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. FOX NEWS: Senate confirms Xavier Becerra as Biden's HHS secretary despite GOP opposition
“The Senate on Thursday voted to confirm Xavier Becerra <[link removed]> as President Biden’ <[link removed]>s Health and Human Services secretary, delivering the nascent administration another Cabinet member despite nearly unanimous opposition from Republican lawmakers.
Becerra, currently California's attorney general, will become the nation's first Latino to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and faces the daunting challenge of leading the administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic. The U.S. surpassed 538,000 deaths on Thursday, the highest in the world.
Lawmakers approved Becerra on a 50-49 vote, with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the only Republican to support his nomination.
Becerra has drawn fire from Republicans for his record on abortion rights, guns and immigration, as well as his support for Medicare-for-all. Conservative groups have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on ad buys in Arizona and West Virginia, trying to pressure moderate Democrats to not support Becerra.”
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2. DAILY WIRE: Senator Grassley, Tillis, and others discuss personal faith at senate hearing on Equality Act
North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis <[link removed]> participated in the first US Senate hearing on the Equality Act. He stated he cannot support the bill in its current form. Tillis, who himself was a coach for a number of years, seeks clarity on how the bill would impact women's sports. Tillis stated:
"We have millions of Americans, who are people of faith, who have serious and legitimate issues of conscience. These Americans practice their faith daily, they love their God, their church, and their community, and they strive to live Biblical values. People of faith contribute so much, and we’ve seen so many stories, even in the midst of the pandemic, about the very important role that they play. In our Constitution and our Bill of Rights, it does protect liberties, and if anything, freedom of religion and the free exercise of our faith is the most important and most sacred constitutional right. It’s literally the reason why our nation was founded.
The Equality Act would 'deny the religious liberty and freedom of millions of Americans by forcing churches, religious schools, and adoption agencies to violate their sincerely and deeply held religious beliefs. That’s something I can’t support' And it’s something I’d never support."
"The Senate Judiciary Committee held its hearing for the Equality Act on Wednesday, including testimonies from citizen witnesses, as well as United States Representatives and Senators. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley (IA), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, discussed his personal religious beliefs in a statement at the hearing.
Grassley stated, 'We all agree that everyone should be treated with dignity and respect … We’re all human beings and need to treat each other with kindness and compassion, and for some of ya, it may be sentimental for me to say that my guide is from the Bible. "Love God," that first law. The second law — "love your neighbor as yourself."
I question whether that is what this bill truly does. I strongly suspect that it actually would dictate what women, girls, schools, churches, doctors and others must believe,' Grassley continued." <[link removed]>
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3. FOX NEWS: DeSantis condemns critical race theory, says it won't be taught in Florida classrooms
"'Teaching kids to hate their country and to hate each other is not worth one red cent of taxpayer money,' Florida governor says."
“DeSantis this week proposed to spend $106 million to support civics education in the state after receiving the boost in funding from the coronavirus stimulus package that President Biden signed into law last week.
Under the governor's proposal, teachers who get credentialed in teaching civics would get a $3,000 bonus. Some $16.5 million would be devoted to training teachers and principals in civics education. That training would come from civics "coaches," in-person seminars and virtual learning.”
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4. WRAL: Lt. Gov. decries politicization of NC classrooms
“Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson said Tuesday that some North Carolina teachers are inserting their political and cultural ideologies into what's being taught in their classrooms, and he wants to put an end to that practice.
‘The classroom should be a place for education, not a place where people's opinions are pushed on our children,’ Robinson said in announcing the creation of the Fairness and Accountability in the Classroom for Teachers and Students task force, or FACTS <[link removed]>.
‘We call it indoctrination, but it could be called many things. It could be called politicizing the classroom,’ he said.”
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5. TAKE ACTION: 🏃♀️ Save Women's Sports in NC & other important active NC Values campaigns
Girls deserve to compete on a level playing field. When we ignore biological reality, girls get hurt. In athletics, girls are losing medals, podium spots, public recognition, and opportunities to compete. Biological males will always have physical advantages over females—that’s the reason we have girls’ sports. We need legislation to Save Women’s Sports. According to a recent 2020 poll, 75.46% of North Carolinians agree: allowing biological males to compete in women's sports is unfair. If you're one of them, would you take a minute to ask your elected officials to SUPPORT Save Women's Sports legislation in North Carolina? <[link removed]>
IMPORTANT:As the above Friday Five articles indicate (as well as the former couple weeks), there are a number of fronts where far-left activists are pursuing policies that are antithetical and hostile to our precious pro-life, pro-family, and pro-liberty values. News like Becerra's confirmation are tragic, but rather than allowing it to discourage you, our hope is that you are instead motivated to take action.It is our hope that the labor we put into developing these communications and creating click-to-contact tools equips you to influence the direction our country is going. We owe our children as much.
Here are a couple of ways you can help shape their future by defending your values:
- URGENT: Save Women's Sports in NC <[link removed]>
- URGENT: Tell Your Officials to Oppose Anti-Religious Liberty SOGI Ordinances <[link removed]>
- URGENT: Ask Senators Burr & Tillis to Reject the "Equality Act" <[link removed]>
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WEEKLY PRAYER: LIBERTY
LORD, you have blessed us with a spiritual liberty that is so wonderful and beyond description, that it can only be understood through experiencing a life-giving relationship with Christ. However, we also recognize that in your grace, you have blessed our country with a political liberty that enables us to openly proclaim the experience of a life lived in the freedom of the Gospel.
LORD, as individuals and as a nation, may we never take the inalienable right of religious freedom for granted. Right now our country has faced a rapid increase in the number of attacks made against this cherished right. We have seen groups across our public arena increase in boldness and frequency their smears against religious liberty. They claim it is bigotry, when we know it is the security of the greatest of all possible loves.
Be with your people and our country as it continues to protect the constitutional right protected by our nation's Founders. Be with legislators and the Supreme Court, as they determine through their actions the protection of this particular and fundamental freedom.
“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." (Galatians 5:1)
"For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." (Galatians 5:13)
"Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God." (1 Peter 2:16)
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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