STAND UP FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

Rally Reports Roll in from Across the Country

Posted by Matt Yonke (March 28, 2012 at 4:44 pm)

San Francisco RallyHere at National Rally Headquarters we’ve been receiving reports from last Friday’s Rally for Religious Freedom from all across the country.

The sheer amount of reporting, both from the press and the local Rally Captains and attendees has been so huge it couldn’t possibly be cataloged in a blog post. So we’re going to bring you a selection of reports to give you a glimpse of the scope of this historic event.

Today we’ll look at San Francisco, California; Owensboro, Kentucky; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Goshen, New York.

One of the larger of the over 140 Rallies took place in San Francisco, California where over 1,000 came to Rally outside the HHS building.

You can see video of all their featured speakers here, but don’t miss the moving speech below from Fr. Joseph Fessio:

Author and speaker Mary Beth Bonacci emceed the event which was organized by Pastor Walter Hoye of the National Black Pro-Life Coalition, a member organization of the Stand Up for Religious Freedom Coalition.

The San Jose Mercury News covered the event here with some great photos and video.

Owensboro, Kentucky

Owensboro, Kentucky came on board late in the game, less than a week before the Rally day, but they still managed to bring out 350 people to their Rally!

Owensboro Rally

This only shows how badly the American people were looking for an outlet to voice their opposition to the Obama HHS Mandate’s encroachment on our Religious Freedom. From a blog post by organizer Birgit J:

Morning broke with a 60% chance of rain! As I gathered my cache of handmade posters, umbrellas, and other necessities I shrugged and decided that the Holy Spirit would handle this too. Right on schedule I headed into town and, as the black clouds began to gather, I prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Out loud I said, ‘Jesus, we’re doing this for you! Please hold off the rain, not for us but for your glory’. I made a quick call to my husband, who is in New York for business, and arrived a few minutes early. As our faithful helpers arrived, the clouds parted and the sun began to shine!

Soon the stage was up, balloons were tied, flags were waving and the people began flocking in. The noon siren sounded and it was time to begin. We had a nice variety of participants from various churches, schools and organizations.

Surf KY News Group gave the Rally a nice promotional piece the day before the Rally took place. Check that out here.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia RallyKnown as, the birthplace of Freedom, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania quite appropriately turned out to be one of the largest Rallies in the country. The Rally Team there drew more than 2,300 people to historic Independence Hall where the Constitutional Convention was held in 1787.

National Public Radio covered the Rally there along with several others. Although underestimating numbers, the coverage was good, including the beautiful photo above. Here’s an excerpt from that story:

Hundreds turned out in Philadelphia, including Episcopalian Robert Mansfield, an Iraq war veteran.

“We didn’t travel 7,000 miles to have the government tell us how we’re going to practice our faith. If they’re coming after the Catholics, they’re coming after us next,” Mansfield says.

Goshen, New York

Goshen, NY RallyFinally for today, we turn to Goshen, New York, one of several Rallies planned on Long Island.

A reporter from Business Insider Magazine had asked Rally Co-Chair Eric Scheidler in the lead up to the Rally day what would happen if “. . . an enterprising liberal journalist would just travel to Goshen, New York and take pictures of what might be a pretty underwhelming scene, and make fun of it.”

Eric replied that even if they did, the huge crowds at the other 140 some cities nationwide would prove the reporter was spinning the story to fit his agenda.

But the zeal of Long Islanders for religious freedom solved that problem, because over 500 came out in Goshen, a town with a population of about 6,000! The Times Record Herald did an excellent report on the Rally and you can find videos of the Rally in Goshen here.

Keep an eye on the Stand Up for Religious Freedom blog for more as reports continue to pour in!

Posted in 3/23 Rally Reports, News and Commentary. Follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

3 Responses to “Rally Reports Roll in from Across the Country”

  1. Susan Abel says:

    These are comments I gathered from Fr. Marcel Guarnizo’s talk in Washington, D.C. They’re excellent, don’t you agree!!??

    PLEASE pray with me and then tell Cardinal Wuerl we NEED HIM to stick around the Archdiocese of Washington for the long haul!

    Sincerely,

    Susan A. Abel
    Meber of St. John Neumann Catholic Community
    Gaithersburg, MD

    ******************************************************
    http://www.youtube.com/​watch?v=ozWLJ33xUSs

    From Fr. Marcel Guarnizo’s 3/23 talk at the D.C. HHS Mandate protest:
    Quote:
    I would agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all.”
    Martin Luther King
    Letter from a Birmingham Jail
    1963

    Inalienable rights are not a benign grant from the government!
    …are not points of negotiation!
    …no need to bargain with the administration to lay claim to them.

    Freedom of religion and freedom of conscience are beyond the jurisdiction of the state.
    They are due to all men by virtue of their nature and being created in the image and likeness of God.

    Religion is a response to Divine revelation ; a voluntary binding of our conscience and our actions to the Divine law.

    Religious Freedom protects Freedom of conscience because without religious freedom, freedom of conscience can’t be guaranteed. The First Amendment clearly understood that.

    2nd clause: Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion.

    Authentic Free Exercise of Religion:

    1. worship God
    2. live according to the moral and theological doctrines that are revealed
    3. make visible in the world through works of charity and mercy the love and providence of God
    4. proclaim the Divine doctrine to the world

    usurpation and restriction of our freedom as citizens to say “freedom to worship” only

    What’s at stake?
    a 2nd Roe v. Wade moment – except with coercion

    the theory of limited government is impossible if you’re willing to trample unalienable rights
    HHS Mandate is theoretically incompatible with a democracy

    March 28th, 2012 at 7:36 pm
  2. Orly Sean says:

    Regarding the Goshen rally:

    Summorum Pontificum

    http://www.summorumpontificum.net/2012/04/bishops-warned-obama-will-seize-assets.html

    April 22nd, 2012 at 4:01 pm
  3. lynnsley says:

    “Rally Reports Roll in from Across the Country”
    Praise God! I will pray for you All! God Bless Everyone! In Jesus’s Precious Name. Amen & Amen.

    “Rise now and accept My Seal, the Seal of the Living God”)
    {It will Protect You, Please say Daily}
    Crusade Prayer (33) to acknowledge My Seal and accept it with love, joy and gratitude.

    O My God, My loving Father
    I accept with love and gratitude
    Your Divine Seal of Protection

    Your Divinity encompasses my body and soul for eternity
    I bow in humble thanksgiving and offer you my deep love and loyalty
    To you my Beloved Father

    I beg you to protect me and my loved ones with this special Seal
    And I pledge my life to your service forever and ever
    I love you Dear Father
    I console you in these times Dear Father

    I offer you the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of your dearly beloved Son
    In atonement for the sins of the world and for the salvation of all your children.

    Amen.

    Crusade Prayer (33) to acknowledge My Seal and accept it with love, joy and gratitude.

    O My God, My loving Father
    I accept with love and gratitude
    Your Divine Seal of Protection

    Your Divinity encompasses my body and soul for eternity
    I bow in humble thanksgiving and offer you my deep love and loyalty
    To you my Beloved Father

    I beg you to protect me and my loved ones with this special Seal
    And I pledge my life to your service forever and ever
    I love you Dear Father
    I console you in these times Dear Father

    I offer you the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of your dearly beloved Son
    In atonement for the sins of the world and for the salvation of all your children.

    Amen.

    May 19th, 2012 at 9:45 am