-sex-marriage-case/

3. DAILY SIGNAL: ‘Identical Facts’: Loudoun County Punishes Christian Boys While Exonerating Muslim, Lawyer Says

"The father of a high school boy punished by the school district for expressing shock at seeing a girl in the boys’ locker room says he would take his son’s case to the Supreme Court, if necessary, as his lawyer says the case illustrates 'blatant religious discrimination.'

'Are you in this for the long haul? If it ends up having to be a lawsuit, if you end up having to appeal, you’d go all the way to the Supreme Court?' The Daily Signal asked Seth Wolfe, the punished boy’s father, in an interview at Stone Bridge High School Wednesday.

'Yes,' he replied. 'I think as a father, that is a father’s duty, and we need men and women to stand up for our children.'"

Read more: https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/08/21/blatant-religious-discrimination-father-punished-christian-boy-says-he-would-take-case-supreme-court/

4. NEWS & OBSERVER: NC Schools Respond to Law Requiring Religious Exemptions to Classroom Activities

"A new state law will allow North Carolina parents to pull their children out of classroom discussions of topics that conflict with their religious beliefs.

In July, state lawmakers passed a new state law over the veto of Gov. Josh Stein that requires school districts to allow parents to file religious-based objections to exempt their children from specific classroom discussions, activities or assigned readings.

The new law opens the way for parents to cite religious objections on a wide range of classroom topics, including LGBTQ+ history and the scientific theory of evolution."

Read more: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article311845229.html

5. PR: NC Values Responds: Trump Administration Directs NC to Remove Gender Ideology from Sex Education

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF) has directed the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) to remove all references to gender ideology in their federally-funded Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) educational materials within 60 days or face enforcement actions.  

“We applaud the Trump administration for its steadfast commitment to protecting children from the harms of gender ideology in our public schools. Children go to school to learn – not to be indoctrinated with harmful ideas that many parents object to,” said NC Values Coalition Executive Director Tami Fitzgerald.

Read more: https://ncvalues.org/pr-nc-values-responds-trump-administration-directs-nc-to-remove-gender-ideology-from-sex-education/

Weekly Prayer: Officials

LORD, you also have instructed us to pray for our governing officials, and we come to you in the spirit of this petition. We pray for our state government and its executive, legislative, and judicial servants. May they indeed be servants unto the people, and govern in a manner that protects liberty and virtue. In the same spirit, we pray for public servants across our local governments. May they all heed your mandate in Romans 13:4 to be in positions of authority as “God’s servant” and for the “good” of the public. They govern in what we confess are difficult times. May they plead with you to give them wisdom, and may your grace to govern wisely be poured out on them.

Protect us from the oppression and loss of freedoms that other countries have experienced, and help us to value and preserve freedom, which we know comes only from You.

“I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt.  I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free.” Acts 7:34

Amen

Sincerely,

Tami & Team

NC Values