Overcoming Fear
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) was a German pastor, theologian, ecumenist, and peace activist. He wrote profoundly about Christian faith, community, grace, and ethics, centered in one way or another on the question, who is Christ for us today? The atrocities of the Nazi Regime, which resulted in unspeakable human suffering, compelled him to participate in a conspiracy that tried unsuccessfully to assassinate Hitler and install a new government that would end the war and those atrocities. Imprisoned during the last two years of his life, Bonhoeffer was executed just weeks before the end of the war.1
In January 1933, shortly before Hitler came to power, Bonhoeffer preached a sermon a vespers service on the evening of the second Sunday after Epiphany entitled, Overcoming Fear.
Overcoming Fear, A Sermon by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
It was a time of great tension in Berlin, and of widespread fear. The Hindenburg government was tottering, indeed was about to go under, and with it Germany’s fragile first republic, created at Weimar after World War I. There was fear of Communism—the “Red Tide from the East”—and other extremist movements, and danger from open fighting in the streets. In the midst of this storm, Bonhoeffer was no more certain of the future than anyone else, but he was sure that followers of Christ should know where to turn. “God stands above all . . . his Word unstayed,” Bonhoeffer assured the congregation, quoting a verse from “The Golden Sun,” a beloved hymn by Paul Gerhardt. In these turbulent times, I think you will find that sermon timely and valuable.
What They Aren't Telling You About A3 - The Reproductive Health Freedom Initiative
Amendment 3 is the culmination and result of Roe v Wade being overturned and an initiative petition process in Missouri that is being utilized by out of state, left wing influence.
Now, more than ever, you need to understand what you're voting on and help educate your community before it's time to vote on November 5th.
Our effort to help educate Missouri voters will take place every Thursday evening at 8:00pm on Zoom. It will be recorded and uploaded here on our home page for those who can't participate live.
DATES: Every Thursday until November 5, 2024
TIME: 8:00 PM
ZOOM webinar
Across Missouri
PLEASE invite your pastors, community leaders, friends and family to join us!
Liberty Link Missouri PAC recommends attending the Cultural Impact Conference on Saturday, September 7 in Ozark, MO.
What is the Cultural Impact Conference?
The Cultural Impact Conference is a call to the church to act decisively to protect the lives of the unborn in the state of Missouri as well as work to win back our culture through political engagement in our local, state, and national governments.
When: Saturday, September 7
Time: 8:30 a.m. Registration
Where: First Baptist Church, 1400 W. Jackson Street, Ozark, MO
Contact: Register Online at www.ciconference.org/register. For additional information call 816-984-8300.
Guest Speakers
Senator Josh Hawley
Chris Williams, Senior Pastor, Fellowship Baptist Church and President of the Missouri Baptist Convention
Seth Gruber, Founder and CEO, The White Rose Resistance
William Federer, Host of American Minute Radio Show: How did we get here?
Tony Perkins President, Family Research Council: What is Really Happening in Washington D.C.?
Jodi Widhalm, Missouri Freedom Foundation and Lisa McIntire, Pregnancy Care Center Springfield: Missouri Ballot Initiative
Yours for winning back the culture for Christ,
Bev Ehlen
President, Liberty Link Missouri PAC
314-608-0168
bevehlen@libertylinkmissouri.com
Senator Mike Moon on Amendment 3
The following is an email sent out by Mike Moon For Missouri, reprinted in its entirety, because there is important information included related to Amendment 3, and as he always does, Senator Moon breaks down what is at stake clearly, and concisely.
Have You Made Your List?
In the last report, I urged you to make a list of persons to contact (hopefully to oppose Amendment 3). That’s okay if you haven’t completed your list. I’m still adding to my list, too.
About a week ago, someone told me that in the last election, some 36 million Christians (a Christian is one who claims to follow Christ’s teachings – and, these followers have confessed their sins and willingly submit to His Lordship over their lives). I imagine that some who didn’t or don’t regularly vote do so because of the confusion caused by candidates who purposely spout lies. I admit, it’s sometimes difficult to discern who’s telling the truth. If I didn’t know some of the candidates (in our recent statewide election), I likely would have been confused, too.
Please, keep building your list. I’ll do my best to help you understand Amendment 3.
What is Amendment 3 All About Anyway?
The short of it is that the crux of Amendment 3 is to allow the ending of a baby’s life at any time up to the time of birth.
Here are some ‘bullet points’ which may help us understand the real intent of Amendment 3. After reading them, if you disagree with any of the points, or you recognize something that should be added, please send your thoughts to me.
If Petition 2024 – 086 (The Proposed Abortion Amendment) Passes . . .
1. Human trafficking will increase. The amendment eliminates parental consent laws for minors to obtain an abortion which means that boyfriends and pimps can force a teenage mother to abort her child.
