Pray Connecticut

New address for our blog!

2008-11-03T17:12:00.001-05:00

We are in the process of combining this blog and our main site into one new site: to read future and many older posts, from now on please visit:

http://www.prayct.org

And thanks for your support here since 2005!

New PrayCT website coming!

2008-11-01T14:00:00.001-04:00

We ask your patience as we will be rolling out a new website shortly. You may experience some unavailability both here and at www.prayct.org. Thanks!

Does a pro-life stand matter?

2008-10-30T20:54:00.004-04:00

Buster Brown and the baby

Does a pro-life stand matter, or will more modern approaches reduce the number of abortions more? Apart from the moral issues raised by the government's condoning of child murder, consider this quote from an interesting article by Michael J. New:

As Election Day approaches, the mainstream media is, as usual, showcasing self-identified ''pro-lifers'' who are supporting the Democratic Party's pro-abortion presidential nominee. In 2004, a number of media outlets cited an analysis by ethicist Glen Harold Stassen which claimed--wrongly--that the number of abortions had increased slightly since President Bush's inauguration in 2001. The New York Times published an op-ed by Dean Mark Roche of Notre Dame encouraging pro-life Catholics to vote for John Kerry. This year the story is similar. Former Reagan administration Assistant Attorney General Doug Kmiec and Duquesne University Law Professor Nicholas Cafardi, both of whom claim to be opponents of abortion, have received plenty of media attention for their support of Barack Obama.

Their arguments are the same ones put forward in 2004. They have not improved with age. Most of these authors attempt to make one of two points: either a) that there is little that elected officials can do to curb abortion through legislation, or b) that the pro-life movement has not reaped any real benefits from supporting candidates who oppose abortion. Voters should, therefore, they argue, place greater emphasis on other issues. However, an examination of the history of the pro-life movement and a careful analysis of abortion trends demonstrate that these arguments are deeply flawed. In fact, the success of pro-life political candidates has resulted in substantial reductions in the abortion rate.

For instance, the 1990s decline in the abortion rate--a decline that is eagerly touted by these Obama and Kerry supporters--had virtually nothing to do with policies enacted by President Clinton, and much to do with the dramatic increase in the number of states that were enacting pro-life laws. The information below comes from NARAL's Who Decides, an annual publication which provides information about abortion legislation:

- In 1992, virtually no states were enforcing informed-consent laws; by 2000, 27 states had informed-consent laws in effect.

- In 1992, no states had banned or restricted partial-birth abortion; by 2000, twelve states had bans or restrictions in effect.

- In 1992, only 20 states were enforcing parental-involvement statutes; by 2000, 32 states were enforcing these laws.

Furthermore, there is plenty of evidence which suggests that these and other types of pro-life legislation have been effective at reducing the incidence of abortion.

Read the whole thing here.

Connecticut Church Map back in operation

2008-10-29T23:59:00.002-04:00

Our world famous church map (I exaggerate slightly) was temporarily offline but is now back in action and humming along. Sorry for any inconvenience. Check it out here if you've never done so and if you'd like to suggest a church for inclusion, drop me a line here. Thanks!

Prayer Vigil on Sunday, November 2

2008-10-29T10:01:00.001-04:00

Connecticut House of Prayer announces that there will be a prayer meeting and candlelight vigil for the elections on Sunday, November 2.

From 4-6 PM there will be prayer at Wellspring Church with worship and open prayer.

There will then be a candlelight vigil on the front lawn of the State Capitol with Peter Wolfgang of the Family Institute of Connecticut at 6:30 PM for a candlelight vigil.

Please join CHOP in praying for these crucial elections.

Siloam playing in Danbury this evening

2008-10-25T10:11:00.002-04:00

Siloam and guest Jonathan Mellett will be playing tonight at Community Coffeehouse in Danbury. Doors open at 7:00 PM, concert starts at 7:30. At intermission there is free food and drinks. Admission is free, a $5-10 donation is suggested. The Community Coffeehouse is located at 7 Madison Avenue in Danbury, CT. For more info go to www.1heartonline.org or call (203) 748-4972.

