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: "Politics, Murder & Spiritual War" Event

In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s tragic assassination, many across our nation were asking hard questions: Why did this happen? How should the Church respond?

On Sunday, September 21, at 6:00 PM, we gathered together with our friends at The King’s Chapel for a free-to-the-public event entitled: “Politics, Murder & Spiritual War.”

This important gathering explored why Charlie Kirk died, what his death reveals about the cultural and spiritual battles of our time, and how Christians are called to stand firm in faith, hope, and truth.

If you missed it, you can check out some of these photos from the event, and watch the full recording of the livestream here: https://ncvalues.org/watch

2. CAROLINA JOURNAL: Senate Votes to Bar Medicaid for Planned Parenthood; Boost Price Transparency

"The North Carolina Senate passed a bill Monday to increase transparency for patients receiving medical care and stop state funding from going to Planned Parenthood through Medicaid.

All Democrats in the chamber voted against HB 192, Defund Planned Parenthood & Cost Transparency.

The first part of the bill would require hospitals and ambulatory surgical facilities to provide a good-faith estimate for a patient so they know what they will pay for a shoppable service. A facility may not refer a patient’s unpaid bill to a collections agency unless it has first given the patient an itemized list of charges.

The second part of the bill would prohibit Planned Parenthood from participating in Medicaid."

Read more: https://www.carolinajournal.com/senate-votes-to-bar-medicaid-for-planned-parenthood-boost-price-transparency/

Read our press release: https://ncvalues.org/pr-nc-values-celebrates-senate-vote-to-end-planned-parenthood-medicaid-funding/

3. CAROLINA JOURNAL: ASHLEY VAUGHAN: Trump Admin: No More Federal Sex-Ed Money for Gender Ideology

"Recently, the Trump administration took a necessary step to protect North Carolina’s children from gender ideology in our schools. The US Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF) directed the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) to remove all references to gender ideology from federally funded Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) materials — or face consequences (see page 126 of letter at the bottom of this article).

The HHS directive was sent to 40 states and six territories because the Trump administration is committed to affirming the biological reality of two genders, and because PREP funds were never intended to be used to teach gender ideology in the first place. PREP is a comprehensive sex education program created in 2009, purportedly intended to reduce risks of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. The federal law says nothing about teaching students to question their biological sex or embrace radical gender theories. Yet, North Carolina’s PREP-funded curricula go far beyond the program’s intent and into outright gender ideology indoctrination."

Read more: https://www.carolinajournal.com/opinion/trump-admin-no-more-federal-sex-ed-money-for-gender-ideology/

4. CAROLINA JOURNAL: NC Transgender Care Case Returns to Federal Trial Court, Possibly New Judge

"The lawsuit challenging North Carolina State Health Plan restrictions on coverage of treatments typically sought by transgender patients is returning to a federal trial court. It’s not clear which judge will oversee the case.

US District Judge Loretta Biggs issued a 2022 injunction forcing the health plan to provide the disputed coverage. A split 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals voted, 8-6, to affirm Biggs’ decision in 2024.

But the US Supreme Court issued an order in June vacating the 4th Circuit’s ruling. The high court called on the 4th Circuit to revisit the North Carolina case, Kadel v. Folwell, in light of a Supreme Court ruling in the Tennessee case United States v. Skrmetti. In that case, justices upheld a Tennessee law banning puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender teens."

Read more: https://www.carolinajournal.com/nc-transgender-care-case-returns-to-federal-trial-court-possibly-new-judge/

Read NCVI’s Kadel v. Folwell amicus brief here: https://ncvalues.org/folwell-v-kadel-amicus-brief/

Read NCVI’s United States v. Skrmetti amicus brief here: https://ncvalues.org/us-v-skrmetti-amicus-brief/

5. NCVI: Heaps v. Del Valley Amicus Brief

Our sister organization, the NC Values Institute, wrote this brief to highlight the dangerous combination of compelled speech and viewpoint discrimination, in addition to the massive intrusion on parental rights.

This is yet another case (among many) where a school district flouts parental rights by demanding the use of a minor child’s preferred name and pronouns, not only without parental consent or knowledge—but under a policy that intentionally deceives a child’s parents or defies their instructions if they do not affirm the child’s life-altering decision to transition to the opposite sex.

Read more: https://ncvi.org/heaps-v-del-valley-amicus-brief/

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