2. There would be no medical standards required for abortions. Requiring medical standards to be met would be seen as the government infringing on a “person’s fundamental” right to an abortion. Also, that right “shall not be denied, interfered with, delayed or otherwise restricted….”
3. Persons other than doctors could perform abortions. There is no requirement for a medical doctor and the amendment itself only references “health care professional” which is a very broad term that could include LPNs, EMTs, Paramedics. It could even include Dental Assistants and many other “health care professionals!”
4. Abortion could occur up to the time of delivery. Even though the amendment states the General Assembly “may enact laws that regulate the provision of abortion after fetal
viability…,” it does not require it. Furthermore, fetal viability is not defined. And further still, the remainder of that very same sentence says: under no circumstances shall the government deny, interfere with, or otherwise restrict an abortion that in the good faith judgment of a treating health care professional is needed to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant person.” Remember, any health care professional can make a determination of a pregnant person’s mental health and use that as a basis for abortion and the government cannot deny, interfere with, or otherwise restrict.
5. Abortions could happen anywhere. Because the government cannot restrict or interfere with abortion access, local zoning laws would be useless for restricting abortion clinics to commercial areas. It may be possible for a “health care professional” to open a clinic in their home or apartment next to your own. When the lack of parental notification is considered as well, abortions could happen in the school nurse’s office or health clinic.
6. There can be no malpractice suits for botched abortions. Paragraph 5 of the propose amendment states: No person shall be penalized, prosecuted, or otherwise subjected to adverse action based on their actual….outcomes…. So in the process of an abortion, if the “health care professional” does anything (actual, perceived or alleged) that causes infertility or even death, they are constitutionally protected from malpractice suits.
7. Violation of Free Speech and Religious Liberty. Pregnancy Help Centers may be forced to refer clients to providers of abortion, especially those who receive any type of government funding (Alternatives to Abortion, for instance). This is a gross violation of conscience and would force their volunteers and employees to communicate things contrary to their beliefs.
8. Gender transitioning would also be a right protected by the constitution. The terms “reproductive freedom” and “reproductive health care” are used throughout this proposed amendment. These terms are also used by the LGBTQ+ community when referring to puberty blockers and gender transition surgeries. Such evil practices would be conducted on minors . . . without notification or consent of parents!
Amendment 3 (Here’s the Complete Ballot Question)
For some time, individuals and groups who wish to allow abortion (that is, the voluntary and intentional premature ending of developing human life in the womb) on demand have successfully collected the required signatures to place an initi
In order to defeat the ballot initiative (Amendment 3), we must find voters who desire to defeat the initiative and educate them on the proposal. We must convince them to engage in finding others to educate. And, we must execute a plan to defeat Amendment 3 on November 5, 2024.
Here’s what you’ll see on the November ballot
Official Ballot Title:
Do you want to amend the Missouri Constitution to:
establish a right to make decisions about reproductive health care, including abortion and contraceptives, with any governmental interference of that right presumed invalid;
remove Missouri’s ban on abortion;
allow regulation of reproductive health care to improve or maintain the health of the patient;
require the government not to discriminate, in government programs, funding, and other activities, against persons providing or obtaining reproductive health care; and
allow abortion to be restricted or banned after Fetal Viability except to protect the life or health of the woman?
State governmental entities estimate no costs or savings, but unknown impact. Local governmental entities estimate costs of at least $51,000 annually in reduced tax revenues. Opponents estimate a potentially significant loss to state revenue.
Fair Ballot Language:
A “yes” vote will enshrine the right to abortion at any time of a pregnancy in the Missouri Constitution. Additionally, it will prohibit any regulation of abortion, including regulations designed to protect women undergoing abortions and prohibit any civil or criminal recourse against anyone who performs an abortion and hurts or kills the pregnant women.
A “no” vote will continue the statutory prohibition of abortion in Missouri.
If passed, this measure may reduce local taxes while the impact to state taxes is unknown.
Here’s the Complete Amendment Language
Please read the amendment carefully. Notice the clever title, “The Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative.” Don’t we all want the freedom to reproduce? Don’t we already have the right? Didn’t God, our Creator, instill in us the desire, and further, give us the ability and the right, to do so?
NOTICE: The proposed amendment revised Article I of the Constitution by adopting one new Section to be known as Article I, Section 36.
Section 36. 1. This Section shall be known as "The Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative."
2. The Government shall not deny or infringe upon a person's fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which is the right to make and carry out decisions about all matters relating to reproductive health care, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion care, miscarriage care, and respectful birthing conditions.