Rock the Sound IV coming up on November 15!

2008-10-17T16:48:00.003-04:00

It's the Northeast's biggest night of Christian music!

Rock The Sound IV features Newsboys, David Crowder Band, Skillet, Leeland and Nevertheless all in one evening. The fourth edition of RTS will be held on Saturday, November 15, 2008 at 6:00 PM at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, CT.

This year's featured charity is Love 146. Love 146 is an organization dedicated to stop the trafficking of human beings.

For tickets and more details, please visit RockTheSound.com.

Greenwich Church celebrates 25th with special services

2008-10-15T10:25:00.005-04:00

Pastor Jackson Senyonga of Kampala, Uganda

Harvest Time Church in Greenwich, CT is hosting a series of special services this week to celebrate its 25th Anniversary. Among the evening speakers are:

October 15: Jackson Senyonga
Founder and pastor of Christian Life Church in Uganda, with 40,000 members. Jackson delivers an unforgettable message and his ministry has planted 600 churches in Africa. He is featured in the Transformations II video.

October 16: Jan Nel
Jan is the founder of TEEM.Net, an apostolic network of ministries in South Africa, Australia, and the U.S. He is a true teaching father and prophetic trainer in the Body of Christ.

October 17: Raymond Mooi
Raymond is the founder of the School of Acts, a ministry training center with branches in Malaysia, the Phillipines, and Indonesia. he travels extensively throughout Southeast Asia conducting mass healing and evangelistic campaigns in closed nations.

Choose life - and vote life!

2008-10-13T19:41:00.003-04:00

We're not Catholic but I thought this video from CatholicVote.com was outstanding. Please see also the quotes on abortion below attributed to Mother Teresa.

"America needs no words from me to see how your decision in Roe v. Wade has deformed a great nation. The so-called right to abortion has pitted mothers against their children and women against men. It has sown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate human relationships. It has aggravated the derogation of the father's role in an increasingly fatherless society. It has portrayed the greatest of gifts -- a child -- as a competitor, an intrusion, and an inconvenience. It has nominally accorded mothers unfettered dominion over the independent lives of their physically dependent sons and daughters.

And, in granting this unconscionable power, it has exposed many women to unjust and selfish demands from their husbands or other sexual partners. Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being's entitlement by virtue of his humanity. The right to life does not depend, and must not be declared to be contingent, on the pleasure of anyone else, not even a parent or a sovereign."

(Mother Theresa -- "Notable and Quotable," Wall Street Journal, 2/25/94, p. A14)

"But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child - a direct killing of the innocent child - murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love, and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even his life to love us. So the mother who is thinking of abortion, should be helped to love - that is, to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her child. The father of that child, whoever he is, must also give until it hurts. By abortion, the mother does not learn to love, but kills even her own child to solve her problems. And by abortion, the father is told that he does not have to take any responsibility at all for the child he has brought into the world. That father is likely to put other women into the same trouble. So abortion just leads to more abortion. Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching the people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. That is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion."

"Please don't kill the child. I want the child. Please give me the child. I am willing to accept any child who would be aborted, and to give that child to a married couple who will love the child, and be loved by the child. From our children's home in Calcutta alone, we have saved over 3,000 children from abortions. These children have brought such love and joy to their adopting parents, and have grown up so full of love and joy!"

"What is taking place in America is a war against the child. And if we accept that the mother can kill her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another."

"Any country that accepts abortion, is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what it wants."

"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish."

Dr. Dobson weighs in on Connecticut gay marriage

2008-10-11T00:36:00.004-04:00

Connecticut has captured what little market there is in the news for anything other than the global economic meltdown. Dr. James Dobson is chiming in:

“Today’s ruling by the Connecticut Supreme Court to impose same-sex 'marriage' adds another tragic example of runaway judges trampling on citizens’ right to decide public policy for themselves. In doing so, the court has placed the desires of adults over the needs of children, who, social science research proves, do best when they are raised by their married mom and dad living in the same home.

