Co-author of the Manhattan Declaration, and beloved by many, Chuck Colson's life will be honored at a public memorial held tomorrow at the Washington National Cathedral. The service is open to the public and will begin at 10:00 am. There will also be a live webcast on NationalCathedral.org.

Chuck played a large role in the Manhattan Declaration along with the various other ministries that he committed his life to. To share how Chuck's life impacted your own visit chuckcolson.org.

Though Chuck has passed, we want to honor him by continuing to make a stand for the sanctity of human life, marriage between one man and one woman, and religious freedom. As Chuck would say, “Remain at your posts and do your duty—for the glory of God and His kingdom”.

On Sunday, the White House took the liberty of exploiting Mother's Day to promote their own agenda regarding the Affordable Care Act. Ironically, a day set aside for honoring the sanctity of of motherhood was viewed by the White House as an opportunity to expand abortion coverage. An e-card was made available to send that declared “being a mom isn't a pre-existing condition.”

According to Fox News,

The text of the card lists a string of stats about how women benefit under the health care overhaul, which is now the subject of a Supreme Court challenge. The card says that while insurers before the overhaul could "deny coverage for women with pre-existing conditions like breast cancer or pregnancy," they will be prohibited from denying coverage over any pre-existing condition starting in 2014.

You might be wondering, what are preventative services and how is The Affordable Care Act (ACA) related to abortion? LifeNews reported,

When Congress passed ACA, the law required that all private and public health insurance plans fully cover, without co-pay, “preventive services” for women. Not defining it in the statute, Congress delegated to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) the determination of what preventive services for women includes. Senator Barbara Mikulski, who authored the preventive services provision of the ACA, was very clear during the debates on the floor surrounding this amendment that the rule should not include coverage for abortion “in any way.”

Contrary to Senator Mikulski’s assurance, by including all FDA approved “contraceptives” under the definition of “preventive services” in private and public health insurance plans, the HHS rule is requiring that drugs and devices with life-ending mechanisms of action—including the abortion-inducing drug ella—be funded by nearly every health insurance plan in America.

Moving forward, let's continue to pray for the Supreme Court as they decide on the constitutionality of Obamacare.

As Mother's Day approaches, it is common to honor your mom with flowers, a card, or even treat her to a nice dinner to express your gratitude for her. However, we want to encourage you to reflect on your gratefulness for your mother in another way this year.

Those who have signed the Manhattan Declaration have agreed that the sanctity of human life is to be protected at all costs. We are here today because our mother's chose that same thing-- even if they did not wave the “pro-life” banner, they chose life because they had you.

Recently, on a newly posted youtube video, a young mother shared about the “Right Choice” her and her husband made after getting pregnant and finding out the devastating news that their unborn son would be born seriously disabled.

There is nothing more moving than a story of a mother's unwavering love for their child. For a brief summary, Live Action News recalled,

Christian, the baby whom the video is about, was born with a disorder that few people in the world have, and unfortunately, his case was much worse than his parents and doctors thought he would be. Most shocking of all his disabilities was that his eyes did not actually form, and so Christian is blind.

People would stare at Christian whenever he and his young mother went out in public. They would even whisper aloud, wondering what was wrong with that baby. One girl even expressed outrage that Christian wasn’t aborted in utero.

Christian's mother made a decision to love her child unconditionally regardless of what so many women might have chosen-- abortion. She chose Life for Christian.

Surely this family's life has many difficulties due to Christian's disability, however not once will you see in the video below this mother second guess her decision to have, nurture, care, and unconditionally love her child.

Watch and “share” the testimony of this mother who chose life for her child and let it be a reminder to celebrate your mother who chose life for you.

Yesterday, for the first time, President Obama publicly affirmed his support for same-sex marriage, a calculated political maneuver intended to energize his base in the months before the November presidential election.

Recalling the man who helped forge Evangelicals and Catholics Together and the ‘Manhattan Declaration.

’Walter Hooper once said of C.S. Lewis that he was the most truly converted person he had ever met. The same thing can be justly said of Charles W. Colson, who came to faith in Christ through reading Lewis’ Mere Christianity. Since Colson’s death at age 80 on April 21, tributes have poured in from across the world — from world leaders and towering figures of business, politics and academia, but also from prisoners, chaplains and countless others on the margins of society, from the least, the last and the lost.

Colson was a man of the people, and he never lost the common touch. On his frequent visits to prison, inmates crowded around Colson, and he always seemed to have time for everyone. Everyone mattered.

Colson’s 1976 bestselling autobiography, Born Again, tells the story of a man born in Boston on the wrong side of the tracks. He clawed his way up the ever-spiraling ladder of success until he reached the pinnacle of power as special counsel to the president of the United States.

Nixon’s “hatchet man,” Colson was ruthless in his efforts to advance the political aims of his president and his party. READ MORE...

By Tomothy George, Co-Author of the Manhattan Declaration

On Wednesday, Family Research Council (FRC) is hosting a Mother's Day webcast. The webcast will highlight the recently published “A Passion to Serve: How Pregnancy Resource Centers Empower Women, Help Families and Strengthen Communities”. 

