DEFEND MARRIAGE NOW

Fact:

The family unit is a characteristic of every civilisation. Marriage is undoubtedly the most important and oldest social structure known to humanity. The marriage-based family comprising husband and wife, children and a network of relatives is the basic building block for our society. A highly organised campaign by powerful pressure groups is seeking to change the meaning of the word ‘marriage’ itself. Incredibly the politicians are doing this without any mandate, without proper consultation and against huge opposition in the country. They are rushing through hastily drafted legislation to sweep on one side the established definition of marriage.

The third reading of the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Bill is on 20th & 21st May in the House of Commons. Although a large majority of MPs voted for the Bill at the second reading IT IS NOT TOO LATE for this Bill to be defeated. If it is voted in by MPs it will then be taken to the House of Lords. This gives further opportunity for opposition to be expressed.

They have not told us whether or how they are going to change the meaning of other words such as ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ and ‘mother’ and ‘father’. Although it is currently being considered in Parliament, they have, so far, totally failed to define the crucial terms ‘adultery’ and ‘consummation’ for their new regime.

In this new situation the State will inevitably have to introduce some form of propaganda into our schools to feed to our children and to seek to explain to them this absurd new concept. To make matters worse the State will inevitably force teachers, against their conscience, to teach children, what many of them consider to be a lie, probably on pain of losing their jobs. The proposals are being presented in the name of ‘equality’. This is grossly mislead. The reality is that the proposed legislation gives no additional rights whatsoever to those already given in civil partnerships.

If future anomalies and confusion are to be avoided far more time needs to be spent on this controversial proposal, which has split the nation. MPs need to be told of the folly of what they are doing. There has been no public demand for this legislation and once again, many politicians have failed to recognise the deep chasm which divides them from the public. The membership of their parties in their constituencies is in most cases pathetically small – considerably less than the membership of local churches. We have now reached the stage where the majority of the public often choose not to vote in elections.

There is still time for MPs to have second thoughts about this miserable Bill. A vast section of the public now opposes it. Significantly, many of them have suffered abuse and vilification by militant supporters of the proposals.

Between now and next week MPs are vulnerable to influence by electors. Hopefully, the House of Lords will save the nation from the consequences of this malign legislation which future generations will regret.

DEFEND MARRIAGE NOW

Action:

This is what you can do NOW to oppose this pernicious proposal:

• TODAY email your MP here, expressing your concerns, or write to them at The House of Commons, Westminster, London, SW1A 0AA.
• Ensure there is an avalanche of individual emails and letters to every MP by next Monday, 20th May. Write again even if you have already written.
• THIS WEEKEND arrange for a group of your friends to lobby your MP at his/her constituency office.
• IMMEDIATELY write a letter to your local press opposing the proposals and demanding a referendum. Get others to write as well.
• TODAY sign the Coalition for Marriage petition (http://c4m.org.uk/) if you have not already done so. Get others to do the same.
• THIS SUNDAY make sure that the congregation of your church is informed about what is happening.
• OVER THE WEEKEND Encourage your church itself to write urgently to your MP.
• THIS WEEKEND send a petition letter to your MP with local signatures.
• NEXT MONDAY leave a telephone message at your MP’s office in Westminster (0207 219 3000) urging him/her to oppose the legislation.
• ABOVE ALL, PRAY FOR WHAT IS HAPPENING – BOTH AT HOME AND AT CHURCH. ESPECIALLY PRAY FOR THE CHILDREN OF OUR NATION.

NOTE: There are national prayer gatherings outside Parliament next MONDAY AND TUESDAY, 20 & 21 MAY (12-2pm & 5-7pm). Also Sunday 2nd June is being set aside in many churches as “Prayer for Marriage Day”.

The Maranatha Community strongly supports the ‘Coalition for Marriage’

Further information available from the Maranatha Website: (or hard copy from our office)

Trumpet Call (February 2012) ‘Marriage – The Battle is on’
Trumpet Call (December 2012) ‘A Huge Mistake’ – 18 Facts
Trumpet Call (February 2013) ‘We must not be silent on this issue’ – 34 questions

Maranatha Submission (March 2013)
‘The Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Bill to the House of Commons Public Bill Committee
Also
“The Big Question – What on Earth are we Doing to our Children?” (December 2012) presented in Parliament. (Available from the Maranatha online bookshop)

Maranatha Parliamentary Consultations
2004 ‘Survival of the Marriage-based Family – Does it Matter’, House of Lords
2006 ‘Family and Marriage – An Overview’, House of Commons
2008 ‘Future of the Marriage-based Family’, House of Commons
2012 ‘Equal Civil Marriage Consultation’

The Maranatha team has a continually growing pool of research information which is being used to brief Members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Supplementary information on same-sex marriage is being produced next week by our researchers for submission to selected Parliamentarians.

