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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.
 1. NC VALUES: Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health amicus brief filedYesterday, our sister organization—the Institute for Faith and Family—filed an amicus brief in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case. The brief's core argument is summarized in its initial paragraph where it argues: "Abortion terminates the life of an independent human being in the early stages of development. The Court should reject the viability line, step down from its inappropriate role as ex officio medical board, and discard the fallacy that women need access to abortion to participate in public life on an equal basis with men." "It is time for this Court to recognize, respect, and protect the life of every vulnerable, defenseless child developing in the womb of his or her mother." Click here to read the rest of the amicus brief.
 2. WBTV: Charlotte to vote on ordinance banning discrimination against sexual orientation and gender identity“The City of Charlotte is weeks away from voting on a proposed ordinance that would ban employers from discriminating against a person based on sexual orientation, gender identity and natural hairstyles among other factors. WBTV has obtained a draft copy of Charlotte’s new non-discrimination ordinance. The city released a draft of the new local legislation Monday.” If you're curious what Charlotte's proposed nondiscrimination ordinance means for small businesses, check out this article from WFAE. 
3. TAKE ACTION: Charlotte officials need to hear from youCharlotte's draft SOGI (sexual orientation & gender identity ordinance) attempts to coerce uniformity of thought and speech on beliefs about marriage, sex, and what it means to be male and female. It will apply to employment, housing, and public accommodations, forcing girls to compete against biological boys in school athletics and punishing professionals who willingly serve everyone but decline to promote messages or celebrate events in conflict with their beliefs. Laws like it have resulted in people like the florist Barronelle Stutzman having their livelihoods taken away and losing everything The City’s proposed SOGI provides no religious exemptions in the employment context, meaning that churches and schools would have to hire people that live contrary to church teachings on marriage and sexuality. While the language purports to exempt churches from the public accommodations definition, it is too narrow and would not appear to exempt religious schools. There are no specific exemptions for creative professionals, those who provide wedding services, and medical providers. In short, the proposed SOGI will force many professionals to violate their consciences and religious beliefs and will inhibit their free speech. Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran was fired by the City of Atlanta for publishing a Bible Study book on his own time that mentioned the Biblical view of marriage and sexuality. That same kind of discrimination against Christians will be made possible by Charlotte’s proposed SOGI. No one should have to ascribe to the government’s view of marriage and sexuality just to make a living. Charlotte needs to hear from you. Again and again, until—LORD willing—they listen. Would you consider multiplying our coalition’s voice by considering these two action items:
 4. CAROLINA JOURNAL: ‘Where there’s smoke, there’s fire,’ expert says about first round of CRT task force submissions"Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson in March announced the launch of a
task force to address growing concern grew among public school parents
about political and cultural indoctrination in the classroom,
specifically related to Critical Race Theory.
5. NC VALUES: Celebrate with us on September 30thWe would love for you to consider adding September 30th to
your calendar and joining us for a wonderful night of fellowship and
celebration of our 10th Anniversary! Often in life—and
especially in the political arena—we take little time to simply
celebrate our hard work and the relationships it engenders. While this
event in part finances the hard work we do at the NC Values Coalition,
on a higher level it builds our coalition's morale and raises our
spirits for another year's worth of
work.
 WEEKLY PRAYER: LEADERSLORD, we worship a mighty God who has the power to change hearts and minds. We lean on you as we continue to fight for the values we hold dear. Give our leaders Your wisdom—and courage to live it out. Specifically, Lord, we thank you for the courageous leader and bold witness we have in Lt. Governor, Mark Robinson. Lord, protect him and his family, and continue to guide his life and his witness on your behalf. We praise you that his heart is filled with your Holy Spirit and his life is dedicated to truth. Please send more like him, Lord. "But for you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, and endurance and gentleness.
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to
which you were called when you made your good confession in the
presence of many witnesses....Guard what has been entrusted to your
care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is
falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing
have departed form the faith. Grace be with you all." 1 Timothy
6
Sincerely, North Carolina Values Coalition
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