3. The right to reproductive freedom shall not be denied, interfered with, delayed, or otherwise restricted unless the Government demonstrates that such action is justified by a compelling governmental interest achieved by the least restrictive means. Any denial, interference, delay, or restriction of the right to reproductive freedom shall be presumed invalid. For purposes of this Section, a governmental interest is compelling only if it is for the limited purpose and has the limited effect of improving or maintaining the health of a person seeking care, is consistent with widely accepted clinical standards of practice and evidence-based medicine, and does not infringe on that person's autonomous decision-making.
4. Notwithstanding subsection 3 of this Section, the general assembly may enact laws that regulate the provision of abortion after Fetal Viability provided that under no circumstance shall the Government deny, interfere with, delay, or otherwise restrict an abortion that in the good faith judgment of a treating health care professional is needed to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant person.
5. No person shall be penalized, prosecuted, or otherwise subjected to adverse action based on their actual, potential, perceived, or alleged pregnancy outcomes, including but not limited to miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion. Nor shall any person assisting a person in exercising their right to reproductive freedom with that person’s consent be penalized, prosecuted, or otherwise subjected to adverse action for doing so.
6. The Government shall not discriminate against persons providing or obtaining reproductive health care or assisting another person in doing so.
7. If any provision of this Section or the application thereof to anyone or to any circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of those provisions and the application of such provisions to others or other circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
8. For purposes of this Section, the following terms mean: (1) "Fetal Viability". the point in pregnancy when, in the good faith judgment of a treating health care professional and based on the particular facts of the case, there is a significant likelihood of the fetus’s sustained survival outside the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures. 2) "Government", a. the state of Missouri; or b. any municipality, city, town, village, township, district, authority. public subdivision or public corporation having the power to tax or regulate, or any portion of two or more such entities within the state of Missouri.
Please take note in section 4: “under no circumstance shall the Government deny, interfere with, delay, or otherwise restrict an abortion that in the good faith judgment of a treating health care professional is needed to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant person.”
I hope we all agree that a health care professional should do all they can to protect the life of the mother and the baby.
So, what might be included in consideration the “mental health of the pregnant person” (why is the term ‘person’ used and not ‘woman’)? Could there be an ulterior purpose in using the term?
If a pregnant woman simply that she did not want the child (and, stated that continuing the pregnancy would cause distress), would that be a valid reason? If a financially poor family of three indicated that a fourth child would produce additional stress, would that be sufficient cause to abort the child?
Is any excuse outside the bounds of qualifying for a mental health cause for abortion?
There’s Still Time to Register to Vote in the November General Election
The November 5, General Election is only about 9 weeks away. Missourians who wish to vote in the November election must be registered by October 9, 2024 (https://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/calendar).
Register to vote:
https://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/goVoteMissouri/register
Fuel Tax Refund
Did you save your receipts from fuel purchases? I certainly hope so. If you did, here’s a link to the form needed to obtain a refund for the additional .075 cents charged for each gallon of fuel.
https://dor.mo.gov/forms/4923-H.pdf
Refunds may be claimed for Motor Fuel Tax paid between July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024. Claim must be postmarked between July 1, 2024 through September 30, 2024
Thoughts?
Please let me know what you think.
Contact Me
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What is WTP of Cass County Doing to Fight A3?
If you were able to make it to our last We The People of Cass County MO meeting, then you already know that we consider stopping Amendment 3 the single highest priority we have right now. Right now we are working with other grassroots groups and individuals, collecting and reviewing the myriad of “Stop A3” materials to determine which ones we think we will best accomplish the goals of getting attention, sparking meaningful conversation, and ultimately changing minds that would otherwise vote for A3 (or not vote at all).
We aim to identify three key items very soon:
A palm card, much like what you have seen candidates handing out when they canvass
A supporting document that backs up the palm card, and dives deeper into the questions, challenges, and issues that will come up in conversation
At least one style of sign that communicates the theme well, without being too busy
When the time comes, we will be reaching out to YOU, the faithful grassroots, pro-life, patriots, to help finance the printing of these materials, because it will cost somewhere between $500-$700 to print just 1000 palm cards. We will also need to turn on our ground game, and distribute them to all of our friends, relatives, neighbors, churches, civic organizations, etc. Make it a topic of conversation, and share just how evil this Amendment is. Without that, we will lose, and the murder and mutilation of babies and children will be enshrined in our state constitution. That is not hyperbole. That is reality.
Stay Tuned, Patriots!
How Big Pharma Keeps You Sick
As someone who has been both directly and indirectly impacted by the lies, half-truths, and corruption in the medical field in the US, I am telling you every word in this interview is important. It is long, coming in at over 2 hours long, but please bookmark it and listen to 10 minutes at a time if you must, but please listen to all of it.
This brief biography was sourced from The International Bonhoeffer Society.