Friend,



Welcome to the Friday Five! Every Friday we share our top five articles, stories, and quotes for you to read and share with your friends and church families.  <[link removed]>We would be very grateful if you could make a donation of $100, $50, $25, or $10 today <[link removed]> towards our work producing these Friday Fives and fighting for your values on the public square!







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1. NC VALUES: We want to hear from you!



Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, North Carolina has ranked #1 in the nation for states with the largest percentage increase in abortions. Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion groups have openly sought to make NC the abortion capital of the South. The result? Our state has already seen a 37% increase in abortions.



📋 We want to hear from you: Do you believe NC should pass legislation like the Heartbeat Bill that protects the unborn?



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2. WRAL: NC abortion fight likely to begin behind closed doors



“With the 2023 session just one day old, Republican legislative leaders say they're already working on more restrictive abortion laws than the state's current 20-week ban. What's still unknown, observers say, is whether House and Senate Republicans can find unified support for any given proposal”



“‘There's a huge opportunity for legislators to show how pro-life they are. And if you're pro-life, you really want to save the most number of unborn humans that is possible,’ Fitzgerald said. ‘13 weeks is not going to save many, but a heartbeat limitation or protection would save most of them.’



‘As the discussions are being held, we believe that legislators are going to understand that,’ she added. ‘Honestly, we haven't talked to one legislator that doesn't support it.’”



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3. CAROLINA JOURNAL: New NC Supreme Court’s impact will extend beyond what we can see



"It’s likely that opinions emerging from the new court will differ in style and substance, especially on high-profile cases that have divided Democratic and Republican justices in recent years. But the new state Supreme Court is likely to have a larger impact than its written opinions can convey. A news item from the closing days of 2022 helps explain why. The Associated Press reported on Dec. 30 that a 'North Carolina abortion provider, medical professionals, and an abortion-rights group have withdrawn their 2020 lawsuit challenging several state laws restricting and regulating the procedure.' . . . it’s easy to speculate that one factor driving the dismissal was changes within the N.C. Supreme Court since abortion supporters first filed suit."



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4. WRAL: New NC legislative session brings raft of issues, unpredictable action



"North Carolina currently bans abortion after 20 weeks, except in cases posing a major risk to the life of the mother. Republican legislative leaders expect to approve a more restrictive law early next session but Berger and Moore have said they need to consult with other Republican lawmakers, including new members, about what that will look like. Berger, R-Rockingham, has previously said he favors a 12-week ban. Moore, R-Cleveland, supports a six-week ban, sometimes called a heartbeat bill. Cooper has promised to veto any new restrictions, but the pressure on moderate Democrats to back a Republican bill may prove intense. Likewise, moderate Republicans may be nervous about some restrictions, which tend not to be popular in suburban districts. Moore told reporters late last year that lawmakers will 'try to be bipartisan, reach broad consensus, and tackle what has been clearly a tough issue facing this entire nation for 50 years' with a goal of getting backing from a handful of centrist Democrats."



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5. THE DAILY SIGNAL: Feds squander millions on cult of diversity, equity, and inclusion training



"Taxpayer dollars are being spent to conduct widespread, woke diversity training sessions across numerous prominent federal agencies. . . . 'The Department of Veterans Affairs has a gender gingerbread person,' the Journal’s editorial board wrote. 'NASA says beware of micro-inequities. And if U.S. Army servicewomen express "discomfort showering with a female who has male genitalia," what’s the brass’s reply? Talk to your commanding officer, but toughen up.' The report highlights how the cult of diversity, equity, and inclusion has been established and codified in our federal government during President Joe Biden’s tenure."



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WEEKLY PRAYER: FAMILY



LORD, we cry out to you as Father. You are a model of the love, mercy, and authority of the perfect parent. We thank you for modeling for us what every parent should strive for, and for creating this wonderful institution called family. 



LORD, we thank you for creating us with a basic nature designed to not be alone. You made us to desire the intimacy of relationships, and it is here where we experience joys indescribable: the joys of marriage, the joys of having children; the joys of seeing our children have children. What a blessing and mercy you gave us in the family! In it we find our first teachers, our first guardians, and our first authorities. 



LORD, we recognize how deeply you love your children, and how deeply it pains you when they go astray. Alongside our adoration and thanksgiving, we pray in confession—as individuals and as members of larger communities—over any sins we may have committed that undermine your beloved institution. Forgive us when we endanger your institution through selfishness and arrogance. Forgive our communities and nation for attempting to redefine some of the most basic and deepest parts of being human—being made male and female, having lifelong marriage vows and responsibilities, and having parental rights over educating one's children. 



"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Colossians 3:12-17)







Amen













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Sincerely,



Tami & Team

NC Values



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NC Values Coalition - 9650 Strickland Rd, Suite 103-226, Raleigh, NC 27615-1902, United States

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