“We decry this decision by justices unelected and unaccountable to the people, and will do whatever is necessary to oppose it. Not only have these judges knowingly deprived Connecticut children of a mother or a father, but they have usurped the role of the legislators to create law. Short of a federal marriage-protection amendment, marriage can only be truly protected by defining it in state constitutions. I pray the citizens of California, Arizona and Florida will seize the opportunity next month to settle this marriage crisis in their states once and for all.”

Gay Marriage Comes to Connecticut

2008-10-10T12:05:00.003-04:00

It has happened. The Supreme Court of Connecticut has issued its long-awaited decision in the Kerrigan case, and has effectively legalized homosexual marriage by judicial decree.

I haven't read the decision yet, but you can download a copy here (large PDF file).

As a recovering lawyer I will give you my analysis at some point FWIW.

There are several dissenting opinions:

Justices Borden and Vertefeuille (who always did right by me when I appeared in front of her)

Justice Vertefeuille separately

Justice Zarella.

Kudos to Justice Zarella, who bravely stated:

The ancient definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman has its basis in biology, not bigotry. If the state no longer has an interest in the regulation of procreation, then that is a decision for the legislature or the people of the state and not this court. Therefore, I conclude that the equal protection provisions of the state constitution are not triggered. I further conclude that there is no fundamental right to same sex marriage. Accordingly, I dissent.

The Town of 1000 Realtors(R) hits hard times

2008-10-07T00:01:00.001-04:00

Not even Greenwich is safe from the economic tsunami. Connecticut's balance sheet gets whacked, too, as we've pointed out previously.

Was Jesus a Palestinian?

2008-10-06T21:09:00.002-04:00

Umm, no. But some textbooks seem to think so:

This is one of hundreds of distortions, misrepresentations and outright lies found about Judaism and Jewish history by a comprehensive study of the 28 most widely used Social Studies textbooks in the United States. In a landmark book called “The Trouble with Textbooks,” Dr. Gary A. Tobin and Dennis R. Ybarra show how millions of American schoolchildren are taught anti-Semitic versions of Jewish history and faith, particularly in relation to Christianity and Islam, in passages that often amount to sheer libel.

There is an incredible lack of critical thinking already. This kind of thing certainly won't help.

Columnists starting to sound like preachers...

2008-10-04T22:57:00.001-04:00

And, who can blame them?

Ultimately, however, we must address the deeper roots of this financial crisis. There is a moral crisis that infects every aspect of our society. Since the 1960s, American popular culture has waged a relentless war against ethical absolutes and Judeo-Christian morality. This has been replaced with a shallow secular humanism, which champions materialism, consumerism and individual gratification. In short, our culture has done everything to destroy what used to be called "character." What happened to individual restraint, thrift and personal responsibility? These are the virtues that built the most impressive capitalist economy the world has ever created.

We are now facing more than just a financial mess; almost every other major institution is under threat. The political system is adrift; public schools are failing; the borders are porous; the intelligence agencies are dysfunctional; the inner cities are infested with drugs and gangs; the family is broken; and millions are fleeing their churches.

And they say I'm dour sometimes! More here from Jeffery Kuhner at the Washington Times.

The reality of the foreclosure wave: the "trashout"

2008-10-04T09:29:00.002-04:00

Watch this absolutely shocking video about what is really happening in California. To what extent is this happening in other places or spreading? It seems that the American middle class is being gutted and filleted like a fish.

Watching this video will improve your prayer life.

What happens when same-sex marriage is permitted?

2008-10-02T00:01:00.002-04:00

Think it can't affect you or affect many different spheres in society? Think again! Watch this video which is being used to rally people to the pro-family cause in California. You will be alarmed at what happened in Massachusetts when same-sex "marriage" was legalized there. As we await the Connecticut's Supreme Court decision in the Kerrigan case, please keep praying earnestly for our State.

Be sure to use the video menu to email it to others who care about our State and our children.