Same Sex ‘Marriage’ – Government presses ahead

FACT

Women and Equalities Minister Maria Miller has announced in Parliament the government’s plans to push through legislation on same-sex ‘marriage.’ Ahead of the parliamentary debate, David Cameron had already announced his intention to support same-sex marriages in churches. Mrs Miller announced a ‘quadruple lock’ intended to ensure that churches which do not wish to conduct same-sex ‘marriages’ would not be forced to, but Conservative MP Anne McIntosh drew attention to similar protections for churches in Denmark which were later ruled as illegal.

MPs were told that the biggest official “listening exercise” ever undertaken on a government proposal found that a narrow majority support the highly contentious move!. This result is based on around 228,000 responses, the vast majority of which came via anonymous online forms submitted to the Government. Yet when the Coalition for Marriage submitted their petition before the consultation deadline it had been signed by more than 500,000 people who opposed plans to redefine marriage to include gay couples, and this petition has been ignorred. (The Coalition for Marriage petition has now been signed by over 620,000 people).

In addition, participation in the consultation was not limited to UK residents. David Burrowes, the Conservative MP, said: “If they want to rely on those figures it is wholly disingenuous. It makes the consultation a sham in terms of justifying this on the back of numerical support, given that 500,000 people were ignored and they have accepted all-comers from around the globe.”

Such legislation would not only radically alter the institution of marriage but also the future shape of our society. Marriage is unique. Throughout history and in virtually all human societies marriage has always been the union of a man and a woman. Marriage reflects the complementary natures of men and women. Although death and divorce may prevent it, the evidence shows that children do best with a married mother and a father. This proposal put before parliament is nothing less than a redefinition of the word ‘Marriage’, thereby completely devaluing the it.

Writing recently the Chancellor, George Osborne, suggested that pushing policies such as same-sex marriage was important for the Conservatives’ election success. However, a recent ComRes poll indicated that 18% are less likely to vote Conservative as a result of the plans with only 7% more likely to do so.

It is important that the Conservative Party recognises that this move is not a vote winner but a vote loser. It is also important that MPs understand the full implications of changing the definition of marriage and are urged to vote against it.

ACTION

• For the sake of our society, please pray that these destructive social changes are not successful.
• If you haven’t already, please contact your MP and tell them about the issues at stake with regard to same-sex marriage.
• Please contact Lynton Crosby, the Conservatives’ recently hired election strategist. Send an email marked for his attention to this address: mfullbrook@ctfpartners.com, and point out that those less likely to vote Conservative as a result of this policy outnumbered those more likely to do so by more than two to one.

Please give us your thoughts and comments here. (Comments are moderated before being published).

URGENT: MARRIAGE – THE BATTLE IS NOW ON!

FACT:

The marriage based family is the basic building block of our society. Children need the security and the role models of committed mothers and fathers. Our nation, (and particularly young people) is already paying a high price for the collapse of families.

Politicians are now preparing to REDEFINE marriage so that it no longer means a covenant relationship between a husband and a wife. In doing this they are striking at the roots of civilised society.

Tyrants and dictators REDEFINE the meaning of words in this way. It is happening because of immense pressure from the secular humanist lobby which wants to get rid of marriage as it has been defined and practised for centuries.

All over the country people are saying ENOUGH IS ENOUGH and a national campaign is currently being mounted. It is not about civil partnerships or homosexuality or political correctness. It is about the very serious consequences of demolishing the concept of marriage between a man and a woman as it has been known for centuries and as it is defined throughout the world.

ACTION:

Please write TODAY to your Member of Parliament.  It is important that our elected representatives are made aware of the seriousness of what is being proposed.  Ask them specifically whether they will oppose the redefinition of marriage.  Ask them specifically whether they affirm the value of the marriage-based family. and oppose the imposition of so-called same sex “marriages” currently being pursued by the Prime Minister.

For contact details for your Member of Parliament, including email addresses see:
www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/
Note: MP’s only accept correspondance including emails from people who live in their constituency.

Warn of the extremely serious consequences of the destruction of this basic unit of society.  This is not an argument about civil partnerships, homosexuality or political correctness.  It is about the folly of trying to redefine marriage as it is defined throughout the world and as it has been understood throughout the centuries.

The Maranatha Community held a Consultation in the House of Lords on The survival of the marriage-based family – Does it matter?   In 2006 Maranatha published the report ‘Family and Marriage – an Overview’ which is valid today and is available from the office.  In 2008 Maranatha held a Consultation in the House of Commons on ‘The future of the marriage-based family’  Since 2010 Maranatha researchers have amassed a substantial body of information on the marriage-based family which is being used extensively today.

