Religious organizations CAN get involved in government...because government is sure involved in religion!

Assembly Bill 569 or AB 569 - which the authors have duplicitously named “Discrimination: reproductive health” - would make it illegal for employers to require employment Codes of Conduct that prohibit abortion or contraception for its employees. The law is also intended to be used to outlaw Codes of Conduct prohibiting sex (cohabitation) outside of marriage.  And if history is any indication, this bill will not stop there! According to California Family Council, who is closely following this bill in Sacramento, the bill’s author  believes organizations, even religious ones, are “invading the privacy and personal lives of women.”

In short, if this bill is passed, it will outlaw private religious institutions such as universities and pro-life organizations from requiring codes of conduct based on their biblical values.  You can see where this bill targets Christianity and discriminates against a faith-based organization’s ability to be faithful to their religious beliefs, ministry and mission, when they prohibit any of their “reproductive choices,” including abortion or extramarital sex.

“Every organization that promotes a pro-life message must be able to require its employees to practice what they preach,” said California Family Council’s Johnathan Keller.

AB 569 will be heard in the State Senate Appropriations Committee when our state legislators return from their break on Monday, August 21.

Let's all make a difference! Let's all speak up! The best way to kill a bill is before it comes up for a vote to become law, so we are asking you to please take a moment to call the following State Senators that are on the Appropriations Committee, especially if you are in the District of one of these State Senators. (If you don’t know, you can click on the name to see District)

For strategic reasons, we are asking you to please urge the Republicans to vote NO and the Democrats to Abstain.

Ricardo Lara (D, Chair)    Please Abstain Sacramento: 916-651-4033 Local:  323-277-4560, 562-256-7912

Patricia Bates (R, Vice Chair) Please Vote NO Sacramento: 916-651-4036 Local: 949-598-5850, 760-642-0809

Jim Beall (D) Please Abstain Sacramento:  916-651-4015 Local: 408-558-1292

Steven Bradford (D) Please Abstain Sacramento: 916-651-4035 Local: 310-514-8573, 310-412-6120

Jerry Hill (D) Please Abstain Sacramento: 916-651-4013 Local: 650-212-3313

Jim Nielsen (R) Please Vote NO Sacramento:  916-651-4004 Local: 916-772-0571, 530-879-7424, 530-751-8657

Scott Wiener (D) Please Abstain Sacramento:  916-651-4011 Local: 415-557-1300

Please feel free to use your own words, but if it helps, below is a suggested call script you can use when calling.

Hello, my name is ____________________.  I am a member of (give name of church and city or better yet, region).  For pastors: I am the pastor of (give name of church and city or region) and I represent a congregation of (number).

I am calling to urge the Senator to Vote NO (Republicans) / ABSTAIN FROM VOTING (Democrats) on AB 569, the Reproductive Health Bill.

AB 569 prevents certain private Religious organizations from exercising their basic right under the Constitution to be faithful to their religious beliefs, ministry and mission.  Government should uphold religious liberty and not impede or make illegal anyone’s right to freely associate with those of shared beliefs and practices.

This is not a partisan issue, it is a Religious liberty issue and I am asking Senator _________________ to Vote NO (Republican) / ABSTAIN (Democrat). Thank you and God bless.

For a better chance of stopping this attack on private religious organizations, please share this email and encourage your pastors and other members of your congregations to call, as well.

Thank you all for participating in this important cause to protect and defend the religious liberties of Christian organizations in our state!

Advocates for Faith & Freedom would not be able to continue our ministry of defending religious liberty in and out of the courts without your prayers of support and tax deductible donations.

Baby Charlie's Tragic Tale of Government-Run Healthcare

Charlie Gard was born in the U.K. last August. Just weeks later, he was diagnosed with mitochondrial DNA  depletion syndrome. His diagnosis is that he will be unable to stand, walk, eat, talk and eventually breathe. Only the sixteenth known person in the world with the condition, Charlie’s doctors say he will die from his illness.

Now on life support, 11-month-old Charlie’s specialists at  The Great Ormond Street Hospital in London have decided the baby’s  life support should be turned off.

Under the U.K.'s government run health care system, Charlie’s  parents have been fighting for permission to send their son to the U.S. to undergo pioneering treatment lead by Dr.   Michio Hirano, a professor of neurology at Columbia University in New York.