FRC has completed research that shows the impact of Pregnancy Resource Centers, 

PRCs helped reduce the rate of repeat abortions which, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, account for at least 36 percent of abortions. Approximately 50 million abortions have been performed in the U.S. between 1973 and 2008... Every day in the U.S., PRCs assist an average of 6,500 Americans, female and male, young and old, with sexuality and pregnancy-related concerns," the report said. In 2010, PRCs served over 2.3 million people with pregnancy assistance, abstinence counseling and education, community outreach programs and referrals, and public health linkages.

 To listen to the webcast on Wednesday, May 9th at 12:00pm join here. 

 More information on “A Passion to Serve” can be found here. 

In less than 7 months Americans will be given the chance to exercise their right to vote for the President of the United States which will directly affect the future of our country. Manhattan Declaration signers must lead by example and vote for values that will “stand the test of fire”.  

Recently the ad below was put out by the Catholic church revealing a powerful reminder of why we must stand up and vote. Not just Catholics, but all people of faith across the nation have the opportunity to protect Religious Freedom, Life, and Marriage for this generation and generations to come.

The ad emphasizes the utter threat to religious freedom in America by stating, “Forcing the Church to buy insurance that goes against her teachings is a violation of religious freedom.” Likewise, Cardinal Dolan is quoted stating, “When the government tampers with a freedom so fundamental, one shudders to think what lies ahead.”

Spread the message that voting for Sanctity of Life, Traditional Marriage, and Religious Freedom are of grave importance and ask yourself, “will you vote the values that will stand the test of Fire?”

If you are not registered to vote, you can do so here.

The 61^st annual observance of the National Day of Prayer (NDP) takes place tomorrow, May 3rd. This day is set apart to mobilize prayer in America and to “encourage repentance and righteousness in the culture”. The National Day of Prayer theme for this year, One Nation Under God, came from Psalm 33:12, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord”.

While prayer should take place each day, this day is to encourage personal and corporate prayer. The vision of the NDP Task Force is for Americans to pray for the preservation of America's Christian heritage and defend religious freedoms granted by the Constitution. This day is also set aside to pray for American leaders in government, military, media, business, education, and Church leaders.

The national observance was first created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress and then signed into law by President Harry S. Truman.

This observance is significant because,

The National Day of Prayer has great significance for us as a nation. It enables us to recall and to teach the way in which our founding fathers sought the wisdom of God when faced with critical decisions. It stands as a call to us to humbly come before God, seeking His guidance for our leaders and His grace upon us as a people. The unanimous passage of the bill establishing the National Day of Prayer as an annual event, signifies that prayer is as important to our nation today as it was in the beginning.

In the words of Thomas Jefferson, “Fasting and prayer are religious exercises; the enjoining them an act of discipline. Every religious society has a right to determine for itself the time for these exercises, and the objects proper for them, according to their own particular tenets; and right can never be safer than in their hands, where the Constitution has deposited it.”

We encourage all Manhattan Declaration signers to participate tomorrow and commit our Nation to God in prayer. To find a prayer gathering or event near you visit nationaldayofprayer.org. 

On September 1, 2011 Ezekiel was born into the world at 25 weeks weighing only 1 pound 2 ounces. Despite what doctors could have imagined, this tiny little baby survived and has developed into a healthy little boy. The parents of little “Zeke” did not give up hope for his survival, and what was thought to be an unlikely outcome has turned into nothing short of a miracle.

Watch this family's inspiring story as they re-tell the stages and obstacles that Ezekiel was able to overcome. Through much prayer and dependence on a faithful God, “Zeke” is a testament to the true miracle of life. 

On May 8^th North Carolina voters have the opportunity to protect the definition of marriage in their constitution as the union of one man and one woman. It is crucial for marriage to be protected not only because it is an institution created by God but also because if this new idea of genderless marriage is accepted it will have profound consequences on our children and society as a whole.

The referendum committee Vote FOR Marriage NC is working to pass the Marriage Protection Amendment. They are encouraging voters to vote YES on the marriage protection amendment on May 8th.

Tami Fitzgerald, chairwoman of Vote FOR Marriage NC, re-iterates the grave importance of protecting marriage when she states,

Marriage has been between one man and one woman in North Carolina since before North Carolina became a state and since before the United States became a country. Marriage has a pre-existing and historic definition that our government merely recognizes. This Amendment simply preserves our current definition of marriage by putting it in our Constitution where an activist judge or politicians cannot overturn it.

North Carolina needs Manhattan Declaration signers in their state to go to the polls and stake a stand for Marriage. If you are not a registered voter in North Carolina but know a friend or family member who is, take the step to make a phone call or share this blog widely on Facebook, Twitter, and Email.

For more information on why marriage matters and current threats to marriage visit voteformarriagenc.com.

Watch Vote FOR Marriage NC's newly released statewide television advertisement here: