Your Prayers Made All the Difference!

“Cast your burden upon the LORD, and he will sustain youand uphold you; he will never allow the righteous to be shaken.” Psalm 55:22 AMPYour Prayers Made All The Difference!

On Wednesday, October 18, Advocates for Faith & Freedom attorneys, Bob Tyler and Nada Higuera, gave their final arguments on the Scharpen Foundation case, challenging the California law that requires pro-life clinics to advertise for abortion clinics.Your prayers were felt as attorney Higuera, who just gave birth to a healthy daughter last month, presented a well-researched and convincing case that we are optimistic resonated with the judge.

Judge Gloria Trask assured us she will issue her ruling by November 21 and we will let you know as soon as we hear. This will be Judge Trask's last case, as following a 40-year career, she will be retiring.

We were grateful for the many pro-life supporters who filled the courtroom seats in theRiverside County Superior Court, including such well-behaved children, they even received a compliment from the judge!

And thank you to our faithful supporters at home! From the final preparations to the start of the hearing, to the closing arguments, your prayers made all the difference!

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Your tax-deductible donations are what allows us to continue to fight these important cases!

Twitter Backs Down to Citizen Activists

Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn is the Republican chairwoman of the House panel that was created to investigate Planned Parenthood after they were secretly videotaped by pro-life activist David Daleiden admitting to selling fetal tissue for medical research.  Earlier this year Blackburn’s committee urged the federal government to stop taxpayer funding to Planned Parenthood.

Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn  is now running for U.S. Senate to replace retiring Tennessee Senator Bob Corker and her campaign kickoff just received more attention than she could have imagined thanks to what appears to be a politically biased opinion by Twitter.

Her campaign kickoff ad saying she “stopped the sale of baby body parts” was blocked by Twitter because they deemed the statement “inflammatory and likely to evoke a negative reaction.”

Blackburn immediately took to social media, claiming Twitter unfairly censored her ad because of its anti-abortion stance.  She urged her supporters to stand up to Silicon Valley elites and re-post her video ad themselves.

Evidently, her challenge worked because yesterday, Twitter reversed their decision and they will now allow Blackburn’s campaign to put her video announcement back up. On Fox news, Blackburn said she believes Twitter reversed its decision because “the American people rose up.”

Just as Representative Blackburn’s supporters stood with her against social media bias, Advocates for Faith & Freedom’s lawyers continue standing up in the courts against bias and religious discrimination.

Through the prayers and donations of our faithful supporters, we are defending the right of Chino Valley Unified School District School Board Members to say invocations before their meetings. We are helping Calvary Chapel Bible Fellowship fight land-use discrimination so they can expand their church on their own property. And we are fighting to end California’s unconstitutional law that forces pro-life clinics like the Scharpen Foundation to refer their patients to abortion facilities.

All of these cases, and more, are continually coming before the courts for decisions that affect our constitutional and religious liberties!  When you think about your year-end charitable giving, please consider a gift to our important ministry.

        

We thank you for your faithful prayers and your tax-deductible donations!

Is Your High School Participating?

What better way to seek God’s holy intercession than to encourage students around the nation to participate in SEE YOU AT THE POLE 2017  Wednesday, September 27 at 7:00 AM!

         Please make sure the students in your family know about this special day by passing the following information along to them:

What began in Texas in 1990, when a small group of students came together to pray, has, over 25 years later, grown into a day of students uniting in prayer around the globe to pray for their generation.

See You at the Pole day brings student together on their own school campuses to pray before God for their schools, friends, churches, communities and their families.

Mark your calendars for this year’s SYATP 2017 prayer gathering and if there is not one already planned at your school, grab some friends and make it happen!

Important note:  Be sure to inform your principal and tell your church youth pastors. Put up posters at school and church. Include in school and church announcements. Text, call and email your friends. Post on Facebook and Twitter.

If you have questions, please feel free to email us at dferraro@faith-freedom.com or go to the SYATP website to find all the information you need about uniting in prayer with your fellow students!