Please Pray & Act Now!

Same Sex “Marriage”

Scottish Government Consultation.

The Scottish Government is trying to change their legal definition of marriage to include homosexual partnerships, and have issued an online consultation which was aimed at Scottish residents.

It now transpires that those outside Scotland have been completing the questionnaire. In an open letter published on an Anglican website, Colin Hart, the Director of the Christian Institute, has written: “Yesterday, the pro-gay marriage groups let it slip that they are asking people outside Scotland to respond, suggesting that the Scottish Government will accept non-Scottish responses.”

The Christian Institute website states: “The Nationalist-led Scottish Government has confirmed that its consultation on gay marriage is open to anyone in England and elsewhere outside Scotland.”

TODAY is the last day a response to this consultation can be submitted.

ACTION:

Please respond to this online consulation (click here)

The Scottish Christian Party has produced a one-page summary of the questions and suggested answers which is available here.

Please Pray & Act Now!

September Trumpet Call

A huge number of issues has arisen which calls for a Christian response. It is vital to recognise that when Christians speak out in large numbers on key current matters, there is an impact. CHRISTIANS CANNOT AND MUST NOT REMAIN SILENT. EVERY LETTER AND EMAIL SENT MATTERS. We are beginning to see a groundswell of Christian response to matters concerning our national life and we thank God for this. The Trumpet Call network now embraces thousands of Christian activists in all the churches. We collaborate with a team of specialists and other Christian agencies. Your participation is much appreciated. Please pass on the contents of this Trumpet Call to others, especially to friends in your church. Please pray that God will honour our endeavours.

Click here to download this edition of Trumpet Call, which highlights:

• SHARI’A IN THE UK – Truth hidden ?
• DRUGS – Legislation proposed
• EUTHANASIA – BBC propaganda
• SECULARISM – BBC bias
• OUR CHILDREN – Britain’s crisis
• PEOPLE AT RISK – Do we care?
• MORALITY & SCHOOLS – Vigilance?
• ABORTION – Ongoing concerns
• IRAQ – Wiping out the church
• RIOTS ON THE STREETS – The roots
• WASTED MILLIONS – The fiasco continues

This Trumpet Call lays out the facts and gives suggested actions for you to take. Please pray and act now, and leave comments (moderated) here.

VICTORY – Cross deemed OK to display in van

After a concerted campaign by many Christians, Wakefield District Housing have backed down and allowed Christian employee, Colin Atkinson, who refused to remove a Palm Cross from the dashboard of his Housing Association vehicle, to continue to keep the cross he has displayed for 15 years, in the cockpit of his van.

Click here for more details on the story
(thanks to our friends in Christian Concern)

OUTRAGE – Cross deemed to be offensive

PLEASE ACT NOW.

It is significant that during Holy Week and in a Christian country, the symbol of the Cross has been deemed to be offensive. 

FACT

A committed Christian, Colin Atkinson, who has worked for Wakefield & District Housing (WDH) for 15 years as an electrician, is facing the sack for displaying a small Cross on the dashboard on his company van.  He has been ordered to attend a full disciplinary hearing next month.  Two days ago the WDH ‘Executive Director of People’, Gillian Pickersgill, said “WDH expects all its employees to have regard to the Equality Act 2010”. 

YESTERDAY outrage was expressed across the country by church leaders, lawyers and community leaders.  They include the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey; a former Home Office Minister; the Head of the Christian Legal Centre; and Dennis Wrigley, Leader of the Maranatha Community who said “This decision must be challenged now”

Lord Carey said “This is political correctness gone mad once more.  I salute Mr. Atkinson for his bravery and all Christians who quietly stand up for their faith.” 

ACTION

• You are urged to write to the MAYOR, Councillor Tony Wallis, Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, Town hall, Wood Street, Wakefield WF1 2HQ  Tel: 01924 306090 Email membersservices@wakefield.gov.uk (mark the email for the attention of The Mayor). Tell him your belief that this situation has brought discredit on the town of Wakefield and ask him to bring your concern to members of his Council.  (Note:  The WDH is publicly funded)
• You are urged to write to the CHAIRMAN of Wakefield & District Housing, Mr. Ken Taylor, Wakefield & District Housing, Merefield House, Whistler Drive, Castleford WF10 5HX Tel: 0845 8507507  Email: onecall@WDH.co.uk (mark the email for the attention of Mr. K. Taylor) pointing out the seriousness of what is being done by his organisation and the deep concern it is causing nationwide.  Point out that if Mr. Atkinson has breached the company rules, then these must surely be changed.  Emphasise that this is an infringement of religious liberty.  Ask him whether the appalling treatment of Mr. Atkinson has the unanimous support of his Board.
• Write to the MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR WAKEFIELD Mary Creagh MP at 20-22 Cheapside Wakefield WF1 2TF Tel: 01924 386124 Email: mary@marycreagh.co.uk  Tell her of your concern about this act of intolerance and ask her what she is prepared to do about it.
• Write to YOUR OWN MP c/o House of Commons, Westminster, London SW1A 0AA pointing to the seriousness of this act of discrimination and ask him/her for their comments.