They previously lost their fight in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court after British healthcare specialists successfully argued that "some conditions cannot be cured or improved."

Charlie’s heartbroken mother appealed to the British Prime Minister and the ironically named European Court of Human Rights, but they both backed the healthcare system’s decision that Charlie was too sick to be brought home to die, let alone be moved to the U.S for treatment.

Desperate to save their baby’s life, Charlie’s parents also took to social media. Charlie’s story made international headlines and prompted public outcry over the U.K.’s healthcare system’s decision.

And while members of the local church community stood outside The Great Ormond Street Hospital with posters to offer hope to his family, baby Charlie’s heart-wrenching story captured the world’s attention, including Pope Francis who tweeted, “To defend human life, above all when it is wounded by illness, is a duty of love that God entrusts to all.”  President Trump even offered his support by tweeting, “If we can help little #CharlieGard, as per our friends in the U.K. and the Pope, we would be delighted to do so.”

Possibly due to this publicity, in a new court development, the judge ruled to allow Dr. Hirano to examine Charlie with full access to his medical records and the hospital’s facilities! Dr. Hirano believes he can help save baby Charlie. The judge hopes to render his decision by July 25 and Charlie’s parents are feeling optimistic.

However, British healthcare officials have not changed their position. They maintain that every medical treatment option has already been explored and that any experimental treatment could not be justified. Clearly, financial consideration may be playing a part in the decisions made regarding baby Charlie’s life.

On their website, www.charliesfight.org, Charlie’s parents say, “Charlie should get a chance to try these medications. He literally has nothing to lose but potentially a healthier, happier life to gain.”

Please join Advocates for Faith & Freedom as we pray for comfort for baby Charlie and his parents’ freedom to pursue his potential life-saving medical treatment. And as we discuss healthcare in our own country, we seek God’s wisdom for our legislature and His continued blessings on America’s doctors and hospitals. We thank the Lord for the freedom to choose our own medical treatment without government intrusion.

So that Advocates for Faith & Freedom can continue the fight for life and religious liberties in our own courts, we thank you for your prayers and financial support.

Thank you for your faithful prayers and your donations! 

Pastors Disrupt D.C.!

Dear Friends, If you follow us on Facebook and receive our Advocates In Action emails, you’ve heard about my recent trip to Washington, D.C.  Advocates for Faith & Freedom was honored to be a sponsor of Church United’s Awakening Tour for California pastors.

Church United’s founder, Pastor Jim Domen, admits his purpose is to “disrupt” California pastors and bring a revival to the churches of California. And I believe a sense of revival is about to happen!

Over 150 pastors and influential church leaders from across the state came together in May to accept the challenge to pray for our politicians, pray for revival and to respond to the spiritual issues that threaten our communities.  At least 28 of these pastors are affiliated with Advocates for Faith & Freedom’s ministry!

Everyone prayed for an awakening in the Church!

Church United arranged for most pastors to meet with their own congressional representatives to pray with them and for them.  Most of the politicians were extremely encouraged by their visit from the pastors. God definitely had His hand in the connection made between the pastors and their elected officials!

The pastors were encouraged by so many Christian congressmen and senators who boldly warned that revival won’t come from Washington D.C., but will be flamed in our local churches. After all, California is the birthplace of some of our most significant revivals like Azusa Street and the Calvary Chapel “Jesus People” movement.  The pastors came in unity from the inner-city to the suburbs, from democrat to republican, from orthodox to charismatic, from rich to poor. It was an amazing symbol of a “church united” in the heart of our Nation’s capital.

U.S. Senator Ben Sasse, House of Representatives Leader Kevin McCarthy, Freedom Caucus Chairman Congressman Mark Meadows, Congressman Mike Johnson, CA State Senator Mike Morrell, and many more spoke with a conviction that called on these pastors to find the courage to speak from the pulpit and the public square with faith and without fear! All Believers, some were even former pastors who said they never aspired to run for public office, but seeing the decline of our country’s religious and moral character, they are now giving a voice to America’s Christians who feel they’ve been forgotten by their government.

I was blessed to have had the opportunity to share with these pastors about Advocates for Faith & Freedom’s ministry. Simply put, we exist to defend their First Amendment right to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, inspired by the hope of revival and the unity they shared, here is what these pastors had to say…

So, what can you do to help inspire this united message of hope for California and our country? Please pass this newsletter on to your own pastors and encourage them to contact us about attending the next Pastors’ Awakening Tour in Washington, D.C. You can also contact Church United directly at www.churchunited.com.

