Update on Religious Liberty: Pastors Packed The Room, Hearing Pushed to Tomorrow!
What a day it has been! So many Pastors and heads of Christian schools drove for hours from every corner of the state to show up EARLY and FILL THE ROOM of the Senate General Laws committee in the state Capitol, waiting for over SIX HOURS to make a mighty stand by speaking in support of religious freedom, which has come under attack like never before in Virginia! Many pastors gave up their whole day and even canceled their Wednesday night plans at their church. They prayed, they prepared, they strategized, they wore stickers. It was so incredible and encouraging!
And then, after all of that, the Senate Clerk announced that the committee meeting was canceled . . .
Such is the way things go sometimes in the tumultuous legislative session. Incidentally, the House and Senate ended up having a uniquely long day on the floor, and are even now still going as I type this at 8:45 P.M. We’ve now learned the hearing on HB 1663, HB 1049 and HB 1418 (all significantly impacting religious liberty) has now been rescheduled for tomorrow, Thursday February 27th in Senate Room A of the Pocahontas Building (across the street from the Capitol) 15 minutes following adjournment of the Senate (which we can only guess), which will likely be around 1:30 P.M. Please join us tomorrow if you can!
Despite the disappointment of not getting to do what we all showed up to do, it all ended up still being one huge blessing beyond what we could have anticipated. Most everyone who came stayed until the end and were able to be briefed on everything by our staff. Senator Steve Newman (R-Bedford) also came by afterward to speak to everyone and provide great advice and encouragement.
We were even able to gather together in the Committee Room in corporate prayer for Virginia and the current situation.
Many of the pastors and school leaders who came even came and visited us at The Family Foundation's office just a block away from the Capitol, where we were able to feed them pizza and talk more about the religious liberty implications of these bills and about next steps - a HUGE blessing and honor for us, and a great time of fellowship!
Special thanks to Brandon Pickett with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (SBCV), George Tryfiates with Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), Jeff Caruso with the Virginia Catholic Conference, Gene Painter – The Family Foundation’s Ministry Relations Director, and many others who have partnered with us in this fight and helped coordinate folks. This fight's not over yet. In some ways, you might say it's only just begun. Hope to see you tomorrow!
