NARLA-News - Sen. Kerry to Keynote Liberty Banquet -

[Stan]

NARLA-News - Sen. Kerry to Keynote Liberty Banquet - Is Your Job in Jeopardy - Parents' Rights

This newsletter is a publication of the North American Religious Liberty Association – West in association with the Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Contents:

1. Senator Kerry to Address NARLA Banquet

2. Is Your Job in Jeopardy? The Fight for Workplace Religious Freedom

3. NARLA-West Board Meets in Los Angeles

4. The Third Angel's Message Hits the Airwaves

5. California Teachers Association (CTA) Wants to Force Preschoolers to Attend Kindergarten - We Disagree

6. ChurchState.org Goes Higher Tech

7. Newsletter Subscription Info

This Thursday, Senator John Kerry to Address Liberty Awards Banquet

WASHINGTON, DC – Former presidential candidate Senator John Kerry will be addressing the 5th Annual Religious Liberty Awards Banquet in Washington, DC, this Thursday, May 17, 2007. Full details of the speech and the awards given will be made available at religiousliberty.info and churchstate.org following the event.

The banquet will be the highlight of our Capitol Hill events, which will include a day of lobbying for the Workplace Religious Freedom Act (see next story), a historical tour of Mount Vernon, and a day of emphasis on the spiritual aspects of religious liberty ministry.

Previous Banquet speakers include Senator John McCain, Senator Hillary Clinton, and Senator Sam Brownback.

You can get your invitation for the 2008 event by joining the North American Religious Liberty Association (NARLA). For a fee of $28 for an individual, or $38 for a couple, you observe American history firsthand as you walk the halls of Congress and share your commitment for freedom with the leaders of the nation.

Click Here to Join NARLA Today!

Is Your Job in Jeopardy?Workplace Religious Freedom Act is Top Priority

Every day three (3) Seventh-day Adventists decide to choose to keep the Sabbath rather than their jobs. Members of other faiths are forced to give up religious garb or other observances in order to meet employers’ expectations.

It was not always this way. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 required employers to make reasonable attempts to accommodate their religious employees’ observances, but in 1977 the Supreme Court gutted this freedom, and employers learned quickly that they did not have to do anything substantive to meet the new minimal standards.

It does not always have to be this way.

The Workplace Religious Freedom Act, HR 1431 (McCarthy) has been reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, with strong bi-partisan sponsorship. This bill remains the most important legislative priority the Adventist Church has had in our generation, since it directly relates to the ability of our members to avoid work on Sabbath. In order to get this bill passed, everyone reading this needs to step up and get involved.

What To Do Now!

Pastors, we need you to help us identify persons who have experienced religious discrimination in the workplace, to attend lobby visits; and to encourage letter writing campaigns in your churches;

Business owners and managers, we need you to write letters, attend lobby visits, and get the message out that providing religious accommodation is good for business;

Religious Liberty Leaders, we need you to identify persons who have experienced religious discrimination in the workplace, and recruit them to attend lobby visits; you can also volunteer to attend a lobby visit; and you can organize a letter writing campaign in your congregation

Concerned citizens and church members; you can write letters to your Representatives and U.S. Senators, and urge their support for this bill, and send e-mail from our website, www.religiousliberty.info.

For more information about the bill, what you can do, and how to conduct a letter writing campaign, see our website, http://churchstate.org/article.php?id=122. To volunteer to attend a lobby visit in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, or Utah, call Pat Silvia, 916-446-2552, or e-mail to cscparl@pacbell.net.

NARLA West Board Plans to Increase Awareness of Liberty Issues

LOS ANGELES, CA – The NARLA-West Board (which covers Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah) met to develop plans to increase public awareness of the message of religious liberty, and to find new ways to protect the freedom of all.

Board members, including Alison Agins, Fabian Carballo, Lawrence Defehr, Tim Erich, Norm Farley, Deborah Fountain, Kevin James, Dorothy Keith, Gary Jensen, Loren Olson, Michael Peabody, and Alan Reinach spoke in nine area churches. Pastor Dale Leamon held a special Friday night program at the Temple City Church.

“The NARLA-West board is dedicated to making a real difference through real, tangible action,” said Reinach, President of NARLA-West. “They are a strong group that is dedicated to pursuing religious freedom."

Stay tuned for further developments.

The Third Angel’s Message Goes to Talk Radio

When Time Magazine’s special Easter issue ran a cover story about teaching the Bible in public schools, NARLA West president Alan Reinach knew he had to send out a press release and talk about it on the radio. Reinach has been actively doing talk radio appearances for several years. Even before he sent out the release, the phone rang twice. First, he was invited to appear on the Steve Gallimore show that is broadcast on both Lifetalk Radio, and also on the Hope Channel, thus going round the world. The second call was from his PR firm, asking for an updated press release. It seemed God was confirming that this was an opportunity that should not be missed.