As Advocates for Faith & Freedom continues our fight in the courts for you and your church’s right to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ, won’t you partner with us with your prayers of support? And won’t you consider sending a tax-deductible gift of $25, $100, $250 or more?

Thank you for your generous support, which allows us to continue our ministry in law and our partnership with other ministries like Church United!

Shop on Prime Day from Amazon and support Advocates at the same time!

Amazon's third-annual Prime Day is on Tuesday, July 11 and will feature more than 100,000 deals exclusively for Prime members, making it one of the biggest shopping days of the year. You can begin your shopping tonight (Monday, July 10)  at 9:00 pm (EST).  Shop at smile.amazon.com and Amazon will donate to Advocates for Faith & Freedom!

When you #StartWithaSmile on #PrimeDay, Amazon also donates to Advocates For Faith & Freedom. Shop for great deals at smile.amazon.com/ch/74-3149624

Amazon.smile donates to Advocates on Prime Day and every day!

We Got Another Big Victory for Life & Free Speech!

You may recall we are representing the Scharpen Foundation in challenging AB775 the Reproductive FACT Act where we filed a lawsuit in both federal and state courts. The California statute requires pro-life pregnancy centers that are Christian-based in just about all cases, to provide women the contact information for where they can get free and low- cost abortions.

After arguing for three hours in the Superior Court in Riverside County on April 6, 2017, the California State Attorney General’s motion to dismiss our case was just denied this last week!

According to the judge, this law “forces the clinic to point the way to the abortion clinic.”

In her ruling, Judge Gloria Trask wrote that “the required notification is compelled speech which on its face violates freedom of speech protected by Article 1, Section 2 of the California Constitution.”

With funding raised by Advocates for Faith & Freedom, Tyler & Bursch’s lawyers strategically filed the lawsuit in state court because the California State Constitution is supposed to provide greater free speech protection than the First Amendment.

Ms. Nada Higuera, our staff attorney who argued the case, said that “Judge Trask explains that because free speech is involved under the State Constitution, the Court must strictly scrutinize whether the legislation is lawful. After scrutinizing the law, the judge agreed with our analysis that the law is an unconstitutional violation of free speech.”

Freedom of expression on public issues should be protected at the highest level.  Therefore, this law should be analyzed using strict scrutiny. The ruling warned that the state’s “ability to impress free citizens into State service in this political dispute cannot be absolute; it must be limited.”

In her ruling, the judge explained that this state-compelled speech “is not merely the transmittal of neutral information.” She agreed with our attorneys that this is not just calorie counting or a health hazard warning on smoking tobacco or drinking alcohol. This issue - which is “contentious and raises issues that are religious, cultural, political and legal” - is about the more than four decades-long dispute over abortion.

          The Reproductive FACT Act compels the clinic to “speak words with which it profoundly disagrees” and “places too heavy a burden upon the liberty of free thought.”         

Given the language in the ruling, Tyler & Bursch’s General Counsel Robert Tyler is confident that “while this ruling is not the final judgment, this interim ruling foreshadows what will be the judge’s final decision. She makes her opinion known that the law is unconstitutional.”

   Our next hearing is set for July 21, 2017, where the court will give direction on how our case should proceed - whether the case will actually have a trial or whether it should be simply decided by briefing.

Concurrently, we also represent Livingwell Medical Clinic in federal court. This statute was previously upheld in that case as not violating the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution before a three-judge panel in the Ninth Circuit. That case is pending a determination from the U.S. Supreme Court as to whether the High Court will take up our case. Our two-front strategy gives us the ability to win in either federal or state court.

Although it appears that victory is at hand in state court, we would not be able to do any of this without the generous financial support from friends like you. Won’t you please consider donating just $25, $100, $200 or more so we can continue fighting for religious liberties in the courts?

While Advocates for Faith & Freedom depends on our supporters for the funds to fight these important cases, we first and foremost thank you for your continued prayers.

Thank you for your faithful prayers and your donations! 

Constitutional Common Sense Wins Over Political Correctness

“These are the times that try men’s souls.” ~ Thomas Paine

In his 1776 pamphlet, “Common Sense,” Thomas Paine challenges the authority of government and argues for American independence. His thoughts are said to have influenced the U. S. Constitution.

