Week Ending July 30, 2004
Religious Freedom Coalition
July 31, 2004 10:38PM EST
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE - WEEK ENDING JULY 30, 2004
HOUSE AND SENATE IN RECESS UNTIL SEPTEMBER 7TH
RAT OUT A CHURCH
RatOutaChurch.org has been established by Big Brother Church Watch as a means to "level the playing field" for conservative churches which are under attack from the ACLU and Americans United For Separation of Church and State (AU). Both the ACLU and the AU recruit volunteers to go into conservative denomination churches and take notes on pastors to turn them in to the Internal Revenue Service. Big Brother Church Watch seeks volunteers to go into the gay Metropolitan Community Churches, Unitarian/Universalist Churches, and AME churches, just to name a few, and take notes on or record the sermons of liberal pastors. If pastors promote the Democrat Party agenda, or endorse liberal candidates, then Big Brother Church Watch will report them to the IRS in the same manner that the ACLU and the AU report conservative churches. The goal is to make liberal churches abide by the same rules as conservative ones do. Of course, all this spying and snitching would be unnecessary if Congress were to pass the Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act, HR 235, sponsored by Congressman Walter Jones (R-NC). For more information on Big Brother Church Watch click here . CONGRESSIONAL RECESS
Congress is in recess for a prolonged period of time primarily because of the Democrat and Republican political conventions. Because congressmen and Senators are campaigning and participating in the conventions, there is little or no legislative work progressing on Capitol Hill. During much of the recess I will be either out of the United States as mentioned below or at the Republican Convention in New York City. I will not be representing the Religious Freedom Coalition at the Republican Convention, but rather Government Is Not God - PAC, a political action committee of which I am an officer. However, I still intend to report to social conservatives any pertinent events I learn about while there. INTERNATIONAL
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
The first week of August, I will be in Brussels, Belgium as a participant in the Interparliamentary Conference on Religious Freedom and Human Rights. As a participant I will chair some of the panels. Parliamentarians from all over the world, including Saudi Arabia, will attend. My goal is to promote religious freedom, even in totalitarian theocracies. Religious Freedom, the freedom to assemble, speak about and promote one's faith is a basic human right that should be shared by all the peoples of the world in every nation. For information on the conference click here.
KOSOVO
I will travel directly from Brussels to Kosovo with other Christian leaders to document the conditions of Christians living under real oppression there. More than 200,000 Christians have been forced out of Kosovo since that province of Serbia was taken over by the United Nations to "protect" Muslims. The Religious Freedom Coalition has purchased "medical mission boxes" which the group will deliver to clinics in Christian villages as part of this mission. The "medical mission boxes" are made up of high value antibiotics and other medicines donated by drug companies or sold for a fraction of the cost. Each medical kit can treat up to 500 people for three months. The "medical mission boxes" are assembled and transported to us by MAP ministries at a cost of about $400 each. Because only a few of us are traveling on this mission we are taking only three of the kits which weigh 63 lbs each. To help financially with this project click here or send a check to RFC Kosovo Project, PO Box 77511, Washington, DC 20013. HOLY LAND
Holy Land Soap is still available for shipment this week. This fresh handmade soap from the Holy Land is made from olive oil. The soap is made by Christian Palestinians in the West Bank. This is the ONLY income of the Christian families involved. Two of the men are under death warrants issued by the PLO. The soap is made by the families. For more information on the soap, its cost and how we obtain it from the families in the West Bank click here or on the image. PLEASE NOTE: Our purpose in selling this soap is to support the families involved ... once the last family has received permission to move to a Western nation, we will no longer be making the soap available. We are making progress! THE CARIBBEAN
During the 1980's I organized evangelistic tours to the former Soviet Union and in the 1990's I escorted thousands of pilgrims to the Holy Land. That was nice ... but it was also a lot of work. I have a better idea .. a cruise in the Caribbean where I don't have to escort tours or take care of security in a hostile nation for hundreds of people. I have reserved space on one of the ten best cruise ships in the world for a seven day cruise beginning February 20, 2005. I am inviting conservative Christian couples to enjoy the Caribbean with my wife and I and other staff members of the Religious Freedom Coalition. There will be virtually no organized activities for the group other than meeting each other and having dinner at the same tables ... If we do it, the cruise will basically be a vacation for Christian couples who share common beliefs and goals. Nothing is set in concrete and I am only trying to cage interest. If you would be interested in more information please contact me at EVENTS.
ABOUT OUR BOOKSTORES - YES STORES
The Religious Freedom Coalition maintains both an in-house and an affiliate bookstore. The in-house bookstore contains products we promote such as Christian and patriotic men's ties and video documentaries we have made. The affiliate Christian bookstore is operated by Spread The Word Ministries and has over 15,000 Christian books, CDs and other items. Books and other items purchased there are shipped by Spread The Word directly to you. The Religious Freedom Coalition receives about 10% of the total sale and those funds are used for our work. Most books and CDs at our Spread The Word Bookstore are at least 20% off retail. Let's get honest ... you can get a better deal at Amazon.com. However, there is no porn sold at our site ... you will not find Satanic items or books promoting a heathen culture or atheism at our stores. You can save a few bucks buying Christian books from a site that also sells porn, but think about that ... do you really want to do that or spend a couple a bucks extra and help Christian ministry work at the same time? For the RFC in-house store click here. For the RFC general Christian bookstore click here.
William J. Murray, Chairman
Religious Freedom Coalition , P.O. Box 77511, Washington, DC 20013 Phone: (202) 543-0300
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This publication is a service of the Religious Freedom Coalition (RFC) and does not necessarily reflect its views. It is neither an attempt to aid nor hinder the passage of any specific legislation nor an attempt to assist or defeat any candidate running for public office.
Religious Freedom Coalition * Copyright - 2004
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