In a week’s time, Reinach appeared on more than half a dozen radio shows across the nation, including two programs with wide national syndication and large audiences. In these interviews, Reinach explained the importance of the Bible to education, as well as emphasizing the need for public schools to remain objective, and for teachers to avoid pushing a religious or anti-religious agenda. Several conservative radio hosts asked how the Bible came to be excluded from public schools. Reinach answered by reviewing the history of what happened after the Supreme Court decisions of the 1960s. The Court expressed support for the academic study of the Bible, Reinach reminded them, but the Christian community insisted that the Court had kicked God, Bible, prayer and religion out of school. Religion became such a controversial topic, that school administrators didn’t want to touch it. Reinach urged Christian leaders to work in a cooperative spirit to restore some balance in the public schools, and warned against using the Bible as a political football.

A liberal talk show host was surprised by Reinach’s position, saying it was much more moderate than he had expected. He asked whether the Adventist view of religious freedom was informed by Ellen White and their status as a minority. While agreeing with the host, Reinach was able to explain how the Protestant view of the gospel provided the real foundation for religious freedom, because every soul must respond to God personally, without coercion or interference from church or state. In many of these interviews, Reinach had the opportunity to present key parts of the Three Angel’s Messages, including both an emphasis on America’s need for a genuine gospel experience and revival, and the danger of uniting church and state.

More talk radio appearances are scheduled on this topic. “It is thrilling to have the opportunity to reach out to a wider audience, and present prophetic insight in plain language,” said Reinach.

Fighting For Parents’ RightsNARLA-West Opposes Compulsory Kindergarten

SACRAMENTO, CA – The California State Assembly is currently considering legislation (AB 1236 - Mullin) that would require all children who will be 5-years-old by December 1 of any given year to attend kindergarten or “pre-kindergarten.” Parents who fail to comply would face criminal sanctions.

On April 25, 2007, the bill was heard before a packed house in the Assembly Education Committee. The bill is supported by the California Teachers Association, one of the most powerful labor unions in the state, and the head of the CTA argued that all children should be required to attend school so that they will be ready for the demands of their elementary education.

Michael Peabody, Executive Director of NARLA-West was one of two individuals who spoke before the Committee in opposition to the bill. Peabody argued that kindergarten is already freely available to all children who want to attend, and that the state should not force parents to send their children to school before they are ready.

Despite our best efforts, the Education Committee passed the bill, which was authored by the committee chair, by a vote of 6-3. The Bill is currently undergoing fiscal review and is expected to re-emerge next year in the appropriations committee.

“We will continue to protest this attack on the right of parents to make choices for their children,” says Peabody. “We are working closely with our allies on this issue to make sure that parents will be well represented at the next hearing.”

If you are a parent of a preschool child and want to be able to make the decision whether your child attends kindergarten, not the state, let us know.

To learn more about how you can help protect the rights of parents and families, visit http://www.churchstate.org

New Features on ChurchState.org

One of the challenges with our Web site is that we frequently post information that is important to you, such as breaking news, but unless you happen to visit the website frequently you will not be aware of this new information. In order to serve you better, we have introduced Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds that will “push” information to freely available RSS readers, which are included in many web browsers, and that can be easily integrated with existing web sites.

In addition, we have updated our Podcasting abilities so that you can download “Freedom’s Ring” radio programs automatically to be played on your computer or MP3 player. Hosted by Alan Reinach, Esq., these programs are updated weekly and address a variety of religious liberty topics.

“In the old days, it would cost a fortune to send out tapes or CDs. Now we can get multimedia information in the hands of thousands people in a way that is almost free for us, and definitely free for them,” says Michael Peabody, who developed ChurchState.org.

Visit ChurchState.org for more information.

Subscription Information

We hope you enjoy these periodic newsletters, which we deliver electronically once a month, and as urgent issues arise.

We welcome your comments and suggestions. If you are a subscriber, we would invite you to provide your zip code and other information so that we can send you relevant information. To provide more information, visit http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/narla/signUp.jsp?key=1995

To unsubscribe, visit http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/narla/unsubscribe.jsp

These religious liberty newsflashes and legislative e.lerts are published by the North American Religious Liberty Association - West, in cooperation with the Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Department of Public Affairs & Religious Liberty. For assistance with a religious liberty problem:

Alan J. Reinach, Esq., misterliberty-at-churchstate.org ; 805-413-7396

Michael D. Peabody, Esq., mpeabody-at-churchstate.org ; 916-446-2552

More information about religious liberty issues, including a complete calendar of events, and the broadcast schedule for Freedom's Ring Radio can be found at www.churchstate.org . Readers are encouraged to join the North American Religious Liberty Association at www.religiousliberty.info ; and to make your financial contributions to support religious freedom, www.religiousliberty.info . Subscribe to Liberty: a Magazine of Religious Liberty, at www.libertymagazine.org

See www.WrittenInTheHeart.org for news and information about the Ten Commandments in public life.

[nuff sed]

Good grief.... I wouldn't invite Kerry to a dog show...What does he know about religious liberty? Regards, Don

[Dr. Shane]

I think it has more to do with expanding our influence in Washington. That said, it does seem that Religious Liberty departments invite more liberal Democrats to be speakers than Republicans and I would think it would be advantageous for us to appear non-partisan. I believe Senator McCain is one Republican they have had.