241 years later, government is still being challenged and the U. S. Supreme Court has confirmed that the First Amendment rights of the Constitution have authority over political correctness.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had deemed an Asian-American rock band’s name, "The Slants," to be racially disparaging and denied them a trademark.

Challenging government’s authority, the Asian-American band sued on the grounds that the federal trademark law violated their free speech rights.

After a lengthy and costly court battle, on June 19, 2017, the Supreme Court sided with the rock band and in a unanimous decision the court ruled that the law banning offensive names is, in fact, unconstitutional.

Thus, ensuring the protections of Free Speech against the tyranny of those who want to prohibit any and all speech they determine to be offensive.

We are hopeful that this firm 8–0 Supreme Court decision will bring back common sense to the politically correct lunacy that has permeated our society, our schools, our politics, and even some of our churches.

Christian businesses, students, pastors and citizens owe these rock-stars a big “thank you” for their courage to stand up for our uniquely American right to freedom of speech, even if another person – or the government – says they disagree.

We at Advocates for Faith & Freedom are engaged in legal battles for the free speech rights and religious liberties of courageous Christians and churches every day. Your prayers are greatly appreciated and we are grateful for your necessary donations that allow us to continue this important ministry.

          "He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself."  ~  Thomas Paine                                                                                                               

Thank you for your faithful prayers and your donations! 

How "We" Can Effect Change in Culture & Law

June 14 was Flag Day, the day Americans honor the adoption of our national flag and the freedom the stars and stripes represent. Christians in America are truly blessed that we are free to worship and are not subject to the dangerous threats and atrocious persecution that far too many Christians around the world are facing.  As a beacon of hope to the rest of the world, it should be our biblical duty to maintain those freedoms. "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 2 Cor. 3:17

Yet, true religious liberty in America should provide us the freedom to live consistently with our beliefs every day, from our churches and into the public square. However, the modern progressive movement in our government has produced legislation that creates confusion between “free exercise of religion” and “freedom of worship.”  Adoption agencies, bakers, florists, and schools that maintain what Americans have always believed about human sexuality, marriage and gender, now find themselves in danger of being in conflict with the law.

So, what can our Church Leaders and we as Christians do?

1.  Thomas Jefferson wrote that a well-informed electorate is a prerequisite to democracy. On a local and state level, Advocates for Faith & Freedom would like to begin providing updates, information and analysis from organizations like California Family Council on some of the literally hundreds of anti-traditional-family and anti-religion bills and laws that pass through our state legislature every year.

To give you an idea, SB1146 would restrict the religious liberty rights of colleges and universities by preventing them from receiving state funding if they perform actions that California laws deem discriminatory on the basis of religion.

2.  An additional resource for learning about our religious liberties on a national basis and then staying informed about their ongoing battle to protect those rights is The Heritage Foundation.

3. As you know, last month, Advocates for Faith & Freedom had the privilege of supporting and joining Church United and over 150 CA pastors in Washington DC. They learned about America’s exceptional godly heritage. Church United’s goal is to create a movement in California to encourage and support all church leaders who share a biblical world view to take bold and courageous action in their churches and their preaching.  Our state desperately needs a change in cultural morality that only a church revival can deliver!  You will hear more about this in this month’s newsletter.

4. In order to effect moral change in our culture the body of Christ must provide persuasive moral influence in the public arena and must also engage in personal evangelism. Training for churches through Culture Impact Teams provides simple instruction for in-house leadership to arouse a congregational response to the moral and social issues that impact your community, state and nation.  Wherever we can, Advocates for Faith & Freedom will partner with church leaders to help facilitate Cultural Impact Teams.

The onslaught of legal challenges from organizations like the Freedom From Religion Foundation have bullied many Christian government officials and church leaders into believing they have no choice but to remain silent or face lawsuits resulting in financial ruin.

5.  Some of you may already know about and are already supporting Advocates for Faith & Freedom while they defend a number of these cases in our California courts today. Through the courage of Pastor Scott Sharpen and Go Mobile for Life, we are challenging AB775 on the basis of religious discrimination. This California law requires that pro-life clinics post the location and phone number of County facilities where an abortion can be obtained.