Courant notices that Dodd received $13M from finance sector contributions

2008-10-01T00:01:00.001-04:00

Much of the nation is reviling Senator Dodd, and the Courant has noticed, in an article dated September 29:

"At the end of my tenure on this committee," Dodd said in early 2007, "I want it to be said that the safety and soundness of our financial institutions was not weakened on my watch."

A year and a half later, Dodd acknowledges that the nation's finances are in an "economic maelstrom." And while Washington engages in an urgent search for after-the-fact fixes, there is also plenty of finger-pointing, and there are enduring questions about whether campaign cash — millions and millions in campaign cash — blinded Dodd and other overseers to the excesses of industry.

Financial-sector firms — mortgage firms, insurance companies, accountants, brokerage houses, hedge funds — are among the most generous political donors in America, lavishing more than $1 billion on candidates this decade. And in Congress, few politicians have fared better than Dodd. During the past 20 years, PACs and employees of finance-related firms have contributed more than $13 million to Dodd's election efforts, including nearly $6 million in the past two years. Among members of Congress, only leading presidential candidates — Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John McCain and John Kerry — have collected more money from the sector.

A Call to Repentance

2008-09-30T00:01:00.003-04:00

This is Rosh HaShanah or, more biblically, Yom Teruah, the Feast of Trumpets. This is a day commonly celebrated as the Jewish New Year and begins a period of ten days of introspection and repentance known as the Ten Days of Awe. What better time to seek the Lord in repentance?

America is undergoing a shaking not seen since 1929, when the very foundations of our system were shaken. Only the massive spending and industrial production of World War II began to pull us out of the Great Depression.

How much are we going to suffer from our decades of overspending and living beyond our means?

Let us return to the Lord!

Flickr photo believed public domain, courtesy Library of Congress.

This just in: Connecticut property taxes are really high!

2008-09-29T14:24:00.004-04:00

I haven't been able to pull down the actual report yet, but WTNH is reporting that we pay twice the national average in property taxes:

Connecticut residents pay an average of $2,042 per year on homes, businesses and vehicles, compared to the national average of $1,123.

Pro-family rally draws large crowd; largely ignored

2008-09-29T12:29:00.004-04:00

We know the global financial markets are imploding, but there is a relative news blackout concerning the large rally in Hartford yesterday which, even by the Courant's admission, drew 2,800 people.

In its story, the Courant focused on "progressive" (left-wing) groups who, like the Family Institute of Connecticut, are also seeking a Constitutional Convention.

The only other mention of the rally and the small counter-rally was on the Connecticut News Junkie site, which, to its credit, gave a fairly equal amount of space to both sides - although we would argue that such articles invariably serve as another platform for those promoting the smearing and jettisoning of traditional values.

Anglican leader accepts visions at Lourdes

2008-09-25T00:34:00.004-04:00

Flickr photo of Rowan Williams under cc-by-sa-2.0.

I don't shock easily, especially these days, but the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, has succeeded in startling me:

He asserted that 18 visions of Our Lady allegedly experienced by Bernadette Soubirous in 1858 were true.

His words shocked millions of Protestants worldwide because they not only signified a break with Protestant teaching on the Virgin Mary but also Dr Williams’s personal acceptance of the Catholic doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, which is explicitly linked to the apparitions.

The archbishop made his remarks during a three-day visit to the shrine in the French Pyrenees - the first ever by a leader of the Church of England.

In a homily he preached at an international Mass there, Dr Williams spoke about the apparitions without any qualifications.

‘When Mary came to Bernadette, she came at first as an anonymous figure, a beautiful lady, a mysterious “thing”, not yet identified as the Lord’s spotless mother,” Dr Williams said.

‘And Bernadette – uneducated, uninstructed in doctrine – leapt with joy, recognising that here was life, here was healing,’ he said.

‘Only bit by bit does Bernadette find the words to let the world know; only bit by bit, we might say, does she discover how to listen to the Lady and echo what she has to tell us.’

Read the whole thing here.

Smokescreens

2008-09-25T00:01:00.004-04:00

To see a true smokescreen, witness this comparison by Rick Green of:

Connecticut pro-family leaders who don't wish to have same-sex marriage imposed upon us by judicial fiat... with:

Racist Southerners opposed to the Voting Rights Act.