We thank you for your faithful prayers and your tax-deductible donations!

Celebrate the Document that Changed the World!

In the summer of 1787, delegates met in Independence Hall in Philadelphia to form one of the most cherished documents in America, our country’s constitution.

With 33 year old Thomas Jefferson as the principal author, our Founding Fathers began with the words, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America”.

In order to create “a more perfect union,” these brilliant statesmen crafted the framework that upheld federal and states’ interests, as well as individual human rights.

After living under the tyranny of the British monarchy, the intent of three distinct, but equal branches of government - Executive, Legislative and Judicial - was to prevent either branch from wielding too much power.

As these patriots signed their names to the document they had scrupulously created, little did they know their actions would change the course of human history.

After 116 days of deliberations, in response to this question as he left Independence Hall: “Well, Doctor, what have we got – a Republic or a Monarchy?” 81 year-old Benjamin Franklin replied, “A Republic, if you can keep it.”

For over two centuries, our nation’s God-given freedoms have served as a beacon of hope for people around the world. Now considered to be the world’s oldest surviving constitution, its model has been used by other nations to create new constitutions.

The intent of the Constitution is to limit the federal government and assert the basic rights of the people. Its companion document, the Declaration of Independence, preserves our liberties. It states, “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness….”

Just think about the incredible amount of courage it must have taken for these men to publicly sign their names to not only the U.S. Constitution, but to the Declaration of Independence, whose final sentence is an oath among the signers, to “mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor.”

Most assuredly, everything had been put on the line. In fact, many of these brave patriots’ lives and fortunes were ultimately sacrificed for their fellow Americans in their service to their country.

Advocates for Faith & Freedom is grateful and privileged to honor the courage of our Founding Fathers through our work defending the U.S. Constitution in the courts and preserving our Religious liberties.

Would you like to do something to help ensure that America’s hard-fought constitutional freedoms continue to be part of our country’s brave heritage?

“For you have been called to live in freedom…use your freedom to serve one another in love.”  Galatians 5:13 NLT

Be sure you are an informed citizen. Get to know your elected representatives’ names and pray for them regularly. Register to vote – and then vote your Christian values to ensure that those who represent us and the policies they support share our Biblical world view!

May God continue to bless our great nation, our ministry, and everyone whose constitutional liberties we defend.

What is your Constitution IQ? Click on the link to take the quiz and find out: https://www.constitutionfacts.com/

Historical Bible Banished from our Nation's Library

On my recent visit to Washington D.C, I was told that scores of historical books describing America’s Christian heritage have been ousted from our Nation’s library! For centuries the Library of Congress has collected and displayed millions of documents, books, artwork and other artifacts of our Judeo-Christian history. Established in 1800 to provide Congress historical documentation for the making of laws, the LOC is the world’s foremost repository of American history.

Even the architecture—particularly in the Main Vestibule of the Library’s historic Thomas Jefferson Building—symbolizes the legacy of our Christian roots. But while on a tour of the library, I was more struck by what was missing, than what was there.

Our guide, Dr. Catherine Millard, president and historian for Christian Heritage Ministries, told me that over several decades, countless books, many of them historical works celebrating our religious history, have simply disappeared from the General Collection - the library’s primary public access area. They are typically labeled either missing in inventory or charged to the Rare Book Collection and stored in a special vault.

She’s been tracking the books’ disappearances since the 1980’s! Much of her work, including more than 20 years as a researcher and writer at the LOC, is contained  in    her   book,  “The   Rewriting  of   America’s History,” originally published in 1991, updated in 2011. Certain  that  our  nation’s   Protestant   Christian history  has  been  targeted, she  told  me, “There has been a Library of Congress onslaught on removing the nation's true historic origins, hence, identity, from public view.”

Dr. Millard is convinced the literary exodus is not just a case of sloppy book keeping, but a deliberate attempt at revisionist history. Only four days after our tour, Dr. Millard was stunned to discover that the Giant   Bible of   Mainz - a 500 year-old, hand-written and illustrated Bible that, along with the Gutenberg Bible, had been on display for more than 50 years - has been removed.

