Archives for January 2017

By Message Staff MONTEREY – First Baptist Church Monterey has nearly 50 reasons to show all who pass by its property why all lives matter. Situated along Highway 129, the church has placed almost 50 crosses on its grounds to represent not only all the lives that have been lost to abortion but to bring attention to the fact that every person has a right to life. Church member Dick Young said the effort began 10 years ago, after he and others in the congregation were led to take a step of action for the pro-life cause. “The first thought we had back then was the large number of abortions that were occurring and we didn’t feel that was a good thing,” Young said. “We wanted to do something that would help people who drove by to recognize abortion affects the unborn and it is terrible. “We knew that not enough of us spoke up back before abortion was legalized, thinking it would never happen in America,” he said. “While it was too late for those who have been aborted in the past, we can at least do our part and take some sort of action step to perhaps correct our past mistakes.” The crosses, which were placed in the ground in mid-January, are expected to remain in place until the end of the month. According to the … [Read more...]

By Message Staff BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana Family Forum is urging all pro-life advocates to send an e-mail to Gov. John Bel Edwards, thanking him for reaching a resolution on how to move forward on a lawsuit that challenges several abortion restrictions. Edwards has agreed to allow state Attorney General Jeff Landry use noted attorney Kyle Duncan, a nationally-recognized conservative litigator from Washington, D.C. to defend against a challenge to the restrictions on abortions that take place in Louisiana, according to a story in the New Orleans Times-Picayune. These include new requirements to force women to wait 72 hours and agree to an ultrasound before they have an abortion. The state also is partially banning the dilation and evacuation procedure, an abortion that occurs during the second trimester of pregnancy. Edwards has signed those restrictions into law. The Times-Picayune reported that Edwards was reluctant to approve the previous contract hiring Duncan because he did not agree to Edwards’ executive order, which would have provided protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the workplace. Edwards wanted state contractors, including attorneys such as Duncan, to prohibit workplace … [Read more...]

By Message Staff BATON ROUGE – The search is on yet again for Louisiana's longest married couple. The Louisiana Family Forum is holding its annual contest to find the top 10 longest-married couples in the state, who will be entered into the family advocacy group’s Marriage Hall of Fame. “Sharing these stories of life-long faithfulness encourages the next generation to understand that being happily married still happens and still lasts a lifetime. We are honored and obligated to communicate these stories of enduring love,” said Louisiana Family Forum President Gene Mills. “Many have been told that marriage cannot last, that it is too difficult, but our longest married honorees demonstrate that being a ‘Covenant Keeper’ is a life-long commitment.” Those eligible for the contest must have been married for at least 70 years before Feb. 5. Eligible couples must submit their contact information and wedding date before Feb. 5 to info@lafamilyforum.org. Last year, Louisiana Family Forum named Lawrence and Varrie Player of Benton as the state’s longest-married couple at 81 years. The contest is held each year during National Marriage Week USA, which is Feb. 7-14. The week is an effort “to strengthen individual … [Read more...]