          Advocates for Faith and Freedom is also raising the funds for Tyler & Bursch attorneys, who have been hired to appeal the judge’s recent ruling that the Chino Valley Unified School District can no longer honor their long-standing tradition of invocations before their school board meetings.

We are confident that we will be successful in these legal challenges and will keep you updated.

Your prayers are greatly appreciated, first and foremost. However, we are also in need your generous and ongoing financial support in order to continue the costly work of protecting our God-given religious liberties in the California courts.

"Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right." - Abraham Lincoln   

Thank you for your faithful prayers and your donations!

Where Are Our Church Leaders?

500 Christian churches in London have closed; 427 new mosques have been built, and many on the sites of shuttered Christian churches. The Brick Lane Mosque was constructed on a former Methodist church that was built in 1743. It was a Methodist chapel from 1819 until 1898 when it became the Great Synagogue for Jewish refugees from Russia and central Europe. In 1976 it became the London Great Mosque.

St. Peter's Church has been converted into the Madina Mosque. The trustees received several other offers, but the bid from the Muslim community was chosen.

The former Hyatt United Church, bought by the Egyptian Community Centre will be converted to a mosque and school. The church’s Rev. Richard Golden surprisingly said this, "I am delighted it will remain as a place of worship. I believe we only have one God… some see it as the Prophet Mohammed and others as Jesus.”

Today, there are over 1,700 mosques throughout Britain and only 2 are said to follow the modernist interpretation of Islam.  And this conversion of faith does not only correlate to buildings. The number of converts to Islam has doubled and like Khalid Masood, the Westminster Bridge terrorist, some have become radicalized.

Just a few days after the Manchester Arena terrorist attack and Pope Francis’ trip to Egypt - where he lacked the moral courage to address Islamic extremism and offered only a banal criticism of every form of hatred in the name of “religion” – the Islamic assault continued in the name of Allah.

This time, it was a bus full of Christian pilgrims headed to a monastery in Minya, Egypt.  Before the massacre they were asked to renounce their faith, but all of them refused – even the children. One by one, they were shot to death.

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher has sounded an emotional warning about the wide-spread persecution and outright annihilation of Christians and Christianity that is currently underway in the Middle East. In the past 3 years in Syria and Iraq, in the name of Allah, we have seen the horrific mass murders of Christian minorities along with dozens, maybe hundreds of places of Christian worship that Islamic fundamentalists have demolished.

How many times do we have to acknowledge, as President Trump did, that the “merciless slaughter of Christians tears at our hearts and grieves our souls.”? How many of our children have to become “martyrs” as Pope Francis has declared?

Not only has the population of British Muslims grown – now at 2.7 million -  almost half are under the age of 25, while it is estimated that almost a quarter of Christian church-goers are close to eighty. It is estimated that in just 20 years, there will be more British Muslims than active Christians.

According to one of Britain's leading judges, their courts must also be multicultural and no longer influenced by Christianity. There are up to 100 Sharia courts in the UK.  In this parallel judicial system, these new courts are based on the denial of human rights, and the values ​​of equality and freedom that are the foundation of English Common Law.

Lebanese born and controversial defender of Christianity Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai has said, “I have often heard from Muslims that their goal is to conquer Europe with two weapons; their faith and their birthrate…  So when they come to Europe and see the empty churches and find the unbelief of Europeans, they immediately think they will fill that void.”

This trend is happening throughout Western Europe. Do centuries of Christian teachings and values face a certain and permanent decline or even extinction? Where are the church leaders? Where is their courage?

The Bible is absolute. Deuteronomy 31:6 says, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” But, so far, the majority of Christian leaders can do no more than speak to relativism.

Advocates for Faith & Freedom is boldly defending religious liberties in the courts. For an update on some of our cases, please visit our website below. Through your sustained prayers and generous donations of support, we can continue to protect and preserve America's Godly heritage.

