October 2009     10/1/2009
New York Minute
By Anne Downey

NEW YORK MINUTE

October 1, 2009

Welcome

Please sign up for our 2010 Encourage-A-Legislator program (see below). The prayers of the righteous avail much! (James 5:16)

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

New York Legislature

The New York Senate met in special session on September 10, appointing new heads of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and State Insurance Department and rejecting an ethics reform bill. A couple of weeks later, on September 23, Gov. Paterson held a five-way leadership meeting to discuss the state budget shortfall, but apparently no agreements were reached. Paterson indicates that the Legislature will be called back into session sometime this fall, but no firm date has been set.

The governor continues to state that he wants the state senate to vote on a same-sex marriage bill this fall. Please pray and let your state senator know that you oppose the bill.

CWA of NY – taking action!

I have just returned from the Washington D.C. area, where my husband and I gathered with seven other CWA of NY leaders and leaders from across America to attend the annual CWA leadership conference and celebrate CWA’s 30th anniversary. What an inspiring gathering! We heard report after report from across the nation about how God is intervening as people pray and take action for Biblical values. I am more encouraged than ever. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. (Gal. 6:9)

Encourage-A-Legislator: SIGN UP NOW

Last year, for the first time, CWA of NY achieved 100 percent prayer coverage of our governor and the 200+ members of the New York Legislature. We want to repeat this success in 2010! Our governor and legislators need our prayers now more than ever. I invite you to join us in the Encourage-A-Legislator program for 2010. Each month during the New York legislative session (January to June 2010) our participants will send a CWA of NY pre-printed postcard to the legislator(s) they sign up to encourage. The postcard has a Scripture verse or quotation from a famous American and a note of encouragement 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 will provide you with the postcards and related materials. All you do is sign your name, address the postcard and pray. Please contact me by phone, e-mail or regular mail by December 1 to sign up.

Prayer/Action Chapters

Join our Prayer/Action Chapters across the state! We have Prayer/Action Chapters in Van Etten, the Buffalo area, Long Island, Westchester County, and the Capitol Region. The Chapters are starting to hold their fall meetings, and we would love for you to join us. Please contact me for information on the chapter nearest you or to discuss forming a new chapter in another region.

Other Developments

Bishop Kmiec leads pro-life vigil: On August 29, 2009, Bishop Edward Kmiec celebrated a pro-life mass at St. Rose of Lima Church in Buffalo and then accompanied parishioners from all across Western New York in a procession to the abortion clinic on Main Street. Prayers were said outside the clinic, followed by a procession of silent prayer returning to the church. It was interesting to note that Main Street is under construction, resulting in temporary removal of the sidewalk in front of the clinic. For years, because of a court order, pro-life prayer warriors have been required to stand inside an orange rectangle painted on the sidewalk. The orange rectangle is gone, at least for now.

Rochester Silent No More Event: Kathy Cosgrove in Rochester reported “The Silent No More Awareness Campaign is having a gathering on Saturday October 31 at 3:00 p.m. We will begin with a March For Life down West Main Street beginning at St. Peter and Paul’s Coptic Orthodox Church (formerly St. Peter and Paul’s Catholic Church) on W. Main St. in Rochester, N.Y. at 1:00 p.m. and process to Susan B Anthony Square on Madison Street. Please join us in an afternoon at the Square. The Yaweh Ballet will be performing from ‘Destinies Lost,’ along with other Christian musicians. Please come and listen to the ‘truth behind abortion’ from the voices of experience and support those who are Silent No More with your presence.” For further information please contact Kathy at 585-266-3337 or e-mail her at silentnomorerochester@frontiernet.net

Remembering 9-11: On September 11, the 8th anniversary of our national tragedy, the CWA national website at www.cwfa.org featured an audio clip from our PAL Desiree Bernstein sharing about the loss of her husband’s twin in the World Trade Center attack. Desiree reminded us that freedom is never free, and we need to stand up for our faith heritage and also support our men and women in the military and their families. While my husband and I attended the CWA Leadership conference in Arlington, Virginia, we had the opportunity to visit the 9-11 memorial at the Pentagon. If you get a chance to visit the Pentagon memorial, it is very moving. I was particularly touched by the memorials for the three young people born in 1990 and one young person born in 1992 who died on board the plane that hit the Pentagon. They would be the same ages as my daughter and son. While my daughter enjoys life as a college sophomore and my son looks forward to senior prom and graduation, these four young people will never know such experiences. They have been taken from our midst by a horrific act of murder. We must never forget.

40 Days for Life: Great things are happening all across the state as pro-lifers take part in the 40 Days for Life prayer, fasting and vigil events from September 23 to November 1. If you want to get involved, go to www.40DaysForLife.com and find out what is happening in your region. In October I will be joining with PAL Gloria Chaves and members of the Buffalo-area chapter to pray outside the Buffalo abortion clinic. We are also very excited to hear of the efforts taking place in Niagara Falls, Ithaca, Long Island, New York City, Oneonta, Rochester and Syracuse. Please feel free to contact me to share about your experience with 40 Days For Life.

