Evangelical Church Leaders to Congress: No Abortion Funding
Contact: Dr. Samuel Goebel, Evangelical Church Alliance, 815-937-0720
MEDIA ADVISORY, Nov. 17 /Christian Newswire/ -- The board of the Evangelical Church Alliance (ECA), one of America's oldest associations of evangelical clergy, today unanimously passed a resolution urging the United States Congress not to include direct or indirect funding for abortion in any Health Care Reform legislation.
The ECA was formed in 1887 and represents 2451 member clergy leading congregations and religious institutions throughout the U.S. The 10-member board passed the resolution at its regularly scheduled semi-annual meeting held at the organization's headquarters in Bradley, Illinois, south of Chicago.
In a separate action, the ECA board directed the chairman of its Committee on Church and Society, the Reverend Dr. Rob Schenck, to personally deliver hand-signed and notarized copies of the document to the offices of US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Dr. Schenck plans to do so tomorrow, Wednesday, November 18.
The language of the unprecedented resolution is provided below. For comment contact the Reverend Dr. Samuel Goebel, president of the Evangelical Church Alliance, at 815-937-0720.
For more information, the ECA website is: www.ecainternational.org.
Resolution Against Abortion Funding
Whereas, God is the giver of life, "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7), and,
Whereas, the Bible is replete with affirmations of this truth, including evidence that Life is present from the moment of human conception, "For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb" (Psalm 139:13), and,
Whereas, Jesus Christ said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), and the Apostles affirmed this by saying, "In Him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28), and,
Whereas, the Founders of our country affirmed these things in the Declaration of Independence, "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" and,
Whereas, there is a current debate in the United States Congress over Health Care Reform legislation that includes proposals for and against mechanisms to fund the abortion of nascent human life;
THEREFORE, we, the members of the Board of the Evangelical Church Alliance, one of America's oldest continuous associations of evangelical clergy, numbering 2451 ordained and licensed members, leading congregations and institutions throughout America, convened for our semi-annual meeting at Bradley, Illinois, urge the United States Congress, in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, to do nothing by their acts to violate the Sanctity of Human Life as given by the Creator, acknowledged as one of the First inalienable rights by the Founders and secured by the United States Constitution, and,
FURTHERMORE, we urge the members of the United States Congress to give heed to the opinions of the majority of American citizens that abortion should not be funded by tax dollars either directly or indirectly.
Passed this 17th Day of November, in the year of our Lord, 2009, at Bradley, Illinois, in the United States of America, by the following proven in their signatures here,
Dr. George L. Miller, Dr. Samuel S. Goebel, Dr. Rene S. Moreno, Dr. Scott M. Preissler, Rev. Joseph D. Hoskin, Rev. Randy L. Brown, Dr. Elmon R. Krupnik, Rev. Gordon L. Milburn, Dr. Robert L. Schenck, Rev. John William Cordes, and Rev. Robert H. Turrill.
