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This week's top stories from The Family Beacon:
New Mask Mandate: What Does it Mean for Churches?
The message below was adapted from an email we sent to church leaders yesterday.
While you may have heard about Gov. Walz’s most recent Executive Order (20-81) mandating the use of masks or face coverings in “public spaces,” you may not be aware of how it affects churches. The state has put together a summary for churches here, and we encourage you to take a few minutes to read through it.
You may be concerned about the mask mandate for all church-goers as well as the recommendation to refrain from congregational singing. We will keep you up to date on any relevant legal updates we receive from our attorney partners and allies. Please feel free to reach out with further questions.
We know the leadership of each church will have to decide how to receive the new Executive Order. Different churches may decide to pursue different ways of showing honor where honor is due—first to the Lord and then to the human authorities He has established (Romans 13:7). Likewise, all of us will be considering what is the most loving, biblical course of action to take.
Whatever you decide, let me encourage you to dwell on two things. First, consider that God accomplishes much when the righteous suffer and submit under questionable or even unrighteous leadership (1 Peter 2:13-25). There is a time and place for this, and all of us should rejoice when called to imitate Christ in this way. Second, consider that the Apostles came into regular conflict with the rulers of their age. Precisely because they were humble before and submissive to God, they boldly and publicly sought to obey God rather than men (Acts 5:39). There is a time and a place for this as well, and we must be willing in principle to joyfully stand our ground when God calls us to do so.
You may gravitate toward either the first or the second response. Why is that? Where is the “old man” in all of this for you personally, and where is the new? We can be very quick to justify our supposed “boldness” or “meekness” without doing a heart check. For the bold, remember James 1:19-20: Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. For the meek, remember Revelation 21:8: But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable...their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.
So, don’t be provoked into ungodly behavior because of the mask mandate, nor be so naïve as to think that various executive orders (including the most recent) haven’t raised some serious issues about the limits of human authority (Matthew 10:16). But, in all of this, let’s live and serve as those who believe that all authority in heaven and earth have been given to King Jesus.
However we and our churches choose to respond, let’s be mindful of the implications of our response for our gospel witness before a watching world (Romans 12:14-21).
The ACLU is Demanding that Religious Hospitals Violate Their Beliefs
One month after the Supreme Court’s Bostock ruling, the ACLU has filed a lawsuit against a Catholic hospital that refused to perform a hysterectomy on a woman struggling with gender dysphoria. St. Joseph Medical Center was founded in 1864 by Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia and has continued to operate in accordance with their beliefs for over 150 years. Because of those beliefs, the hospital canceled Jesse Hammons’s hysterectomy as it would have removed a healthy organ and left her sterilized. The ACLU argues that, in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling, the hospital’s actions are discriminatory.
In an ACLU press release, Hammon said, “The hospital will perform hysterectomies for everyone else, but they did not think that my life, as a man who is transgender, is equally worthy of protection.” This claim is false. St. Joseph’s Medical Center does not perform hysterectomies for “anyone else,” but instead, only performs them when medically necessary. In a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the general counsel for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote in 2016,
A hospital does not engage in ‘discrimination’ when, for example, it performs a mastectomy or hysterectomy on a woman with breast or uterine cancer, respectively, but declines to perform such a procedure on a woman with perfectly healthy breasts or uterus who is seeking to have the appearance of a man.
[Read the whole piece at The Family Beacon]
Americans Need to Talk About Abortion
A recent study from Dr. Tricia Bruce at Notre Dame University revealed that American’s attitudes toward abortion are not always what they would seem to be based on polling data. She and her team conducted a study in which they interviewed people on their views regarding abortion, without letting them know ahead of time what they would be discussing. Rather than asking closed-ended polling questions, they spent over an hour talking to each interviewee and then analyzed the interviews for patterns and trends.
Most of the interviewees acknowledged that they had not given serious thought to the issue of abortion, and that it was a topic they had almost never discussed. “Nearly all Americans feel conflicted in some way about abortion,” observed Bruce. “Surveys underestimate the ambivalence that emerges when Americans talk through their own understandings of abortion.” Bruce also found that many interviewees would give one response regarding their views on abortion, and then follow up by explaining that their response doesn’t actually reflect their views, and that none of the individuals her team interviewed saw abortion as a desirable good. [Read the whole piece at The Family Beacon]
Early voting for August 11 Primary Elections is now open!
Primary elections are on August 11, and early voting has now started! You can see who is running in your area by clicking HERE, and you can get information on absentee primary voting by clicking HERE.
Annual Dinner Tickets are Selling Fast: Reserve yours today!
We're so excited for Get in the Game: Fighting for Life and Dignity! on September 17th with pro-life superstar Abby Johnson! We're working to ensure that our event is safe for all our guests to attend, so that means fewer tickets than usual, and 50% of them are already sold!
So register today for an unforgettable night of fun, inspiration, and fellowship! Discounted tickets available for young people and pastors!
Educating and Equipping Parents on the Transgender Trend
Get Your Copy of the Minnesota Parent Resource Guide! The Parent Resource Guide sheds light on the consequences transgender ideas have on kids' lives, while equipping parents to play a positive role in creating a truly welcoming school community.
Responding to the transgender trend with truth and compassion starts with the Parent Resource Guide. Get your copy HERE today and invite a friend to do the same! Click to order your copy today:
Support MFC When You Shop Online - now on mobile!
Did you know that when you shop with Amazon Smile, Amazon makes a donation to Minnesota Family Institute at no cost to you? This is one of the easiest ways to support our mission of advancing life, family, and religious freedom in Minnesota! Now available in Amazon's mobile app!
Thank you for sharing Minnesota Family Council's vision for
strong families and communities through Christ. We are grateful for your partnership with us in prayer, legislative involvement and generous donations.
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