Dear brothers and sisters in Christ we need help NOW from the faithful in getting back our Greek Orthodox Churches and protecting the survival of Christianity. Please show your support with 2 quick one minute (maximum) phone calls in order to get back our stolen churches and to reopen the school of Theology in Halki . My friend Endy Zemenides informed me how .... its this simple TWO QUICK CALLS - (easy - one minute script below) CALL #1 (202) 225-6205 Speaker John Boehner: (Dial 1 for legislative issues) CALL #2 (202) 225-2915 Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy YOUR PHONE SCRIPT: call will be answered by receptionist, wholl take message. Hello, my name is [NAME] and I’m calling from [CITY/TOWN, STATE]. I am calling to ask for a floor vote for H.R.4347. This religious freedom legislation protects Christians in Turkey from persecution. Please urge Turkey to return stolen holy sites and allow Christians to pray in their houses of worship. Thank you - DONE! .......it took less than a minute for each . ........................JUST SO YOU KNOW ................................ . FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT H.R.4347 WHAT IS H.R.4347? H.R.4347 is a bipartisan religious freedom bill that calls upon the Administration to report annually to Congress about Turkey’s progress in returning stolen Christian properties. H.R.4347 represents a principled and practical American stand for the right of Christians in present-day Turkey to practice their faith in their own houses of worship. . WHO SUPPORTS H.R.4347? H.R.4347 enjoys broad bipartisan support It was introduced by Chairman Ed Royce and Ranking Democrat Eliot Engel of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. On June 26th, after an extensive mark-up, it was overwhelmingly adopted by the Foreign Affairs Committee. It builds upon H.Res.306, which was adopted by the House of Representatives on December 13, 2011. H.R.4347 is consistent with the spirit of recent public statements by President Obama, Vice President Biden, and Secretary of State Kerry calling for Turkey to restore religious properties. . WHO OPPOSES H.R.4347? The Turkish Embassy has essentially been alone in aggressively attacking H.R.4347, reflecting newly elected Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s growing intolerance and discrimination toward Christians, Jews, and other ethnic and religious minorities. During the June 26th mark-up of H.R.4347 only two Committee members voiced reservations. Notably, the Committee overwhelmingly rejected an unfriendly amendment to weaken this religious freedom measure, but even this amendment supported the basic premise that the Turkey needs to do more to return Christian churches and other properties. . WHAT’S NEXT FOR H.R.4347? This bipartisan legislation has been approved at the Committee level and is awaiting a decision by the House leadership to bring it to the floor for an up-or-down vote. . WHY IS H.R.4347 NEEDED? Congressional leadership is urgently needed to stop this destruction and secure the return of stolen Armenian, Greek, Assyrian and other church properties, in Turkey and the Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus. With the passing of every year, act of desecration and official disregard further erase the once rich Christian religious heritage within Turkey’s borders. . WHY NOW? The timely adoption of H.R.4347 is needed to help communicate the depth of America’s commitment to religious freedom to the newly elected President of Turkey, Recep Erdogan, who won office, in large part, by fostering domestic intolerance, flaunting his challenge to U.S. regional interests, and undermining the security our regional allies. As we approach the 100th anniversary of Ottoman Turkey’s genocide against its Christian minorities, the U.S. Congress should take meaningful steps to defend the rights of the remaining Christians in Turkey. . WILL H.R.4347 CHANGE U.S. POLICY? This legislation does not call for any change to official policy or impose any sanctions. It simply calls for the Administration to provide Congress with reliable information. . HASN’T TURKEY RETURNED CHURCHES? The language of H.R.4347 does note that the Turkish government has made efforts in recent years to return a few church properties, but clearly much more than these few token acts are needed, since the vast majority of Christian holy sites continue to be held by the Turkish Government or by third parties. . Aside from this valuable initiative and making the 2 calls, does anyone have any ideas on how we can support the Christians in Turkey??? Lets open this up for discussion. - heres one A) Calling your Congressman and chatting about land grabs, freedom of religion, human rights violations. Feel free to add your comments....... . Thank you for your time and effort in supporting the survival of Christianity Alexander Karas - Baltimore Maryland Also, if anyone would like to know the latest regarding Capitol Hill, Turkey, the decision against Turkey by the European Court & financial award to Cypriots you can read the article here in this link https://plus.google/photos/116134605028386145269/albums/5915476876029347105/6045088149508447154?banner=pwa&pid=6045088149508447154&oid=116134605028386145269
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 22:11:58 +0000
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