Teachers Saving Children® Inc. - National
Newsletter
Volume 15, Number 3
February 2005
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"...but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.
‘Go and look toward the sea,’ he told his servant. And he went up and looked.
‘There is nothing there,’ he said.
Seven times Elijah said, ‘Go back.’
The seventh time the servant reported. ‘A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.’
So Elijah said, ‘Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’’
Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel.
The power of the Lord came upon Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
What a powerful passage of Scripture. Elijah had the assurance of God’s mercy. Although only a sound in the prophet’s ear, he knew that the abundance of rain was coming. Elijah knew that God had promised, therefore God would fulfill His Word. And Elijah prayed, watched for results, and prayed until his prayer was granted. The expectation of results encouraged Elijah to pray.
Elijah and his servant were on the top of Mount Carmel. From their location, the Mediterranean Sea was in full view. So any sign of rain coming could be easily observed. Notice that he sent his servant seven times to see if there was any sign of rain. The number seven is considered the perfect number in Scripture. Finally the servant saw a small sign – “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea”. A small sign, but a significant sign that the heavens would soon be bursting forth with an abundance of rain.
As I have been reflecting on this Scripture passage for several weeks now, I have been asking the Lord “How does this passage apply to our lives today”. So often there are situations in our lives - personal or otherwise - where we see no visible signs of hope and possible results. Yet, we have the assurance of God’s mercy and the promises of His Word. So we go to prayer watching for those signs that answered prayer will be coming and we continue in prayer until we are assured that our prayer has been answered.
The same is true with Teachers Saving Children® Inc. We have been in existence on a National level for over a decade. Although we are a small organization of educators with deep convictions about the Sanctity of Life, we have persevered in prayer and in action for the lives of the unborn.
Often early in our endeavors there were no visible signs of our colleagues and association leadership receiving or even listening to our concerns. And then those small signs of hope began to appear. Pro-life educators began to run and win delegate seats to the Representative Assemblies at the state and national levels. These pro-life delegates began to speak openly about their deep convictions as they sought change within the NEA. As pro-life delegates became visible, connections were made and relationships were formed through a common belief and cause.
Pro-life delegates began to work together to discuss various strategies and ways of sharing the truth about the Sanctity of Life. There were media opportunities; the NEA Expo “The Wonder of Life” exhibit; attending various association conferences and assemblies; speaking at the various NEA hearings; and building relationships with other educators.
The cloud is building, the rain is coming, and soon we will see an abundance of more turning points and fantastic results. What exactly that abundance of results will be is yet to be seen, but there is hope. Although we have recently seen a dramatic turning point through the recent hospitability given by the NEA leadership on January 24th to pro-life NEA members and their families who were attending the March for Life, each one of us must continue to do our part in educating individuals about the Sanctity of Life. We need to be faithful and obedient to the Word of God and to the call He has placed upon our lives. We need to be faithful in prayer as well as faithful in praising the Lord for the little signs that He gives to us. And faithful in persevering for the cause of Christ and the lives of the preborn.
Let us encourage one another to remain faithful in prayer and action. For as each one of us does our part, God will be faithful to His promises and bring forth the results – an abundance of rain pouring over the NEA.
As we approached the giant, glass doors of the National Education Association (NEA) headquarters in Washington, DC, a TV camera filmed us walking up the steps, preparing to enter the building. We had become voices within the union for the civil rights of prenatal children--our future students--in danger of death by abortion. Our event on Monday, January 24, 2005, during the March for Life, was indeed a first. We were about to be treated with hospitality inside NEA headquarters as a result of a fairness issue.
Nine months before, the NEA had co-sponsored the so-called April 25, 2004 “March for Women’s Lives” in DC along with the National Abortion Rights Action League, the Planned Parenthood Federation, and other liberal organizations. NEA leadership had opened headquarters’ doors on that Sunday to extend hospitality to members participating in the pro-abortion march. Consequently, pro-life NEA members brought up the matter at our state union meetings in Ohio and Pennsylvania. We asked for intervention, pointing out that, in order for our union to be fair, NEA needed to also extend hospitality to dues-paying members participating in the 2005 March for Life.
At the Ohio Education Association Assembly last December, I moved a new business item, making the above request. The new business item went down, but narrowly, and only after an opponent gave misleading information at a floor microphone. OEA leadership, however, spotted ours as a fairness issue. They and Pennsylvania leadership took the matter to the top, to NEA president, Reg Weaver, in Washington DC. And so it happened...
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NEA President Reg Weaver |
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with Connie Bancroft |
Later, as we sat eating sandwiches and treats in the State Dining Room, I could not help but marvel at God’s wondrous ways. In the past, outspoken pro-life teachers had been ridiculed by liberals at NEA Representative Assemblies. Opponents had snickered at our exhibits and had yelled at us from microphones on the assembly floor. They had gagged our proposals with “object to consideration.” Now my pro-life companions and I were witnessing how “persistence pays.”