Saving Lives, One Abortion Clinic at a Time

Thirteen years ago, four Christians sat themselves around a wooden table seeking God’s direction on how to stop the scourge of abortion around the globe, especially at their local Planned Parenthood clinic in College Station, Texas. That single hour of prayer birthed a campaign they called 40 Days for Life. To their surprise a grassroots, door-to-door effort emerged with more than 25,000 households reached, resulting in a 28 percent drop in the local abortion rate and the eventual closure of that abortion clinic. The effort gained national headlines and, three years later, the movement was expanded across the country and beyond. A decade later the results—including 13,305 babies saved—clearly have God’s handprint all over them:

• 4,876 total campaigns
• 715 cities, 44 countries
• 750,000 individual participants
• 19,000 churches
• 154 abortion workers (including abortion doctors) quit their jobs
• 86 abortion facilities closed

“It’s a reflection of the momentum that we see in the pro-life movement,” Shawn Carney, president and co-founder, said in a video posted on the ministry’s website “This is a very important time in history as we see Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion  provider, on the brink of being defunded. We see record numbers of abortion facilities closing their doors around the country and around the world, and we see hearts and minds being changed on the issue of abortion.”

Another testimony to the power of this life-affirming movement is its redemptive power.  According to Carney, 25 percent of the local campaign leaders are women who have had abortions and who can personally attest to the devastating consequences of terminating a pregnancy.

    “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.”  Proverbs 31:8

Casey expects this fall’s 40 Days for Life to be the largest ever, and applications to lead local campaigns are now being accepted through June 23 by clicking here.

Is there an abortion clinic near you? Will you join other pro-life individuals in your area and be part of 40 Days for Life’s peaceful prayer campaign? Your efforts can help bring the beginning of the end of abortion!

And please support Advocates for Faith & Freedom as we defend the religious liberties of pro-life clinics like Go Mobile for Life by donating today.  Thank you for your generosity and prayers.

They Sued Chino Valley Unified for Freedom of Religion! Really?

We filed a major brief on April 26, 2017 in the Ninth Circuit Federal Court of Appeal in our defense of Chino Valley Unified School District and its longstanding policy that allows an opening prayer before its public school board meetings. The School District became the target of a federal lawsuit by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, an aggressive, anti-religion organization based in Wisconsin.

After losing in the lower court, the School Board approached our lawyers to take over their defense.  Our lawyers at Tyler & Bursch now represent the School District in the Ninth Circuit Federal Court of Appeal. Advocates for Faith & Freedom is raising the funds to underwrite this very expensive and nationally significant case and we need your financial support.

Would you partner with Advocates for Faith & Freedom with your tax-deductable donation for our pro-bono defense of the School District?

This case is so important that we asked some of our friends and colleagues to file amicus briefs/friend of the court briefs. Jay Sekelow of American Center for Law and Justice, Alliance Defending Freedom, the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation, and Freedom, Law and Religious Practitioners have all filed supporting briefs. Many more are likely to be filed.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation claims that the School District’s policy of allowing prayer before its public board meetings violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. Without your support and our strategic defense, the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s radical view of the First Amendment will become the law of the land.

The lower court initially sided with the Freedom From Religion Foundation and ordered the School District to stop the invocations before board meetings. Our appeal seeks to reverse the lower court.

The U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled 5-4 in Town of Greece v. Galloway that opening City Council meetings with prayer does

not violate the Establishment Clause, which states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

The U.S. Supreme Court also held that legislative prayer is considered to have “historical precedent” and “lends gravity to public business, reminds lawmakers to transcend petty differences in pursuit of a higher purpose, and expresses a common aspiration to a just and peaceful society.”

Because of your enormous outpouring of prayers and generous financial support, I think it’s important to share more excerpts from our brief, so you can read what was actually cited and submitted to the court. You can also view our entire 70 page brief. Here are a few excerpts from our brief:

The prayers offered at the start of the Board of Education meetings were constitutionally permissible, legislative prayers under Marsh and Town of Greece. The District Court held that the Marsh/Town of Greece legislative prayer exception does not apply to school boards…. The district court erred. The line of cases concerning prayers at school do not apply to opening prayers at the Board of Education meetings because those prayers are constitutionally permissible legislative-prayers.

. . . .

           The Legislative prayer exception was established for State Legislatures and “other deliberative bodies”. These “ceremonial” prayers were simply a “recognition that, since this Nation was founded and until the present day, many Americans deem that their own existence must be understood by precepts far beyond the authority of government to alter or define. . . .”

. . . .

