Tuesday, November 17, 2009

ADF: An Attitude of Gratitude

Reaping a Bountiful Harvest


With a grateful heart we thank God for past blessings, and for the seeds being planted that will bear much fruit for His kingdom.




As I look forward to celebrating Thanksgiving with my family, I am struck by the significance of the first Thanksgiving meal shared by the Pilgrims and Indians nearly 400 years ago. Their feast was a celebration of the fruitful autumn harvest and a grateful expression of thanks to God for the bounty of crops He provided during that critical first year.

By the grace of God, ADF, too, has received abundant blessings this year, and, with the faithful support of generous Ministry Friends like you, will continue to plant seeds that will bear much fruit for His kingdom. "A man reaps what he sows. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (Galatians 6:7, 9)

We must not give up. Our opponents are many and the battle to defend religious freedom in America is far from over. That's why ADF is focused on training exceptional Christian law students and allied attorneys to defend our religious liberty, the sanctity of human life, and marriage and the family, with a distinctly Christian worldview. In just 12 short years, more than 1,300 ADF National Litigation Academy-trained allied attorneys have provided an astounding $100 million of pro-bono/dedicated service to defend Our First Liberty - religious freedom - for the Body of Christ.

And we are winning for the Body of Christ. This year, thanks to your support, ADF and its allies have been victorious in the courtroom on several major precedent-setting cases, including:
  • A decisive court victory freed Canyon Ferry Road Baptist Church in Montana from excessive government regulation and preserved its religious freedom to speak out on moral issues.
  • ADF-allied attorney Charles LiMandri gained a big court victory on behalf of San Diego firefighters who had been forced to ride in a city fire truck through a parade celebrating homosexual behavior, then were sexually harassed - and "retaliated" against by their superiors for complaining.
  • An unconstitutional policy at Wayne State University was changed so school officials can no longer discriminate against campus pro-life ministries.
Together we are making great strides, but there is still much work to do. Thanks to a $2.2 million matching grant for the University Project from a generous Christian family, any gift you give through this - https://www.alliancedefensefund.org/sdonate/billing.aspx?referral=E1109C3B - link will be DOUBLED and go directly to restoring religious freedom to our public college and university campuses. To date, you've already raised $2,103,026 towards launching this critical effort, and you still have an opportunity to make your gift grow.

At this time of year it is especially important to remember what God has already accomplished and to thank Him for the bountiful harvest yet to come. We are grateful for devoted Ministry Friends like you who prayerfully and sacrificially join us in doing this great work for God's glory. May God richly bless you and your family.

Yours for religious freedom in America,

Alan Sears
President, CEO and General Counsel


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