NEA’s “abortion rights” advocacy has not ended, but it is weakening. The January 24th event is only one of the promising developments that have begun to unfold. Last November’s elections sent a clear message, and NEA leaders have resigned themselves to the fact that we “pesky” pro-life teachers won’t give up and go away. Some media have exposed NEA liberal policy on moral issues and have made the plight of conservatives known. In addition, public awareness of the abortion issue is growing, thanks to publicity given the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Bill, the Partial Birth Abortion Ban, and the attempt by Norma McCorvey to overturn her own case, Roe v Wade. The American public is seeing legalized abortion for the atrocity it is.
The impact of the January 24, 2005 event at the NEA building during the March for Life cannot be slighted. It was more than just a "hospitality thing.” It stirred discussion. Most importantly, the NEA, on record (NBI 1990-65) as opposing any measure that would erode the status of Roe v. Wade, recognized us, whose ultimate desire is to see that infamous 1973 decision that unleashed abortion on demand, overturned.
But let us give credit where credit is due. It is only with God’s help and direction, that we have gotten this far. We are just tiny pebbles in David’s sling . . . but we have made it past the giant’s door.
Editor’s Note: Judy Bruns is a teacher in the Coldwater Exempted Village School System, Coldwater OH. She has been a delegate to both state and national Representative Assemblies for several years.
By faith, Teachers Saving Children® will be investing $1,300 for the exhibit space rental alone, without counting the additional $300-400 cost for miscellaneous fees and materials. Many individuals have already begun to spare $5, $10, $20, and more to help us fund this exhibit. However, additional contributions are needed. Please consider financially assisting Teachers Saving Children® in sharing the truth about “The Wonder of Life.”
Note: Please make checks payable to “TSC Inc. – National”. Please carefully note how the amount given is to be designated (NEA Exhibit) so that the contribution will be appropriately allocated.
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT TO “MARCH FOR LIFE” PARTICIPANTS
THE PRESIDENT: Nellie, thank you. Thanks a lot for inviting me to speak. I know it’s chilly there in Washington, but weather hasn’t stopped thousands of participants from marching for life for the past 32 years, and it did not this year, either. And so I’m honored to be a part of this tremendous witness that is taking place in our Nation’s Capitol, and it’s good to hear your voice again.
You know, we come from many backgrounds – different backgrounds, but what unites us is our understanding that the essence of civilization is this: The strong have a duty to protect the weak.
I appreciate so very much your work toward building a culture of life -- a culture that will protect the most innocent among us and the voiceless. We are working to promote a culture of life, to promote compassion for women and their unborn babies. We know -- we know that in a culture that does not protect the most dependent, the handicapped, the elderly, the unloved, or simply inconvenient become increasingly vulnerable.
The America of our dreams, where every child is welcomed in law -- in life, and protected in law may still be some ways away, but even from the far side of the river, Nellie, we can see its glimmerings. We’re making progress in Washington. I’ve been working with members of the Congress to pass good, solid legislation that protects the vulnerable and promotes the culture of life. I signed into law a ban on partial birth abortion. Infants who are born despite an attempted abortion are now protected by law. So are nurses and doctors who refused to be any part of an abortion. And prosecutors can now charge those who harm or kill a pregnant woman with harming or killing her unborn child.
We’re also moving ahead in terms of medicine and research to make sure that the gifts of science are consistent with our highest values of freedom, equality, family, and human dignity. We will not sanction the creation of life only to destroy it.
What I’m saying is we’re making progress, and this progress is a tribute to your perseverance and to the prayers of the people. I want to thank you, especially, for the civil way that you have engaged one of America’s most contentious issues. I encourage you to take heart from our achievements, because a true culture of life cannot be sustained solely by changing laws. We need, most of all, to change hearts. And that is what we’re doing, seeking common ground where possible, and persuading increasing numbers of our fellow citizens of the rightness of our cause.
This is the path to the culture of life that we seek for our country. And on its coldest days, and one of our coldest days, I encourage you to take warmth and comfort from our history which tells us that a movement that appeals to the noblest and most generous instincts of our fellow Americans -- and that is based on a sacred promise enshrined in our founding document that this movement will not fail.
And so on this day of compassion, where warm hearts are confronting the cold weather, I ask that God bless you for your dedication, and may God continue to bless our great country. And thank you for letting me share this moment with you, Nellie.
(Source – The White House, January 24, 2005)
Often we know who our local officers and building representatives are. However, most of our dues money, in fact hundreds of dollars, goes beyond the local level to other levels of the Association. Knowing who represents us and how they vote isn’t just a matter of principle; it’s a matter of how our dues money is being spent.
All policies of the NEA are adopted by the delegates to the annual Representative Assembly. Delegates vote on issues that affect us in many ways: they adopt all the NEA policies, the budget, and the resolutions; enact legislative agendas; consider many new business items; elect Association officers; and vote on amendments to the NEA governing documents.
All delegates are selected in the local and state affiliates by their colleagues to represent their views in the deliberation of the assembly. The state delegate elections will take place between now and mid-March. For local delegate representation to the NEA RA, check with your local president. Election results from local affiliates are not due to their state affiliates until April 15.
So watch carefully for NEA delegate election information. We will only get good representation when members take the time to get involved by educating ourselves about the candidates and VOTING!
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