Same-sex marriage case before NY’s highest court: Please be in prayer as the New York Court of Appeals prepares to hear an appeal of two cases involving whether out-of-state same-sex marriages should be recognized in New York. The case of Lewis v. New York State Dept. of Civil Service was brought by attorneys for the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) in May 2007, challenging an order by the Department of Civil Service directing all New York state agencies to provide, at taxpayers’ expense, health insurance benefits to same-sex couples “married” in other states or countries.  The Appellate Division, Third Department sided in favor of the Department of Civil Service. The second case is Godfrey v. Spano, brought by ADF attorneys challenging an order by Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano directing all government entities under his authority to recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages. The Appellate Division, Second Department ruled that Spano’s order was not illegal.

Dignity of Life Program: Steering Committee Member Carla Mann sent information about the Third Annual Dignity of Life program on Sunday October 18, 2009 from 4:00 to 6:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Fatima Parish center, 2216 Rosa Road, Schenectady. This year’s topic will be Faith and Hospice: Common Ground in Caregiving. Reservations are due by October 13. Phone Gloria Conde (518) 374-5196 or Joe Markey (518) 374-4312

Internet Porn Addiction: I am seeing more and more families in New York State that are being ripped apart because one spouse becomes addicted to Internet porn. These include families who attend church regularly. I would like to start compiling a list of resources for families in New York State who are dealing with this issue. Please let me know if you are aware of resources in your region. Maybe one of our subscribers would like to help oversee the gathering of information. Please contact me if interested.

September 12 Rally in DC: I was amazed at some of the biased media reports on the conservative rally in Washington DC held September 12. Therefore, I thought you would be interested in the report of CWA of NY member Joanne Zabielski, who attended the rally. Joanne says “I just returned totally exhausted but exhilarated from Washington DC after participating in the huge rally of God-fearing people from states throughout our Union. On September 12, 2009 I marched down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol Building shoulder to shoulder with a sea of peaceful Americans.   It is believed to be the largest event ever held in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, our mainstream media only reported thousands.  Who are these marchers?  We are your average American patriots; we are not racists.  We are black, white, red, yellow, brown, veteran, teachers, doctors, nurses, soldiers, grandparents, handicapped, wheelchair bound, and parents pushing strollers with their children abreast. Together we are united with concerns about big government, pork spending, fiscal irresponsibility, paying for a health care plan that includes abortion (we have one point six million a year in our country), and the chiseling away of our freedoms that are leading to a Socialistic government and removing our God totally out of OUR COUNTRY.  Some of the quotes from the handmade signs that were held high all through the march read as follows:  “You Want Czars? Go To Russia,” “I’ve Had Enough,” “Go Green - Recycle Congress,” “I’m Not Your ATM,” “Stop the March to Socialism,” and an adorable picture of a baby looking shocked asking, “How Much Do I Owe?”  These and many more were examples of the concerns of We the People. Listen up, Washington. We are not terrorists or violent extremists.  Read your Constitution, the one you swore an oath to uphold.  Do not bury your heads in the sand.  Answer our questions honestly!  Especially do not ignore the numbers who took time out of the weekend to march peacefully (many for their first time).  We are the ones who elected you to represent and work for us not your personal agendas. We were not aligning with Republicans or Democrats. We were there to say that our government is overspending OUR money. We were there to take a stand.”

Congresswoman Maloney: Please be in prayer for Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY 14), whose husband died on September 25 while on an expedition in the Himalayas. Clifton H. W. Maloney had reached the 27,000 foot summit of Cho Oyu Mountain in China and descended to 23,000 feet. His last words before going to sleep at Base Camp 2 were: “I'm the happiest man in the world--I've just summited a beautiful mountain.”  He died in his sleep.

Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch: Please also be in prayer for our Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch. New York’s highest court ruled on September 22, 2009 that Governor Paterson acted within his authority in appointing Ravitch. Please pray much for our state and our leaders. Our state remains a prime target for the terrorists, as we were reminded by the recent arrest of an alleged terrorist who had activities in Queens. And we give thanks to God that law enforcement personnel were able to uncover this latest terrorist plot.

Huge Prayer Rally in Manhattan: According to The Christian Post, on September 20 a crowd of 60,000 Christians gathered in Times Square to pray for our nation. The event, hosted by Times Square Church, was also joined by thousands via webcast in 26 other states and numerous foreign nations. Mayor Bloomberg declared the day to be Prayer in the Square Day.

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

Here’s a really fowl joke. I promise, I’ll do better next month.

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?

A: To prove to the possum it could actually be done!

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