Stand Up, Phoenix
Posted by Ann Swaziek (June 11, 2012 at 2:59 pm)
In the Valley of the Sun, a thousand people, under branches of trees, holding umbrellas or standing under pop-up tents for relief from the hot sun, in 103 degrees stood up for Religious Liberty. Music was led by Doug Slater, Julie and Kurt Carrick. The rally was a huge success!!!
Ann SwazieK – Rally Capt. (Reasons for protest)
Our MC John Jakubczyk
Introduction of Declaration of Independence & First Amendment
Lt. Col Wendy Rogers – Small Business Owner & Candidate for US Congress
Most Rev. Thomas Olmsted – Bishop of Phoenix
Here is a link to an article on the Bishop’s remarks as well.
General Enrique Gorostieta Velarde, tells his troops assembled for a pivotal battle, “Today we send a message to Calles [the President of Mexico], and to the world. Freedom is not a word just for writers, politicians or fancy documents. It is our wives, it our children, it is our homes, it is our faith, it is our lives… it is not only our duty, it’s our right.” From the movie “For Greater Glory”
Cathi Herrod – President of Center for Arizona Policy
Encouraged us to:
-Register to vote and register your friends
Find out where candidates stand
Vote your values
Make a difference -don’t vote based on a sound-bite
Dr. William Chavira OBGYN – Healthcare Rep
Chavira says he personally is under attack by the government for some reason he didn’t go into detail about, but added that he only plays by the rules of the Catholic Church, if you’d like to take that into consideration before scheduling an appointment.
Chavira went on to explain that he’s a “true feminist” because he plays by the church’s rules, and said he doesn’t understand why there’s no public uproar over this HHS directive like there was for the swine flu epidemic or the trapped West Virginia coal miners.
: Rep Debbie Lesko – Arizona House Majority Whip
Reported on the approval of HB2526 and signed by Gov Brewer said ”that this is just the beginning”
Karen Williams – Silent No More, “Batons and Bullets”
I was a 15-yrs old when I marched down Central avenue twirling a baton with the Michigan Lion’s All State Band on a day much like today. A lot has happened in my life since then including: baptism, graduation, marriage, & motherhood. Wedged in between all of these good life experiences is a very painful one: I had an abortion in 1987; a fact that I sincerely regret and that has altered my life in more ways than I care to imagine. Today, I still march down city streets, but I carry a sign instead of a baton. Thru the SNM awareness campaign I try to remind others that abortion is not only man’s worst invention; it is a preventable evil in our society.
The contraceptive mandate, if successful, would force people to violate their most fundamental beliefs. Our first and most precious liberty: the freedom of religion, is our birthright; not given to us by government, but gifted to us by God. To be told that we must pay for contraception, sterilization and abortifacient drugs is beyond the pale and something that we must not tolerate.
Because we have not cowered under the opposition, we are labeled as woman-haters, religious freaks, perverts and closed-minded fools. Oh sure, they will tell you that this is about women’s rights, access to universal healthcare, & reducing the number of abortions but this crafty rhetoric is a lie. We do not have the right to take human life. PERIOD. Abortion in all its forms is not a freedom, it is a license that denies unborn human beings all of their freedoms; and for this reason, it is intrinsically evil.
Contraception is Abortion’s crazy uncle and they fit together like a hand inside of a glove.
Allow me to illustrate.
The “glove” of contraception says:
1. “Women are playthings. Their bodies are objects to be used for sexual pleasure.”
2. “A woman’s fertility is a diseased condition and therefore must be treated with a drug.”
3. “It does not matter that contraceptives
a. Are abortifacients
b. Fail at an astonishing rate (recent studies indicate that over 50% of abortions are the result of failed contraceptives!!)
c. are a class I carcinogen (W.H.O.)”
The ‘hand of abortion’ fits snugly inside the glove and says…
“Life, when inconvenient as deemed by a woman and her doctor is optional. When it’s optional and unwanted, we’ll kill it.”
After a woman has an abortion, the first thing they’ll do is hand her a prescription for The Pill. And when The Pill fails she will be back through the door seeking abortion. The cycle repeats ad infinitum. Hand in glove.
Where does this journey take us if we don’t stand up today? Simply stated: If they can pirate our conscience and loot wallets today, then they will rob us of our other freedoms tomorrow. Imagine an America where we will not be able to gather in protest, speak freely, or worship openly. There will be fewer conversations, fewer conversions. There will be a silent, stunted church. If they can deny you your personal religious liberties today, they will hi-jack your other God-given freedoms from you tomorrow.
Let’s not wait for that to happen. Let’s not keep our convictions in our pockets or away from the pulpits. Remember, we are not only standing up for ourselves, but also for future generations of Americans. Post abortive men and women who grieve for their children cannot be denied the fact of their consciences that these children are real and exist in the community of saints. After we have fought so hard to restore our consciences through various healing programs that our churches have made available, we will not be robbed of them again.
I would be remiss if I did not mention how indebted we are to the men of the cloth who are standing up with us today. I would not be speaking before you if it weren’t for the church and her shepherds. The Catholic Church has never waivered on the issue of contraceptives or abortion. Never. She has always spoken the truth that we need to hear…a gentle teacher; a radiant hope. What does religious freedom mean to me? It means everything. I used to be pro-choice.
For those of you who courageously speak out Sunday after Sunday about Life and Liberty, we are grateful to God for you and we encourage you to fight on. We love you & your example and we will never abandon you.
In the movie, For Greater Glory, I remember back to the scene of the women who were instrumental in helping fight the oppressive government by smuggling the ammunition to the Cristeros. The bullets were a reminder of the violent nature of that struggle and the fact that people were willing to die for what they believed. In a similar way, I believe that the shared testimonies of the healed post-abortive community are the real bullets in our struggle today. We are witnesses of the horrors of abortion on personal level.
Our stories reveal what abortion and contraception really does to women & they shoot holes through the lies of the culture of death. Ask anyone of us if our lives were made any better by our abortion decision. Ask us how helpful it was for us to have flashbacks and nightmares of a procedure that was supposed to free us from an unwanted pregnancy.
Ask us about botched abortions that left many of us sterile, childless, and physically impaired. Ask us how the coveted convenience of an empty womb has left us imprisoned in our own guilt. Ask the priests who minister to us how they explain the countless confessions over something that ought to have the import of an appendectomy.
Why do we confess abortion if it supposed to be likened to cyst removal? Why do our consciences rebel? It is because our children are human beings and not diseased gall bladders. Our unborn children have captivated our attention. And I believe they are here with us in a special way, too.
We have all taken a bold step today to stand up for religious freedom. Let’s not let it end here, though. There are people that need to hear this message and you know who they are. There is an election coming in November that will demand more unity from us than ever before. Let’s awaken to the important voices that speak the truth: the church, our conscience, the unborn; and let us pray for this great nation, that her leaders respect the sacred trust that we place in their hands.
May God bless America.
Rev Dr CT Wright – The Light of Hope Institute
Melanie Pritchard – Executive Director of the Foundation for Life and Love. & Pure Fashion.
Ron Johnson – Arizona Catholic Conference
Blessing John Jakubczyk led a prayer for our bishop, all pastors, priests and leaders present.
Prayers led by Fr. John Muir – ASU Newman Center, Rev Dr. Wright, Deacon Tom Glenn, Bishop Olmsted.