Voters Guide

Priests for Life have released a voters guide that would be well worth viewing.  Click on the link below to access the guide.  You may also want to check out the site www.politicalresponsibility.com.

Priests For Life Voters Guide

Bottles Counted

This past Sunday on Father’s Day, St. Andrew’s collected the baby bottles used to collect monies for the Refuge Crisis Pregnancy Center.  The goal was for each family or individual to fill their baby bottle with change to be donated to the Center.  They had from Mother’s Day to Father’s Day to fill their bottle(s). 

With all bottles turned in and counted, I am happy to report that St. Andrew’s was able to raise in change $190.00 ($216.00).  Thanks to everyone who participated in this campaign.

Baby Bottles Due Sunday

On Mother’s Day this past month, St. Andrew’s joined with other area churches in the Refuge Crisis Pregnancy Center’s Annual Baby Bottle Campaign.  The purpose of the campaign is for congregants to take home baby bottles and fill them with change to donate to the Center.

This Sunday, Father’s Day, the campaign will end.  Everyone who has a bottle or bottles is requested to turn their bottles in on Sunday.  We will then count and turn the proceeds over to the Refuge Crisis Pregnancy Center for them to use in their most important work.

I want to thank everyone for their enthusiastic support for this endeavor.  We are proud to support the Refuge Crisis Pregnancy Center as they minister young women and babies and work to put an end to scourge of abortion. 

If you are not part of St. Andrew’s Parish and would like to donate to the Refuge Crisis Pregnancy Center you may do so by sending your gift to:  Refuge Crisis Pregnancy Center, 1307 Milstead Ave., Conyers, GA 30012.

For more information about the Refuge Crisis Pregnancy Center, check out their website at http://www.refugepregnancycenter.com/

CEC for Life Live Broadcast

Tuesday night, June 10th,  CEC For Life will be hosting another Live Broadcast to discuss some topics including Pro-life News Updates, the winners of our Pro-life Youth Contest, as well as our events this Summer’s activities at the International Convocation. This will be a Live Stream Broadcast. You will also be able to chat and ask questions while Father Terry Gensemer is on the air. The Broadcast will begin at 7:00 PM Eentral Time. That is 8:00 PM Eastern Time and 5:00 PM Pacific Time. It is recommended that you sign on a few minutes early.  Youth and Adults are welcome.

Note: We will be utilizing a new program which is compatible with Mac Operating Systems and has a much shorter delay.

To sign on follow the instructions below.

Go to http://www.mogulus.com/cecforlife

If you are not seeing anything, call Father Terry at 205-253-0159.

Also, if you want to make a donation to CEC For Life or renew your membership, you can now use Paypal.  Just go to www.cecforlife.org and click on donate and follow the instructions.

“Is This What You Mean?” Campaign

From CEC for Life:

Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life has launched a new campaign called, “Is this what you mean?” This campaign has been launched to demonstrate the answer to the question, “Is this what you mean when talking about abortion?” Each video demonstrates a different type of abortion as discussed by Fr. Pavone and an OB/GYN. Please take the time to view the video clips and forward them to as many as people as you know, so that they know this is what you mean when referring to abortion!

• Dismemberment D&E Procedure 
• Suction Abortion Procedure 
• Prostaglandin Abortion Procedure

Baby Bottle Campaign

This year St. Andrew’s will be participating in the Refuge Crisis Pregnancy Center’s Baby Bottle Campaign.  This coming Sunday, Mother’s Day, we will be distributing baby bottles to the congregation to fill with change, bills, or checks.  The bottles will be collected up on Father’s Day, June 15th.  Monies collected will go to support the Refuge Crisis Pregnancy Center.

The stated mission of the Refuge Crisis Pregnancy Center is:

The vision of Refuge Pregnancy Center is to reach women in crisis pregnancies with the gospel of Jesus Christ in word and in deed. We want to provide accurate and complete information about both prenatal development and abortion. 

We are delighted to a part of this wonderful agency and to help raise money in support of their ministry.