When Dr. Millard inquired, she was told by the chief of the LOC’s Visitor Services Office that the Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, had removed the historic Bible for renovation. However, we cannot find anyone who can tell us if or  when the Bible will ever be back on display.

However, we cannot find anyone who can tell us if or  when the Bible will ever be back on display.

Gayle Osterberg, the director of Communications for the LOC, told Dr. Millard that Hayden, an Obama appointee who was head of the Baltimore Public Library system, has ideas to modify the Main Vestibule to include hands-on, 21st century and “pop-up” exhibits that pay homage to current and cultural influences.

In June, 2017, one of those exhibits included a tribute to “Pride in the Library," featuring items from the library's extensive “LGBTQ-Plus” collections. Since thousands of students visit the Library of Congress every month, what better way to promote the left’s public school agenda? Dr. Millard calls this action an affront to Christian families!

In a June 2016 Daily Signal article, Concerned Women for America voiced their displeasure with Hayden’s far-left radical activism.

Of Hayden’s ideological agenda and obvious lack of qualifications, Senior Legal Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, Hans von Spakovsky said, “That’s not what the Library of Congress is all about.” It’s the foremost cultural institution of the U.S. government, and that’s why we’ve had renowned scholars in this position.”

With what I’ve been told, I share Dr. Millard’s urgent concern for the integrity of our nation’s Library.  Maybe it’s time for President Trump to appoint a new Librarian of Congress who will respect our Christian Heritage.

If you’d like to help Advocates for Faith & Freedom get this priceless Giant Bible of Mainz back on display and fight this attack on our spiritual heritage, please let your voice be heard!

To exert pressure on the Committee on House Administration please call 202-225-8281 or send an easy form email to the committee members from their website at cha.house.gov/about/contact-us/email-house-administration. Public pressure has worked in the past. In 1990, the missing 1847 family Bible belonging to Abraham Lincoln was found after Dr. Millard doggedly pressed Library officials on its whereabouts.

Just as Dr. Millard’s objective is to preserve the truth about our Christian history in Washington D.C., Advocates for Faith & Freedom is fighting to protect our religious liberties in our courts.

Please partner with us with a tax deductable donation of $10, $100, $250, or more.   We are grateful for your generosity and thankful for your prayers!

Truth About the Confederacy

If America is to have a healthy national discussion about racism we have to acknowledge the emblematic affect the Confederacy's historical figures and symbols have on many black, and white, Americans.

First, we'll need a quick review of our history:Following the 1860 election of President Abraham Lincoln the Confederate States of America (Confederacy) was formed when, because of Lincoln’s opposition to the expansion of slavery, 11 slave-holding states seceded from the United States of America.  The Civil War started in 1861 when the U.S. Government (Union) rejected the Confederacy and their secession from the United States.

After winning the war, in the interest of healing our embattled nation, the Union reasonably thought it would be impractical to arrest and try thousands of Confederate soldiers and generals for treason or sedition. Some say this historical act of prosecutorial clemency erroneously led future generations of Americans, particularly in the South, to regard the Confederacy as patriotic, and its leaders as American heroes. There is no dispute that this weekend’s protest in Charlottesville was led by a hateful fringe group of helmet-clad, white- supremacists whose goal was to preserve the statue of a general who led the battle against the U.S. Army in order to defend slavery.  It is also pretty clear that they had an expectation and possible intent of violence. Yet blame for the escalation of violence can be assigned to all sides.

 So, what should our response be as a nation and as Christians?

First, as a nation of laws, while we recognize everyone's Constitutional right to assemble in protest, we must insist that our local government and police departments prepare and pre-empt to ensure the order and safety of its citizens in these predictably volatile situations.Second, as voters and consumers, we can influence our political leaders and the media into embracing a spirit of statesmanship and patriotism by refraining from the damaging and divisive use of political identity labels, which only serve to separate good Americans into racial factions and ideological enemies.

