Christians Spotlight Important Issues
by AFA Journal
October 7, 2005
(AgapePress) - Fall is the time when numerous Christian issues and events claim their date on the calendar for special observances. Individual citizens and churches are urged to take the opportunity to align with others to bring attention to some deserving issues in our culture.
"Nobody deserves our respect and support more than our pastors," said AFA Journal editor Randall Murphree. "Also, for years, our organization [American Family Association] has been promoting America's Christian Heritage Week. And anyone who knows AFA knows that pornography and pro-life concerns are front-burner issues with us. We hope Christians will get on board with these various opportunities."
Each sponsoring group or person below has a wide variety of resources to offer or recommend, including planning kits, bulletin inserts, information sources, statistics and more.
Clergy Appreciation Month. Focus on the Family sponsors Clergy Appreciation Month in October. The ministry offers many resources and creative ideas to help churches and individuals plan special ways to honor pastors and pastoral staff members. For ideas, call 1-800-AFAMILY or visit
www.family.org/pastor/cam.
Respect Life Sunday. Priests for Life, a national Catholic group, is a voice for life in the Catholic Church. October 2 as Respect Life Sunday, but the group urges parishes and Protestant churches alike to select any Sunday in the fall to draw attention to pro-life issues. More information and various resources are available at 718-980-4400 or
www.priestsforlife.org.
Pornography Awareness Week. In 1991, AFA designated the last Sunday in October as the beginning of Porn Awareness Week. Morality in Media continues to promote the observance with varied resources and ideas, including the White Ribbon Campaign against pornography. This year's dates are October 30-November 6. Find more information at
www.moralityinmedia.org or call 212-870-3222.
America's Christian Heritage Week. In 1992, Bruce Barilla, a private citizen with no big organization behind him, proposed the idea of observing America's Christian heritage each year during Thanksgiving week. Since then, many governors and mayors have proclaimed ACHW in their cities and states, some during that week and others at other times. Barilla's website,
www.achw.org, carries an invaluable list of resources supporting the concept, including a planning guide and sample proclamations. He may be reached by telephone at 304-536-9029.
This article, reprinted with permission, appeared in the October 2005 issue of AFA Journal, a monthly publication of the American Family Association.
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