RELIGION IN THE NEWS Fall 2002

I received a call from the Governor’s transition team last week requesting a meeting with me to discuss and plan how to best implement a pro-family agenda over the course of his administration. The Governor-elect is very in tune with our values, and wants to work with us on accomplishing our goals. I will be meeting with them either this week or the week after to discuss how we can work together on issues that are important to the pro-family movement in Georgia. While standing on principle, we must govern wisely and incrementally, and to that end I will work with the Governor’s office to ensure that our agenda is reasonable and attainable. It is due to your hard work and dedication that we have a seat at the table and I am honored to have been asked by the transition team to be your voice and representative during this critical time.

The following are legislative items we would like to see addressed over the course of time:

*Woman’s Right to Know (education prior to an abortion)

*Parental notification and consent for abortions performed on minors

*Regulate abortion clinics and personnel according to the same standard as other medical facilities and providers

*Defense of Scouting

*Ethics reform in regard to lobbying

*Choose Life license plates

*Parental notification of new clubs forming on school campus

*Covenant Marriage

*Eliminate capital gains tax

Your input is welcome. If you have other issues you would like to see addressed, please let us know.

We have a lot to do in the coming year, and need you to continue to partner with us financially. Last December was the first time I wrote you—our Internet family—asking for your help, and the response was very gratifying. Please consider making an end-of-the-year donation to our work again this year. Your donation to the Christian Coalition of Georgia will help us fund our lobbying efforts during the 2003 Legislative Session. These donations are not tax deductible as we attempt to influence legislation. Or, you can make a tax-deductible donation to our education arm, the Georgia Conservative Coalition which is a 501(c) 3 tax-exempt, non-profit organization. Your donation in the amount of $25, $50, $100 or more will help us continue to be a driving force in our state for the values we share. Make your check payable to either one and mail to 8975 Roswell Road, Atlanta, GA 30350. We really need your help as we have a historical opportunity to further our efforts. Please be as generous as you can.

This is a rather lengthy newsletter, but we wanted to let you know all that we did (with your help) this past year. “The Year 2002 In Review” looks like this:

*In January, 2002 we hosted a candidate forum at our annual Families & Freedom Kickoff at Mount Vernon Baptist Church featuring candidates for Governor, Lt. Governor, U. S. Senate, State School Superintendent, and U. S. Congressional races.

*During 2002 Legislative Session, we monitored legislation and reported on the progress or defeat of legislation important to Georgia’s families. Daily reports were sent out to our Internet family and Judy Craft, Field Director maintained a presence at the capitol.

*In late spring of 2002, we mailed some 5,000 packets to churches around the state making available our “Citizenship Sunday” packages with information on how to conduct a voter registration drive in churches, our bulletin insert “The Informed Christian,” the opportunity to receive our Internet newsletter “Keeping The Faith,” and a distribution form for distributing our 2002 Legislative Reports and 2002 Voter Guides. As a result, we added over 500 new churches that wanted to be placed on our mailing list to receive our information, and who wanted to participate with us in distributing our materials.

*We were especially successful this year in growing personal relationships with pastors. We concentrated our visits in middle Georgia, LaGrange, and Northeast Georgia – and will be visiting other parts of the state in the coming year.

*We utilized a “targeted” approach in sending out alerts to the grassroots, pastors and churches. By alerting one pastor in LaGrange, a bill sponsored by a state representative in that area that would have given civil rights status to homosexuals was quietly withdrawn due to his involvement.

*Georgia Conservative Coalition (our educational arm) produced and distributed 30,000 2002 Legislative Reports in the spring. It was the most comprehensive report compiled to date and included articles on bills killed in committee and redistricting.

*In the fall we produced and distributed 500,000 voter guides around the state. We did extensive research on the voting records of candidates and included endorsements of candidates by pro-abortion organizations as well as pro-homosexual organizations in order to give the voter as much information as possible. As a result of the groundwork laid early in the year, we had the most extensive voter guide distribution to date and our hard work paid off!

*During the last four days preceding the general election, statewide and congressional races were posted on our Web site and we had more than 4,000 visitors.

*I had speaking engagements at numerous churches, including Rehoboth Baptist Church in Tucker, Powder Springs Baptist, and gave the main address at a luncheon for the National Day of Prayer at First Redeemer Church in Forsyth County.

You can see for yourself how busy we stay – and how dedicated we are to what we have been called to do. We need your continued help to be as effective as possible. We receive no funding from the national Christian Coalition or from any other national entity. We are totally dependent on you to enable us to continue our work. Our movement has unprecedented opportunities coming up, but we must have the resources to take advantage of this moment in time. Please send in your most generous donation today.

May you and yours have a blessed Christmas season as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Thank you for Keeping The Faith.

Hit Counter