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.
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: Carolina Values Summit
2020, an online summit for Christian leaders
The North Carolina Values Coalition presents a special
project called the Carolina Values Summit to equip you to resist
growing attacks on religious freedom. We are honored to
announce that Pastor Andrew Brunson, the American missionary pastor
who was arrested and held captive for over two years in a Turkish
prison, will return to his native state of North Carolina to share his
story and deliver the keynote address.
This Christian leadership event is for Pastors, Christian Leaders,
and Executive Directors of our state’s faith-based nonprofits,
schools, and ministries. We hope you will join us at 7pm on
7/7 for this groundbreaking event and impressive lineup of
speakers.
2. NC VALUES VOICE: Live with Dr. Carol
Swain
Earlier this
week we had another episode of “The NC Values Voice”, a weekly
30-minute interview by Executive Director, Tami Fitzgerald, with a
special guest. The NC Values Voice aired on Facebook Live and www.ncvalues.org/voice
on Wednesday night at 7:30pm. Our goal with these programs is to
inform and motivate our statewide coalition members with current,
relevant information.
This week's
program featured Dr. Carol Swain, a political commentator and former
Vanderbilt University Law Professor who was forced out by the cancel
culture for expressing her Biblical views on Islam and
Marxism.
3. NORTH STATE JOURNAL: How long will NC
foster care children languish in search of a forever family?
"Before most North Carolinians ever heard of a virus by the name of
COVID, another epidemic already existed in our state. Substance abuse
and particularly, opioid addiction, have been at historic highs in
North Carolina. Those who pay the steepest price in this epidemic are
babies and small children in the care of a parent too incapacitated to
care for them. This is why the number of children entering the North
Carolina foster care system has increased over 36% in the last
decade.
Last week the tragedy these children face found its way onto the
House and Senate floor in the first piece of legislation in North
Carolina designed to provide children with a stable, permanent home
within the first 15 months of life — either with a recovering parent,
a close relative, or an adoptive family."
Tragically, along
with a number of re-opening bills, Governor
Cooper vetoed the legislation yesterday. You can read the
Governor's wrong-headed response on why he vetoed HB 918 here.
4. THE CHRISTIAN POST: Justice
Roberts cites precedent to uphold evils of abortion
“[I]n a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court struck down a
Louisiana law that would have required abortion doctors to have
admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. Not only did Chief Justice
John Roberts side with the more liberal justices again, he
also gave pro-lifers reasons to doubt Roe would ever be
overturned during his tenure.
According to media outlets and the court majority, this
case, June Medical Services v. Russo, was essentially
'identical' to a Texas law the Court struck down in 2016. In that
case, Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt, the Court ruled
that requiring providers to have admitting privileges places an undue
burden on women who wanted to access abortion services. As I
argued on BreakPoint back in March, the Louisiana law was similar
but not identical. For example, only about 30% of women
seeking an abortion in Louisiana would have been affected by this law,
and requirements for doctors to obtain admitting privileges are less
strict in Louisiana than Texas. Because of these differences, a
circuit court concluded that abortion providers could more easily
comply with this law than the Texas law, and it therefore did not
impose an 'undue burden' on a woman’s right to an
abortion." You can also click
here to read our amicus brief on the case.
5. BREAKPOINT: Supreme Court Says States
Cannot Discriminate Against Religious Schools
"The past two weeks of Supreme Court rulings have not been
encouraging. After the disastrous ruling
in Bostock arbitrarily expanded civil rights
protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity, the
Court, in June Medical, all but handcuffed meaningful state
efforts to restrict abortion.
Finally, yesterday, good news. The
Supreme Court, by a 5-4 vote, held its ground on discrimination
against religious education. In Espinoza v. Montana Department of
Revenue, the Court ruled that a state tax credit which
“[discriminates] against religious schools and the families whose
children attend or hope to attend them” violates the First Amendment’s
Free Exercise Clause.
The case dates back to 2015 when the
state of Montana created a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for
individuals who donate to organizations that provide scholarships to
private school students. After creating the program, the Montana
Department of Revenue ruled that such a tax credit, if used to fund to
religious private schools, would violate the state’s version of the
“Blaine Amendment,” which prohibits state funding of religious
education.”
Click
here to read more commentary from the National Review on the
Espinoza case.
WEEKLY PRAYER: PRAYER FOR THE NATION
Lord, we exist to give You glory. We exist because of Your
glory, and in Your glory, as our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. We
give you thanks and praise for every breath and moment You have given
to us. We repent of our sin; for the shameful things we have done
against You and for our silence when we did not speak up to proclaim
Your Name, profess Your Word, or protect and practice Your will. We
ask Your forgiveness. We pray that the knowledge of the glory of the
Lord will spread across our nation and the entire earth as we seek
Your Kingdom and righteousness; as we walk in obedience to You, and in
humble unity, love one another. Jesus, the Bible says that You are
“the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.” You have taught us to pray,
commanded us to love, and commissioned us to share Your gospel of
grace. Your glory fills our hearts and families, it overflows into our
neighborhoods, workplaces, campuses, churches, entertainment, and
media. We give thanks for our military and ask that Your glory would
spread to, and through them as they preserve freedom around the world.
We pray for our government, that all of our leaders and laws would be
filled with Your glory, that they would magnify Your Holy Word and
honor Your will and ways. We pray that Your grace and glory would
spread to bring hope to the hopeless, and love where there is hurt and
hate. God, use us as we pray your promise, that “the earth will be
filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover
the sea.” In Jesus Name, 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,
North Carolina Values Coalition
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