Yesterday Colin Atkinson was quoted as saying “I am on trial for my faith”. Significantly, his immediate boss, Dennis Doody, has been allowed to display a poster of the Communist Revolutionary, Che Guevara in his office.  

THE FOUNDATIONS OF OUR COUNTRY ARE CHRISTIAN.  THIS IS ONE OF AN INCREASING NUMBER OF EXAMPLES OF CHRISTIANS BEING PENALISED FOR THEIR FAITH.  WE CANNOT REMAIN SILENT.

Hate Crime – an overview

The introduction of the so-called ‘hate crime’ is increasingly being recognised as a gross intrusion into our freedom of speech. Christians, in particular, are at risk of harassment and police action leading to prosecution. It is one of the worst steps taken to limit freedom of speech and will inevitably cause immense problems for the police. There is an immediate risk of innocent citizens being harassed, wrongly investigated and unfairly vilified.

Maranatha’s overview on Hate Crime is available here.

Action

Write now to your MP at the House of Commons, Westminster, London, SW1A 0AA, simply stating your concerns about the implications of ‘Hate Crime’ legislation and in view of the forthcoming General Election ask him/her specifically whether they are in favour of ‘hate crime’ legislation.

The new totalitarianism

FACT

A characteristic of a healthy society is that people are free to express and to act in accordance with their views, provided that they do so in a civilized manner and without harassing or inciting hatred of or violence against people who hold different views.

Attempting to stifle free expression of legitimate views, and the freedom to live in accordance with them, is a characteristic of oppressive, insecure or totalitarian societies.

Increasingly, Christian professionals in our country who hold to Scriptural teaching on sexual behaviour are being denied the freedom to express and commend the standards that they believe in.

For example, Gary McFarlane is a committed and experienced Christian counsellor who has for some years successfully counselled heterosexual couples and helped them to restore their relationships. He also counselled same-sex couples, but felt unable to give directive sex therapy because he could not directly encourage sexual sin. Last year, he was dismissed from his job at ‘Relate’ under an ‘equal opportunities’ policy because of his religious views on sexual ethics, and staff labelled him ‘homophobic’.

In April this year, Kwabena Peat, an experienced Christian teacher holding a senior position at Park View Academy in North London, complained about a ‘training session’ in which Sue Sanders, a lesbian and a co-founder of the gay ‘Schools Out’ organisation, actively promoted homosexual lifestyles. She suggested that those who disagreed with her should ‘sort out their prejudices’. After he complained, Mr Peat was suspended and placed on paid leave pending the outcome of a disciplinary investigation. Ms Sanders was paid £850 for the ‘training’ at the school.

ACTION

Write to the Chairman of the Governors, Park View Academy, Langham Road, Tottenham, London N15 3RB, to express your grave concern over the Head’s action in discriminating against Mr Peat in this way. His action amounts to an attack on Mr Peat’s Christian convictions, and an infringement of his right to express them.

Critics of gay parenting are branded “retarded homophobes”

FACT

It is almost universally believed that ideally children should have a motherly and fatherly influence upon their lives. Good male and female role models are important.

There has been considerable resistance to placing children already damaged into a gay partnership situation.

Regrettably a publicly funded body – The British Association for Adoption and Fostering has now come out strongly in favour of this and has produced “The Pink Guide to Adoption” for lesbians and gay men. In this publication those who disagree with the BAAF policy are vilified as “retarded homophobes”. The BAAF say that anyone protesting over the controversial gay adoption laws are merely “whinging”.

Julian Brazier MP who has worked with the BAAF said, “I am very sad that they should use this language about people who have an honest disagreement with them”. Patricia Morgan who has published a study on gay adoption, said “It is disgraceful that they do not wish to discuss the pros and cons of gay adoption. They just go in for abuse. They do not appear interested in the evidence about the outcomes for children. And it is a disgusting phrase to use.”

ACTION

Write to Anthony Douglas CBE, the Chairman British Association for Adoption and Fostering, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London, EC1N 8TS. Express your concern that they have not considered legitimate studies into gay adoption and ask them to withdraw the unacceptable language they have used in their recent publication.