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]>
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1. NC VALUES: Time running out to take action against SOGI in Charlotte
WCNC <[link removed]> reports: “Charlotte's city council will take up both an old and new issue Monday in the form of protections for the LGBTQ community. It's old in that Charlotte passed a nondiscrimination ordinance several years ago but it's new in terms of who is supporting it. The proposed ordinance comes five years after the state passed the infamous House Bill 2.”
Although Republican Councilman Tariq Bokhari worked hard to insert some protections for religious freedom, the ordinance still contains qualifiers that limit this most basic right guaranteed by our State and Federal Constitutions. The State Constitution provides in Article I, Section 13: "Religious liberty. All persons have a natural and inalienable right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences, and no human authority shall, in any case whatever, control or interfere with the rights of conscience.
The religious exemptions in the proposed Charlotte ordinance do nothing more than limit freedoms already guaranteed by our State and federal constitutions without recognizing those provisions, and therefore, this not a compromise worthy of support. Afterall, How can you compromise away scriptural principles on sexuality and what it means to be created male and female?
The Charlotte City Council will allow public comment on the ordinance and will vote on it this upcoming Monday night. Here are two ways we can ensure our voices are heard:
- - Make your voice heard in person <[link removed]>: Register here <[link removed]> to speak at the City Council meetings on August 9th. City Council meetings are held at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Government Center 600 E. Fourth Street, Charlotte, NC 28202.
- Make your voice heard digitally <[link removed]>: Would you consider taking a minute to use our click-to-contact <[link removed]> tool to tell Charlotte officials to OPPOSE any anti-religious liberty SOGI policies and ordinances?
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2. LIFE NEWS: University admits harvesting kidneys from unborn babies while their hearts are still beating
The University of Pittsburgh may have inadvertently provided more evidence this week that aborted babies may be being born alive and left to die <[link removed]> so that their organs may be used for scientific research, according to the Center for Medical Progress.
As LifeNews.com has extensively reported, earlier this week, Judicial Watch <[link removed]> and the Center for Medical Progress <[link removed]>exposed evidence of babies potentially being born alive in abortion <[link removed]>s and other disturbing practices in documents they obtained from a Freedom of Information Act request to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The documents show that the federal government gave the University of Pittsburgh at least $2.7 million in federal tax dollars <[link removed]> over the past five years to become a “tissue hub” for aborted baby body parts for scientific research. <[link removed]>
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3. NATIONAL REVIEW: A final chance for SCOTUS to deliver justice for Barronelle Stutzman
"The Supreme Court of the United States has a final chance to deliver justice for Barronelle Stutzman. Let us explain.
On July 2, the Supreme Court of the United States formally declined to review Arlene’s Flowers, Inc. v. Washington — the case of Barronelle Stutzman, a Washington florist who politely declined to put her artistic talents in the service of creating custom floral arrangements for Rob Ingersoll’s same-sex wedding. She did so not out of spite or “prejudice.” She was friends with Ingersoll and sold him whatever flowers he wanted to purchase for whatever reasons he wanted them — no questions asked — for ten years. She did so out of principle. Her religious beliefs commit her not only to love others but also to only celebrate what her faith teaches her are true marriages — those between a man and a woman.
Nonetheless, Stutzman was sued by Washington State and then by Ingersoll — represented by the ACLU — in 2013. She eventually lost at the Washington supreme court. Fast forward about eight years, and it looks like her last chance for legal justice has all but ended.”
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4. DAILY STAR: Men could soon vastly outnumber women due to ‘cultural preference,’ study finds
“If there was any doubt that we're living in a man's world, there soon won't be - because blokes are set to vastly outnumber women. At least that's according to a new study that predicts a gender imbalance within decades, with sex selective abortions and 'cultural preferences' towards boys reducing the amount of girls being born.
The research, published in BMJ global health, said that abortions of female babies caused around 45 million births to disappear between 1970 and 2017. . . . If these trends continue, researchers fear that more than a third of the world's population will suffer from a lack of women for the foreseeable future.”
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5. CITIZEN-TIMES: State treasurer Dale Folwell pushes back against state-sponsored sex change surgeries
“The plan is under the jurisdiction of State Treasurer Dale Folwell's office who in October 2018 said that the ‘legal and medical uncertainty of this elective, non-emergency procedure has never been greater. Until the court system, a legislative body or voters tell us that we ‘have to,’ ‘when to,’ and ‘how-to’ spend taxpayers’ money on sex-change operations, I will not make a decision that has the potential to discriminate against those who desire other currently uncovered elective, non-emergency procedures.’”
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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, you 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! LORD, may we not take this blessing for granted. We pray that this great responsibility and dignity may motivate us to love You, our neighbors, and our families 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. LORD, make us your vehicle to change our culture into one that cherishes and protects life. Keep at the forefront of our minds our responsibilities to respect, cherish, and serve the youngest and oldest in our society.
Finally, LORD, we pray even further for our children. Across our state, country, and world, an entire generation of youth have seen their lives and education ruptured by the pandemic and its closing of schools. Father, as a result so many of these children are not only wounded by the quality of their education, but by a likely onslaught of mental illness brought about by social isolation. LORD, bring them hope and healing as only You can.
"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)
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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