The Supreme Court extended the Legislative prayer exception to local legislative bodies. “In Marsh, the Nebraska state legislature opened each session with a prayer. Marsh v. Chambers, 463 U.S. 783, 784-85 (1983). A citizen sued, claiming the practice violated the Establishment Clause. Id. at 785. Relying on the “deeply embedded” history and tradition of our country, the Supreme Court held that the practice of allowing opening prayers for a legislative body or “other deliberative public bodies” did not violate the Establishment Clause. Id. at 786, 795. Indeed, the Court found that the Framers of the Constitution “did not consider opening prayers as a proselytizing activity or as symbolically placing the government’s official seal of approval on one religious view. . . . Rather, the Founding Fathers looked at invocations as ‘conduct whose . . . effect . . . harmonized with the tenets of some or all religions.” Id. at 792 (quoting McGowan v. Maryland, 366 U.S. 420, 442 (1961).)”

. . . .

“The Supreme Court in Marsh and Town of Greece found that prayers before deliberative public bodies are Constitutional legislative prayers to which the traditional Lemon test [a three-part test  put  forward  in  Lemon v. Kurtzman which is used to assess whether a law violates the Establishment Clause] does not apply.”

. . . .

“The Fifth Circuit recently held that prayers delivered by elementary and middle school students during the ceremonial portion of school board meetings do not violate the Establishment Clause. The Fifth Circuit reasoned that school boards are deliberative public bodies to which the legislative prayer exception applies.” At the strategic guidance of Tyler & Bursch’s lawyers, the Chino Valley Unified School District board members have wisely agreed to amend its policies to restrict some of the more controversial comments of board members during public meetings and to focus this appeal solely on the constitutionality of allowing a ceremonial prayer at the beginning of school board meetings.

We are confident that we will prevail with the appeal, whether at the Ninth Circuit or before the U.S. Supreme Court. We’re fighting for invocations; something that’s been going on since the founding of our country. That is why this case is of utmost importance to religious liberty in our country.

There is no other country in the world whose morals and laws are influenced more by Christian values than ours. But, those principles are being silenced by extreme groups like Freedom From Religion Foundation.

As always, Tyler & Bursch and Advocates for Faith & Freedom offer our services pro bono in protecting religious liberty in order to confront these anti-Christian organizations.

If you are able, your tax-deductable gift to Advocates for Faith & Freedom for $25, $50, $100 …or more, will allow us to continue to fight these court battles and ensure we remain free to believe, worship, and pray in this “one nation under God.” God bless you for your generosity, your faithfulness, and your prayers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Legal Update

• Also known as Go Mobile For Life, The Scharpen Foundation is challenging Xavier Becerra, Attorney General of California on California’s "Reproductive FACT Act" which compels Christian-based, pro-life clinics to post a notice advising the women they serve that free or low cost abortions are available, along with where they can be obtained and a phone number. The judge in this case is expected to issue a preliminary written decision any day now and we look forward to presenting our evidence in a full trial to prove discrimination of pro-life clinics statewide. Through litigation, we have uncovered covert discrimination. The law purports to apply to thousands of licensed medical clinics. But after exemptions, it really only applies to approximately 82 pro-life organizations!

• In a unique, two-pronged strategy, as Advocates for Faith & Freedom argues for the Scharpen Foundation in Superior Court, we are concurrently awaiting a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court in the Living Well Medical Clinic case (sister case to Scharpen) as to whether the High Court will accept our federal case for review, challenging California’s anti-life law.

• If you’ll remember, in the free speech VICTORY of Mackey v. Meyer, three federal appellate judges in the Ninth Circuit issued a final ruling in favor of a Christian man who was unlawfully arrested for reading the Bible aloud in front of the California Department of Motor Vehicles. Having won our appeal in the Ninth Circuit, the CHP settled and agreed to pay $10,000 to our client! We will now file a motion to recover attorney fees to support future cases.  
• Instead of making a final ruling in April on the religious land use case of Calvary Chapel Bible Fellowship County of Riverside the U.S. District court hearing resulted in the judge asking both sides to submit additional briefing on specific issues. Based on the oral arguments at the April hearing, we’re optimistic that we will persuade the judge to rule in our favor at our final hearing in August, and that he will find that Riverside County’s zoning ordinance unlawfully discriminates against churches.

• Church United, an organization whose purpose is to reach California pastors with the message to be bold in proclaiming a Biblical worldview to their congregations, has invited me to join them along with 170 plus pastors on their fully-sponsored trip to Washington, DC. Our goal is to encourage and support those courageous pastors who no longer wish to stay silent about the moral and ethical issues facing our culture today.