Pray for Congressional Hearing This Morning

[Stan]

Dear Friends of Freedom:

I am writing to you at the 11th hour to solicit your prayers on behalf of the Congressional Hearing this morning on the Workplace Religious Freedom Act. The press conference on the bill begins at 10 a.m. and the hearing begins at 10:30 a.m.

Already our opponents have begun their efforts to undermine the bill. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, an organization our church helped found years ago but now has become a voice for radical secularization, is prompting their members to oppose the bill. The ACLU is also working actively to undermine our efforts.

Friends, those organizations are better funded, better organized and they have far better resources than we do for our work on Capitol Hill. I sincerely solicit your prayers as we move forward today. In particular, please pray that the press will cover the issues in a fair and honest manner, second, please pray Members of Congress attend the hearing and that God will open their hearts to the plight of His people, and please pray for the Holy Spirit to guide everything that we do and say today.

We have three faithful Seventh-day Adventists who experienced hardship in their jobs because of their fidelity, who have come to Washington to be a part of the process today. They are not used to how unkind this city can be to people when there is an ideological axe to grind. Please keep this faithful group in your prayers as well.

It is a daunting prospect to do battle against such skilled opponents. But under God’s grace, we pray today will bring us one step closer to a society in which men and women are not arbitrarily forced to choose between their fidelity to God and keeping their jobs.

It is not too late to send a letter to Congress in support of the Workplace Religious Freedom Act - you can send a letter in about a minute by going to www.religiousliberty.info While you are there, become a member of NARLA and join us as we hold God's banner of "truth and religious liberty" high on Capitol Hill.

May God bless you,

James Standish

[Stan]

As you know, WRFA went for a hearing on the Hill yesterday. Here is some news from the Education and the Workforce Committee Employer-Employee Relations subcommittee about the hearing yesterday.

Witness List: http://edworkforce.house.gov/hearings/109th/eer/wrfa111005/wl111005.htm

Committee Press Statement: http://edworkforce.house.gov/press/press109/first/11nov/religiousfreedom111005.htm (I am including it below)

VIDEO of the Hearing (1 hr 30 minutes) http://mfile.akamai.com/10528/wmv/houseofrep.download.akamai.com/10528/eer/eer111005.asx - if that does not work, try http://edworkforce.house.gov/hearings/hrgarchive.htm

[Stan]

Dear Friends of Freedom:

I wish that each one of you could have been there yesterday to hear

faithful Seventh-day Adventist Christians stand up before the world

and give their testimony.

First was Deborah Fountain from California. She stepped to the

Congressional podium with three members of Congress at her side, and

gave her inspiring testimony of how she was pressured to compromise

her faith, but how she stood strong. Despite being suspended from

her job, she held the faith. She was subsequently miraculously

reinstated. She regularly works holidays like Thanksgiving and will

do whatever it takes to get the job done – everything but one; she

will not disobey God.

Then came James Alignay from Maryland. He explained that problems in

the workplace don't only involve religious holy days or religious

clothing, but a number of other issues that go to the core of

religious faith. He then relayed his experience working for an

internet development company that assigned him to work on a

commercial pornography site. The conflict over her unwillingness to

do so forced him to leave his job. He explained that he was

fortunate, he had skills that were in high demand at the time so he

could find another job – but, he stated, there are many, many

Americans who are not so fortunate.

Finally, Miguel Hernandez of Arizona stepped to the Congressional

podium. He spoke in a deliberate, strong voice. He relayed how he

worked for a mining company for ten years without a problem. When

new management took over, they refused to accommodate his Sabbath

observance. He did everything he could to resolve the conflict but

the employer would not budge, and eventually fired him. He then

looked directly into the faces of those in the packed room and

said "When I lost my job, I didn't just lose a job, I lost my

income, and not just my income, but my health benefits, and not just

my income and health benefits; I lost my dream – my American dream."

It was a powerful moment when you could have heard a pin drop in the

room. Today Mr. Hernandez earns half of what he did before he was

fired. Friends, that is fidelity.

I have to tell you that working on Capitol Hill can make you a

little cynical. The political maneuvering, the clever tactics, the

layers of spin that cover almost every thing that happens is so

pervasive. Listening to these followers of God was such a breath of

fresh air. I was so proud to be a Christian and I was so proud of a

nation with a government that takes the time to listen to the real

problems that individuals are dealing with and consider how to

address them.

The hearing went very well, with members of Congress and those

testifying frequently making reference to Ms. Fountain, Mr. Alignay

and Mr. Hernandez. Those there to oppose us had their say, but I

believe on balance, we clearly prevailed on the substance. I thank

God for His grace to give us this opportunity, and I thank each of

those of you who held us up to Him in your prayers. We have a

wonderful Father in Heaven who hears us.

So where do we go from here? The events of yesterday were a step, a

big step, in the right direction, but we still have a major struggle

ahead of us. We are pushing for the committee to vote on the bill.

If they vote, and if we win the vote, the next step will be to get a

vote in House as a whole. There is a similar process going on in the

Senate. Make no mistake, changing the law of the land is a very

difficult process. Those who lack patience, perseverance and

tenacity, shouldn't even try. But, under God's grace, we will

persevere together because we simply have no choice. Far too many

faithful men and women from one end of this nation to the other are

being hurt, families are being thrown into financial crisis, men,

women and children are losing their health insurance; we cannot

stand by silently as faithfulness is punished.

Once again, I want to sincerely thank those of you who uplifted the

events of yesterday in your prayers. I know that many, many people

were praying. Under God's grace, I believe we had a very successful

day. Let's prepare for the road ahead as we stand shoulder to

shoulder with our brothers and sisters in the faith who are being

mistreated for no crime other than following God.

Before I close, I want to appeal to each of you to become members of

the North American Religious Liberty Association. What we are doing

on Capitol Hill is serious and has repercussions in every corner of

our nation. You might be the next person who is fired because of

your fidelity, or maybe it will be one of your children - and if it

is not someone in your family, it will certainly be someone in your

church family. The least we can do is stand together and become

active in this, and all the other battles for freedom, the North

American Religious Liberty Association is engaged in. Come and stand

with us – join at www.religiousliberty.info or by calling (301)680-

6683.

May God bless you this Sabbath,

James Standish