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 towards our work producing these Friday Fives and fighting for your values on the public square! <[link removed]>



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1. NC VALUES: They chose indoctrination



Over the past couple of days, 30,000 of you stood with Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and signed his petition opposing the divisive Social Studies Standards revisions. 3,500 of you even sent tens of thousands of emails to members of the NC State Board of Education asking them to vote “no” on the current version and, instead, adopt the version that was presented to the Board on June 8, 2020.



Unfortunately, the NC Board of Education decided to ignore your voice and side with institutionalizing indoctrination.



























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2. NC VALUES: Tell your Harrisburg Officials to Oppose Anti-Religious Liberty SOGI Ordinances



Harrisburg NC <[link removed]> officials will vote on Monday, February 8th, on expanding the town's nondiscrimination policy to include, among other things, “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” (SOGI). Following the expiration of HB142 and the state legislature’s inability to make its provision permanent, local governments are conspiring together to pass local sexual orientation and gender identity ordinances that undermine religious liberty. Officials in cities such as Carrboro, Chapel Hill, and Durham, and counties such as Orange and Mecklenburg <[link removed]>, have decided to enact such changes, despite the fact that these types of local ordinances violate the State Constitution as well as First Amendment protections in the Federal Constitution for freedom of religion, speech, association and conscience.



Would you take a minute and use our click-to-contact tool to tell Harrisburg officials to OPPOSE any anti-religious liberty SOGI policies and ordinances? <[link removed]>























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3. DAILY SIGNAL: For female athlete, Biden’s transgender executive order ‘heartbreaking’



"Four accomplished female athletes filed a lawsuit in federal court in Connecticut in February 2020, fighting for their right to do just that after they kept losing track meets to biological males who “identify” as females.



In an email, one of those athletes, Selina Soule, described how it felt when she heard about Biden’s executive order mandating a new interpretation of federal anti-discrimination laws."



"It’s really heartbreaking and disappointing to watch the Biden administration push this gender identity policy, because I know how it affects girls. I’ve lived under this policy in Connecticut.



Girls like me lose championships, podium spots, advancement opportunities, and the recognition we deserve because we’re forced to compete against biological males in our races.



Women fought long and hard for athletic opportunities, and I want to preserve those opportunities for the next generation of female athletes."























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4. PAUL STAM: The NCGOP 2020 Election Results



“How did the NC GOP do in the November 2020 elections? Here is the big picture at the local, state, and national level, including the presidency.



Local level. Before the election Republicans controlled 59 County commissions. After the election the GOP controls 61 County commissions. Since Democrats control commissions with greater county populations, the counties controlled by Republican/Democrat members is about 50/50. It will skew more to the Democrats after the 2020 census figures are reported.



State level. In legislative races Republicans went from 65 to 69 representatives of the 120-member State House, short of the 72 required to override a veto. A veto override is much more achievable with 69 than with 65 votes. In the 2011-2012 session the NC GOP held 68 House seats. Overrides of Governor Perdue’s vetoes prevailed 8 times. There were 17 Democrats who voted one or more times to override Governor Perdue. There are more than 3 persuadable House Democrats.”



















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5. NORTH STATE JOURNAL: After parent outcry and lawmaker pressure, Cooper allows schools to hold in-person learning



"Gov. Roy Cooper said the state’s schools should return to in-person instruction at [yesterday's] COVID-19 press conference.



During a Council of State meeting earlier in the day, Truitt said that she and Davis would join today’s COVID-19 briefing in 'an effort to urge our districts across the state to re-open our schools to in-person learning.'"























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WEEKLY PRAYER: LIFE



LORD, we recognize that you are Sovereign over all creation. We recognize you made man from the dust, and in your mercy crowned creation with man and woman made in your image. What a wonder it is that you would bestow upon us this blessing and responsibility!



We pray LORD that we would not take this for granted. We pray that both this great responsibility, and this great dignity, may motivate us to love you more, love our neighbor more, and love ourselves more



LORD, may we as a culture truly see and believe that children are a blessing from the LORD—born or unborn; able or disabled. All children should have an opportunity to experience the liberty of life.



"At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, 'Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: 'Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.'" (Matthew 18:1-6)



LORD, we also pray for our children and their innocence, for the protection of the religious liberties of businesses and churches, and for the rights of parents over their kids. With activists seeking to reboot the tired debate on HB2, we pray that city officials may not bend a knee to their demands.



Finally, we pray thanksgiving and gratitude for Justice Newby's recount win.





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,



North Carolina Values Coalition



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

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