Welcome to the Friday Five! Every Friday we share our top five articles, stories, and quotes for you to read and share with your friends and church families.
1. CAROLINA JOURNAL: Lawmakers reject injunction in NC abortion lawsuit
“Republican state legislative leaders object to Planned Parenthood’s request for a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit challenging part of North Carolina’s new abortion law. A hearing on the injunction is scheduled Sept. 21 in U.S. District Court in Greensboro.
Lawmakers filed a document Monday opposing the injunction. Their arguments reached the federal court one week after Democratic state Attorney General Josh Stein announced his support for an injunction.”
Read more: https://www.carolinajournal.com/lawmakers-reject-injunction-in-nc-abortion-lawsuit/
2. NORTH STATE JOURNAL: North Carolina state budget won’t become law until September, House leader says
“A final North Carolina state budget won’t be enacted until September, the House’s top leader said Monday. That could scuttle efforts by Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration for Medicaid expansion to begin in early fall.”
3. CAROLINA JOURNAL: Pastor Mark Harris seriously considering running for Congress
“With Congressman Dan Bishop’s (NC-8) announcement that he will retire from Congress to run for North Carolina attorney general, former congressional candidate Mark Harris, a Republican, tells Carolina Journal he is seriously considering making a third try for Congress in the same area, despite the controversial 2018 election that saw Harris’ victory overturned due to allegations of ballot fraud.
‘I believe God may be calling me to help the country during this important time,’ said Harris. ‘In calling our previous donors, I am finding overwhelming encouragement.’
Mark Harris (57) is currently the senior pastor at Trinity Baptist Church in the Iredell County town of Mooresville, a role he accepted in early 2020.”
Also check out: https://www.carolinajournal.com/dan-bishop-gains-key-endorsements-from-club-for-growth-raga
4. THE HILL: Most women who abort say they would rather not; Congress can help them
“Hinson’s bill, sponsored by Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in the Senate, would save countless babies and mothers from the heart-wrenching choice of abortion.
We know this bill will save babies because it reflects the latest research on why women have abortions. Most women experiencing a crisis during pregnancy do not want an abortion, but obtain one out of desperation. A May 2023 peer-reviewed study surveyed 1,000 women who had abortions and found that a staggering 60 percent said they would have carried their child to term if they had greater emotional or financial support, or both.”
5. YOU’RE INVITED: 🐻 Our Mama Bear Workshops are less than 2 weeks away
Don’t forget to register for one of our annual Mama Bear Workshops in August. The goal of these workshops is to inform parents and community members about what’s being taught in our schools, address parental rights in North Carolina, and school choice options. Please spread the word to your network of family and friends, and ask them to sign up for updates.
Here is a preview of a couple of our exciting speakers: meet Joseph Backholm and Sharon Supp.
This is a FREE event with a meal included. If you want to learn how to identify and combat harmful content in your child’s school, RSVP for one of our two upcoming events below:
👉 Hickory, NC: ncvalues.org/event/mamabear-hickory/
👉 Greensboro, NC: ncvalues.org/event/mamabear-greensboro/
See you soon!
Weekly Prayer: Family
LORD, we cry out to you as Father. You are a model of the love, mercy, and authority of the perfect parent. We thank you for modeling for us what every parent should strive for, and for creating this wonderful institution called family.
LORD, we thank you for creating us with a basic nature designed to not be alone. You made us to desire the intimacy of relationships, and it is here where we experience joys indescribable: the joys of marriage, the joys of having children; the joys of seeing our children have children. What a blessing and mercy you gave us in the family! In it we find our first teachers, our first guardians, and our first authorities.
LORD, we recognize how deeply you love your children, and how deeply it pains you when they go astray. Alongside our adoration and thanksgiving, we pray in confession—as individuals and as members of larger communities—over any sins we may have committed that undermine your beloved institution. Forgive us when we endanger your institution through selfishness and arrogance. Forgive our communities and nation for attempting to redefine some of the most basic and deepest parts of being human—being made male and female, having lifelong marriage vows and responsibilities, and having parental rights over educating one’s children.
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:12-17)
Amen
NC Values
