October 2010

By October 18, 2010New York

Welcome

As summer ends and the fall foliage dazzles us, let us give thanks to God for all our blessings!

This free monthly newsletter is designed to provide information to our Prayer/Action Chapter Leaders (PALs), Home Team Captains (HTCs), and all others who are concerned about the moral and political issues of our day. If you received this newsletter from a friend and wish to subscribe directly, please send me an e-mail saying SUBSCRIBE. By subscribing, you will also receive occasional e-mail alerts about pending legislation. To unsubscribe, simply e-mail me.

Anne F. Downey
New York State Director
Concerned Women for America

P.O. Box 97
N. Boston NY 14110
Ph 716-359-3226
director@newyork.cwfa.org

website: ny.cwfa.org

CWA of NY – Taking Action

Our Prayer/Action Chapters are holding meetings in various locations across the state. The reports coming back from the chapters are exciting. Each chapter is very different, and it wonderful to hear how concerned New Yorkers are gathering to learn about the issues and pray for our state and nation. Please contact me if you wish to join (or start) a chapter.

Statewide, we are getting ready for the January to June 2011 state legislative session by signing up participants for the Encourage-A-Legislator program. See below for information and to get involved.

This fall many of you are participating in pro-life events. Kudos to all who are advancing the cause of life in New York, the nation’s abortion capital. The initial reports from 40 Days for Life regarding the current 40-day period of prayer (September 22 to October 31) are encouraging. In the Buffalo area, during the first three days of the vigil, two pregnant women coming for abortions at 2500 Main Street changed their minds! To participate in your region’s 40 Days for Life event, see www.40DaysForLife.com. Also, we know that many New Yorkers will also be participating in Life Chain on Sunday, October 3. It appears there will be a whopping 43 Life Chain events across our state! For more information, see www.LifeChain.net. We are also hearing about pro-life banquets, Silent No More events, and many other pro-life activities in New York State. Keep up the good work!

CWA of NY continues to monitor the activities of the Empire State Stem Cell Board as the Board’s Ethics Committee discusses whether to relax restrictions on human-animal chimera research. On September 27, 2010, the Committee met again on the chimera issue, and we were relieved that it did not embrace any relaxation of the existing international guidelines. We will continue to monitor and speak out on this issue.

Encourage-A-Legislator SIGN UP NOW!

One of the greatest contributions of CWA of NY to our state is the Encourage-A-Legislator program. For the past two years, we have been blessed to carry out this program with 100 percent prayer coverage of our governor and all 200+ members of the New York Legislature. We want to repeat this success in 2011! Each month during the New York legislative session (January to June 2011) our participants send a CWA of NY pre-printed postcard to the legislator(s) they sign up to encourage. The postcards this year will feature quotations from famous New York women (in other years we have used Scriptures and quotations from various leaders). The postcards also feature a printed note of encouragement stating that the CWA member is praying for the legislator and his or her family. No lobbying is done with these cards; they are for encouragement only. CWA of NY provides the postcards and related materials. All you do is sign your name, address the postcard and pray. A huge thanks goes to Records Correspondent Carla Mann, who is assisting me with the paperwork this year. Please contact me by phone, e-mail or regular mail by December 1 to sign up.

Voter Registration

CWA national has updated its website and is now using the easy-to-remember address www.ConcernedWomen.org. Among other things, the revised site makes it a cinch to register to vote. Just click on the voting information on the home page. In order to vote in the general election on November 2, you must register to vote by Friday, October 8, 2010. If you don’t have website access, register by calling 1-800-FOR-VOTE. Also, if you moved, don’t forget to submit a change of address form. P.S. to churches and other groups: If you are looking for a good handout on voter registration, you can download for free the CWA Voter Registration Fact Card at https://concernedwomen.org/factsheets/registertovote.pdf

Wrap Week

CWA is a proud supporter of Wrap Week, an annual event (this year October 31 to November 7) dedicated to speaking out about the pornography problem in our nation. We were recently reminded of how far-reaching the consequences of pornography can be with the sentencing in September of an interstate truck driver who admitted to watching porn while driving a truck on the Thruway near Pembroke, 20 miles east of Buffalo. He crashed into a disabled vehicle at the side of the road, killing Julie Stratton, mother of two young boys now aged one and four. She was seated inside the car after calling her husband and 911, waiting for the authorities to arrive. Aside from this headline story, there are countless untold stories of families disintegrating in our state because a spouse became addicted to porn. The porn addiction is enslaving many men, women and children. To make your voice heard during Wrap Week, see the new CWA Wrap Week Fact Card available here: [Chengi, please insert a link to the attached Wrap Fact Card PDF]. Also, for those struggling with a porn addiction, there are free resources at www.PornHarms.com, www.purelifeministries.org and www.regenerationministries.org. We urge churches to spread information about helpful resources to address this serious issue affecting many families.

Marriage Minute

From our friends at Marriage & Family Savers Institute in Newburgh:

[Chengi, please insert a link to the attached Marriage Minute PDF]

Prayer Requests

As always, please let me know your needs and prayer requests.

Membership

Please consider making a gift so that we can continue our work in this state. Are you a member of Concerned Women for America? If not, please sign up and send a suggested donation of $25 or more to

CWA of NY,

P.O. Box 97,

North Boston NY 14110.

Donations sent to this address go 100 percent to our state budget, enabling us to continue the work in New York State. Donations can be also be made by credit card at our website: ny.cwfa.org. Concerned Women for America is a 501(c)(3) organization, and contributions are deductible to the extent allowed by law. A copy of CWA’s latest annual report is available from us or from the New York State Attorney General’s Charities Bureau, Attn: FOIL Officer,

120 Broadway,

New York NY 10271. Thank you for your support.

On a Lighter Note

An interesting e-mail making the rounds:

  • Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?
  • What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
  • What if we flipped through it several times a day?
  • What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
  • What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
  • What if we treated it like we couldn’t live without it?
  • What if we gave it to kids as gifts?
  • What if we used it when we traveled?
  • What if we used it in case of emergency?
  • This is something to make you go….hmm…where is my Bible?
  • Oh, and one more thing.Unlike our cell phone, we don’t have to worry about our Bible beingdisconnected, because Jesus already paid the bill.
  • Makes you stop and think about our priorities. And no dropped calls!