If you are not part of St. Andrew’s Parish and would like to donate to the Refuge Crisis Pregnancy Center you may do so by sending your gift to:  Refuge Crisis Pregnancy Center, 1307 Milstead Ave., Conyers, GA 30012.

 For more information about the Refuge Crisis Pregnancy Center, check out their website at http://www.refugepregnancycenter.com/

CEC for Life: Live Broadcast TONIGHT

From The Rev’d Canon Terry Gensemer, Director of CEC for Life

 

Live Broadcast Tuesday April 8

Hey Everyone,       Tuesday Night April 8 I will be hosting a Live Broadcast to discuss some topics including our events this summer at the International Convocation. You will be able to see me speaking to you in a Live Stream. You will also be able to chat and ask questions while I am ON the Air. The Broadcast will begin at 7:00 PM Central Time. That is 8:00 PM Eastern Time and 5:00 PM Pacific Time. I would suggest signing on a few minutes early.  Youth and Adults are welcome.   To sign on follow the instructions below. Go to http://www.helloworld.com/frterry You will see a Broadcast Tower Icon on your left. Click on the tower.  Then you will see where it says ON AIR NOW. Click on that, wait a few moments and you will see the video stream. If you are not seeing anything, call me at 205-253-0159. Note: If you are using a Mac, you might not be able to see the video. Fr. Terry . P.S. You can now use Paypal to donate or renew your membership to CEC For Life on the Website. Just go to www.cecforlife.org and click on donate and follow the instructions.

Sex, Love and Relationships Seminar: Spring 2008

              

Date:  April 13, 20, 27 and May 4, 2008

Time:  Sunday evenings, 5:30-7:30 PM

Location: St. Andrews’ Parish Hall

                  

Today’s society does not in any way encourage chastity and purity.  In fact our culture encourages promiscuity and is silent about its destruction.  Our youth have not been told the truth of the consequences of disregarding God’s plan of purity.  Plainly, their choices have life altering consequences and they need to know what they are.  We must give our young people a compelling reason to commit to sexual abstinence and chastity.

                           

In four sessions we will discuss the physical, emotional, spiritual and character consequences of sexual activity outside of marriage and God’s plan for teens in regard to sex. 

                      

Session 1 - The Physical Consequences

Pregnancy isn’t the only consideration.  What dangers are youth in from the runaway epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases?

Session 2 - The Emotional Consequences

Sex is more than just an animal act.  Your personhood and future are affected by the choices you make, choices that are sometimes tragically made in the heat of the emotion and that can never be taken back.

Session 3 - The Spiritual Consequences

Where does God fit in all this?  Are there standards that you can look to that provide sure guidance?  Is there any hope for those who have already made unfortunate choices?  What can be salvaged?

Session 4 - The Character Consequences

Your character is being formed day by day.  How are you giving thought and direction to the person that you want to become?  On what basis are you making your key choices?  How do you get a hold of your life?

This program is for parents and their middle and high school children.  Please invite your teen’s friends and their parents - especially boyfriends and girlfriends. 

This concerns nothing less than their whole life and future.  We can make a difference in their lives by giving them the information they need to make the right decisions and the best decisions.

We never want our children to say -

“If someone would have explained the consequences I would have made a different choice, but…NOBODY TOLD ME.”

CEC for Life Annual Essay Contest

Recently, CEC for Life announced it’s annual essay contest for youth ages 13-23.  The purpose of the essay contest is to engage our youth in learning about and becoming involved in the pro-life movement.  This year the contest winners will be honored at the International Convocation in Orlando, Florida later this year.  The deadline for essay entries is May 15th.  To learn more about the contest, go to CEC for Life Announces 2008 Pro-Life Youth Contest at CECHome.com.

Godly Seed - A Reflection on the Heels of “Sanctity of Life” Sunday

Article first posted January 29, 2007.  