Mr. Green apparently believes that, in both cases, it would be simply be too dangerous to allow the "people" to have any input on the matter. What confusion. Mr. Green is either fabricating completely (in hope that the citizenry has been totally dumbed-down), or else he has himself completely failed to understand his own argument.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (misnamed by Mr. Green) was Federal legislation designed to secure valid, already existing Constitutional rights. We the People obviously had input in the process through our elected representatives. (Republicans in the U. S. Senate voted for it 30-1, by the way.)

In our current context, Peter Wolfgang of the Family Institute of Connecticut was absolutely correct when he said:

Our opponents don’t want the people to be heard on this because in some 40 or so states where the people were allowed to vote on it, the pro same-sex “marriage” side lost (and they usually lost by a lot).

No, our opponents would rather have the CT Supreme Court impose same-sex “marriage” by undemocratic fiat–something that may happen any day now–because it’s the only way they can win.

Church added to Connecticut Church Map

2008-09-24T15:05:00.002-04:00

We've added a new church to the Connecticut Church Map. Not really a "new" church, but one that's been in the news for a number of years for standing for the truth of orthodox Christian belief:
Bishop Seabury Church, in Groton.

We thank God for this church and its leadership under Rev. Ron Gauss. He is a remarkable individual and I would encourage you to read this profile at Virtue Online.

Connecticut budget woes coming

2008-09-24T14:15:00.003-04:00

Says Mrs. Rell:

Rell's budget office estimated Monday that state's budget deficit for the current fiscal year will be about $300 million, more than double previous estimates. Rell said much of that projected red ink is due to falling state revenues, especially from the income and sales taxes and the state's share of the slot machine take at Connecticut's tribal casinos.

The estimate does not account for any fallout from the recent large fluctuations on Wall Street, she said.

Of course, those "fluctuations" will likely hurt us, given how much of our State's income depends on a relatively few people having big capital gains, mostly in Greenwich, as the Courant recently pointed out:

As the good times rolled in recent years, the state budget became increasingly dependent on Greenwich. Despite having only about 60,000 people, the town contributed nearly $600 million in state income taxes in 2006 — more than three times the income taxes paid by the combined populations of Hartford, Bridgeport, New Haven and Waterbury. With only 1.8 percent of tax filers, Greenwich provides nearly 13 percent of all state income tax, helping to pay for schools in West Hartford and road repairs in Rockville, not to mention every other cost related to running the state.

Critical rally for marriage this Sunday, September 28th

2008-09-23T13:53:00.002-04:00

This Sunday, September 28th at 2:30 p.m. the Family Institute of Connecticut will hold a Rally for Marriage on the steps of the state Capitol in Hartford. FIC says:

This will be Connecticut's most important marriage protection event yet—but it may not succeed unless thousands of people like you turn out to make their voice heard!

Bishop Jeremiah Torres of the House of Restoration Church, Pastor Brian Simmons of Gateway Christian Fellowship, "CT 6" Pastor Christopher Leighton, Rabbi Joshua Hecht of Beth Israel Synagogue, Fr. Greg Markey of St. Mary's Church in Norwalk and other major clergy and politicians will join FIC executive director Peter Wolfgang to speak in defense of marriage and the right to Let the People Decide at the Rally. Parking will be available at The Legislative Office Building Parking Garage, Elm St, Market St and the Bushnell Parking Lot....

News of a "counter-rally" has raised the stakes for the Rally for Marriage. In order for our Rally to be a success, we must turn out substantially more people than our opposition. Please ask your pastor, priest or rabbi to rally fellow believers to attend the September 28th Rally for Marriage. Please arrange to have a bus leave from your church following Sunday services. The success of the rally depends on turnout, and turning out thousands for marriage protection will not happen unless Connecticut's churches are willing to take a stand. Your willingness to organize your church to attend the rally could make the difference between failure and success. The stakes are that high! For more information, contact FIC at 860-548-0066 and ask for Larry....