Third, our church leaders should show the moral authority to call out and reject these labels which spur hatred and encourage such emotional and violent reactions.

And last but not least, as Christians, we can pray for compassion and understanding and acknowledge that for many African-Americans, especially in the South, the leaders of the Confederacy are directly tied to the rationalization of slavery and racism, and the Confederate flag has always represented depravity, prejudice, and violence.

            This acknowledgment in no way translates into opening the door to erasing America’s Civil War history.

However, as a nation, we need to decide if erecting Confederate monuments that commemorate historical figures and events that clearly divide many Americans along racial and moral lines is worth this amount of national anguish?

Perhaps, as compassionate Christians and united Americans, instead of memorializing America's history of slavery in honored and prominent places in the public square, we should remember the great suffering and loss the Civil War brought upon our young country by teaching future generations the facts about these historical figures in school and place their stories, statues, and monuments in books, libraries and museums, where they belong.

As we face today's difficult moral, social and cultural issues, Advocates for Faith & Freedom asks that you join us in prayer for the healing of our divided nation, our people, and our leaders.

We are thankful for your faithful prayers and your tax-deductible donations!

One California Pastor Is Finding His Voice!

Not until the Church United Awakening tour in Washington DC, did two neighboring pastors - Bob Branch of The Springs Community Church in Temecula and Scott Scharpen of The Scharpen Foundation in Wildomar - even know each other existed. Then, by God’s providence, they were selected to be roommates and a lasting and meaningful friendship began. Inspired by the events of the trip, Pastor Bob was determined to get out of his comfort zone and speak up about the “uncomfortable” topics in our culture, one of them being abortion.

With his new friend’s ministry in mind, he invited Pastor Scott to speak at his church about The Scharpen Foundation’s mobile pro-life clinic, “Go Mobile for Life.”  They parked the mobile clinic in The Springs church parking lot and invited the congregation to tour the facilities. What an impact it had on all who experienced this life affirming ministry, especially Pastor Bob!

A few weeks later, we received an email from Pastor Bob. He wrote, “I was praying for the time, I kept using the phrase "Find Your Voice." I wrote and preached a sermon with that title the next week.”

We were so inspired by his message that we asked him if we could share it with you. Here is an excerpt: Also, notice Nehemiah’s tone and demeanor.  He is gracious, humble and respectful.  He prays silently the whole time. He’s looking for openness, for God’s answer, God’s movement. He’s driven by care, not by anger.

Notice that he was scared to death! Finding our voice may mean facing some of our biggest fears. It doesn’t mean we gallivant into danger without a care in the world. It means that in the midst of the injustice, in the middle of the opposition, we are able, with God’s gracious strength and boldness to go for the ask. To speak into the situation. To give voice to God’s heart, God’s truth, God’s ways.

Nehemiah found his voice with God, and shortly afterward, found his voice in the public sphere. God placed him there on purpose. He was to voice God’s heart and purpose to a pagan king, and when he went for the ask, the king accepted! Incredible! These matter, a lot!  As we pray, God will begin to give us a voice to speak into areas that need change.  To speak for him. As with Nehemiah, forging this new ground for something bigger than ourselves is difficult. But, this is how God has chosen to get his purpose advanced: through people like you and me, who at one point did not have a voice, and then, did! Nehemiah cared, prayed, went for the ask, and followed through. He went back to Jerusalem, rebuilt the walls, united his people, and worked as God’s change agent. Read Entire Sermon and Listen to Pastor Bob’s Sermon.

As Advocates for Faith & Freedom continues to use our voice to fight for Religious liberties in court cases, such as The Scharpen Foundation free speech case, we encourage you to find your own voice! Whether you speak or sing; write or draw; volunteer or donate – we should all find a way to share the gospel and our biblical values. We can make a difference in our culture!

We thank you for your faithful prayers and your tax-deductible donations!

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!