On Sunday, January 21st, Churches across the country celebrated “Sanctity of Life” Sunday. “Sanctity of Life” Sunday, for those who may not know, is observed by churches to pray for the pre-born who have been victims of legalized abortion and to call God’s people to continue to be a prophetic voice calling our nation to repentance and to renounce the practice of abortion. It is a very important observance for God’s people in the ongoing struggle to save the unborn and to promote the “sacredness” of human life.This year, while preparing to deliver my annual “sanctity of life” message at St. Andrew’s, God began to stir my heart to address another concern intimately related to the struggle for the preservation of life. In so doing, He led me to the following passage, Malachi 2:15a.

But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks a godly offering.

What is the message God had me address? Here it is in a nutshell: God desires godly seed not just seed!Since the Roe vs. Wade decision which legalized abortion-on-demand in our country, the Church has been waging an ongoing battle to preserve human life - the life of millions of innocent children. Just so you know, over 40 million babies have been aborted since 1973. The struggle is real. And it can be said, to varying degrees, the Church has fought long and hard to preserve the seed of human life.

But…God desires more of us. He desires a “godly seed.”

You see, we are not just to fight to save the seed of human life, we must be committed to help nurture the seed we save. The question before us is this: “We are ready and willing to enter the public arena to fight for a policy to save human life, but are we ready and willing to roll-up our sleeves and provide the care and nurture needed to raise up a godly seed?”

Last October 2006, my heart was first awakened to the need to raise a godly seed when I was priviledged to attend an adoption fair in Atlanta. As I listened to the statistics given of children in state care and the need to find good foster and adoptive parents, the Holy Spirit began to speak to me about the neglected seed that was in the state system. I remember thinking to myself, “I am more than willing to write my congressman, protest in the streets, and make donations to pro-life endeavors to save an unborn child, but am I willing to commit myself to raise a child in need to be a godly man or woman?”

And here in lay the challenge not only to me but to all God’s people who are engaged in the struggle for human life. God, I believe is attempting to say to us, “it is not enough to save the seed it must be nurtured to become godly seed.” To fail to do so, is to fail to complete the mission.

Consider the following:

1. James 1:27 tells us that “pure and undefiled religion” which pleases God is to take care of the widows and orphans in their distress.

2. Psalm 68:5 tells us that God is a “father to the fatherless.” The term fatherless in Scripture is the more common term for the orphan. A good word study is to look up all the references to the word “fatherless” in Scripture. You will find time and again that God is especially concerned for the needs of the fatherless and warns emphatically that God’s people should never mistreat them or neglect them.

3. Psalm 68:6 also tells us that God delights to take the “solitary” and place them in families. He is committed to finding the fatherless a home.

4. Genesis 1:7 tells us that all life is sacred for we are made alive by the very breath of God. Malachi 2:15 confirms this by stating that we have a portion of the Spirit given to us at conception. And just as the child in in the womb is holy and sacred, so is the child who finds himself abandoned, fatherless and motherless.

5. Note that John 1:12-13 and Romans 8:15 remind us that we who are in Christ were once all orphans and that through the redemptive work of Christ, God the Father has adopted us as His sons and daughters. In fact, consider this, the largest adoptive family in history is the Church. Who better to take on this issue of the abandoned and abused than the Church?6. Finally, consider what one child saved not only from abortion but from abandonment can accomplish. Just look at Moses, who was adopted by Pharoah’s daughter and saved from death. And our Savior, Jesus, who like Moses was preserved from Herod’s slaughter of the children in Bethlehem. It was Joseph, his adoptive father, who carried him to safety and helped Mary raise Him. Through Moses, God saved a nation. Through Christ Jesus, God the Father enables all mankind to be saved.

I do not know what God intends for all of us to do with this word. For some, I pray, you will be stirred to explore adoption. For others, I pray, you will consider being a foster parent. For others, I pray, you allow God to show you how to partner with area agencies and programs to support and impart into the lives of the children in your community who, out of neglect, abandonment, or abuse, find themselves in State custody needing someone to share with them the love of God.

According to statistics from State of Georgia website, just in the State of Georgia alone there are over 15,000 children in State custody. 85% are in State custody for severe neglect, 11% for physical abuse, and 5% for sexual abuse.