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Hometown Heroes – Mary Jo Major @ Lily House
Lily House helps women who are escaping human trafficking in the Dominican Republic.
Mary Jo Major tells us about this problem, the solutions that active people are bringing about, and a few of the stories of how important and life-changing this ministry is.
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7/1/24 5 O ‘Clock Report
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Trail Life USA – a Christian option, for those concerned about how the Boy Scouts of America have changed
Trail Life USA offers camping, outdoor adventures, a process for advancing through ranks and badges, and connects boys and male teens with adult role models.
In some ways this seems like what Boy Scouting has been doing for over a century. However, Trail Life has only been in existence for about a decade. In those ten years, participation in Trail Life has mushroomed to over 60 thousand — that as Scouting USA (the new identity for Boy Scouts) has dropped by fully half, from two million to one million.
While COVID, child safety scandals, less emphasis on outdoors activities (and more on electronic devices) and a general decline in the status of many membership-based organizations, today’s guest says the BSA’s departure from its traditional values is a big reason why. Trail Life USA is a national Christian ministry with the goal of building the character and confidence of boys.
Trail Life’s CEO Mark Hancock tells us about the specifically Christ-centered and boy-focused programs for boys from kindergarten through high school. Their activities are a response to national research that too many boys particularly do not have strong, helpful, positive male role models. Today’s Family Life Interview delves into the reasons Hancock sees successes where Trail Life troops have been started in all 50 states.
For follow-up information
Find more about Trail Life, how to charter a troop, and where to find a program for your sons: www.TrailLifeUSA.com
Here is a report on why Boy Scouts are faltering while Trail Life is growing: “No Longer an ‘Alternative'”
A former pastor (and dad of two sons) now leads Trail Life USA: Mark Hancock’s biography
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6/28/24 5 O ‘Clock Report
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It’s “Staycation Destinations” on Family Life
“Staycation Destinations” takes you to a museum which celebrates how a water-powered sawmill fostered a transformation of America.
The Hanford Mills Museum in Delaware County New York displays a still-operating waterwheel that powered the mill’s equipment. Education Coordinator Ryan Jones tells us about how economic, geographic and social history has been affected by the way that farmstead were built from the abundant wood in the forests of the region. The Hanford Family was a major player in the industry through a 40-year span.
The Hanford Mills Museum shows its guests the Fitz waterwheel — working exactly as it did when it was installed 98 years ago — during four daily one-hour tours. Also on display: woodworking machinery, milling equipment, photos and historical records, and farm implements from the 1870s to the present. Individuals and families can walk to several buildings across the property, as well as take advantage of an outdoor picnic area.
In addition to its ongoing exhibits (open Wednesdays through Sundays), Hanford Mills offers Exploration Days on selected Saturdays (https://www.hanfordmills.org/events/) with themes like New York’s dairy industry, conservation of natural resources, and the annual Antique Engine Jamboree.
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Dr. Ingrid Skop was interviewed for the Family Life Noon Report, with a pro-life OB-GYN’s perspective on the recent Supreme Court decision saying the “Hippocratic Medicine” group was not the right plaintiff to bring suit against the Federal Food and Drug Administration.
Previous Family Life Interviews:
Attorney Katie Daniel of Susan B. Anthony Prolife America gave us initial reaction to this Supreme Court decision, why the justices’ ruling does not end this issue against the FDA, and what the next steps will be: 6/24/2024
Dr. Ingrid Skop spoke with us, as this case was being decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals: 6/01/2023
Dr. Ingrid Skop, in a Family Life Interview, about the harm many patients are suffering, because of the unchecked side effects of the abortion-triggering drug Mifepristone: 4/25/2023
Family Life’s weekly Pennsylvania and New York roundtable frequently discussed the matters surrounding the prevalence of these abortion pills, increasingly without a doctor’s supervision and care: scroll through Capital Connection archives
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6/26/24 5 O’ Clock Report
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What do people mean when they say “Christian Nationalism”?
Christian nationalism is in the news, but what is it?
Nationalism is different from feeling patriotic or making sure to vote every November. Part of what defines nationalism in general is its goal to reserve privileges for only one group in a country that has many groups. Christian nationalism, to be specific, aims for the government to privilege Christians.
Dr. Paul D. Miller believes Christian nationalism is a danger to the Church. That’s because it makes a Christian’s citizenship in a country a higher priority than a Christian’s citizenship in God’s Kingdom.
“If we start to orient our hearts towards America as if it were an ultimate thing, well, that’s actually idolatry, and we misunderstand the entire Gospel, as if the Gospel is all about making America great. And that’s just not why Jesus came,” Miller says. “He said very clearly, ‘My Kingdom is not of this world.’ I’m grateful for America, but it’s really important that I don’t confuse America for Jesus’ Kingdom.”
He believes that Christian nationalism not only threatens the Church, but also our democracy.
“It is a danger, I think, in a more mild sense of being in tension with the principles of liberty and equality for all citizens, Christian and non-Christian alike.”
And while not all Christian nationalists are violent, some are. Those waving Christian symbols and calling on God as they broke into the nation’s capitol on January 6, 2021 are an example of the movement’s violent minority. “That kind of mixing of religious rhetoric with a violent assault on the citadel of democracy is, I think, clearly dangerous for American democracy,” Miller says. “Again, that’s a small minority, but it is there, let’s not ignore it.”
Miller wants the Church to be aware of the danger of Christian nationalism, even as he points out that it’s not the only threat.
“This is part of a much bigger conversation. While we’ve talked about the dangers on the Right, there’s dangers on the Left as well.”
– – –
Dr. Paul D. Miller is Martha’s guest for this Inside Out discussion on Christian nationalism. Dr. Miller is a former member of the National Security Council staff who has served as an intelligence analyst for the CIA and as a military intelligence officer in the U.S. Army. Currently Dr. Miller is a professor of the practice of international affairs at Georgetown University. Read a more detailed biography of Dr. Paul D. Miller discover more about his book The Religion of American Greatness: What’s Wrong with Christian Nationalism.
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6/25/24 5 O ‘Clock Report
