(Cross-posted with permission from The Resistance Prays)
The Story
“The Supreme Court Will Consider Whether Adoption Agencies That Get Tax Money Can Turn Away Same-Sex Couples,” BuzzFeed News reports. “A Catholic child welfare organization in Philadelphia wants to turn away same-sex parents while relying on public funding.”
The Scripture
“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14)
The Takeaway
This past Sunday at my church was Children’s Sabbath. Our children at Highland Baptist Church in Louisville sang, rang handbells, passed the offering plate, read Scripture, and led the congregation in prayer. It’s one of my favorite Sundays of every year in the life of our church.
Every child deserves a loving home. Yet sadly, many children in our country don’t have one. That’s why we should celebrate every family that opens their home to foster care and/or adoption. Many people of faith believe providing foster care do so because they believe it’s a calling. What a wonderful gift from God!
Sadly, some foster care and adoption agencies ban certain people from adoption based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. And to make matters worse, these people who want to discriminate cite their Christian faith as a reason to discriminate. It’s disheartening to see people distort the Gospel to hurt children.
Now the Supreme Court has decided to hear a case about whether agencies have the right to discriminate in the (false) name of religion.
“The Supreme Court on Monday said it would consider whether religious adoption agencies can turn away same-sex parents, potentially carving out a means for groups that rely on taxpayer funds to discriminate against LGBTQ people,” BuzzFeed reports. “The case of Fulton v. Philadelphia presents a major opportunity for religious conservatives to win a ruling with national consequences that would let private organizations sidestep civil rights policies while competing for funds on equal footing with secular organizations.”
This is a monumental case. We can’t let people misuse our Christian faith to hurt others. We need to stand up together and say everyone who wants to provide a loving home to children should be able. No exceptions! Not only is this the right thing to do, it’s the Christian thing to do.
The Action
Research if your local adoption and foster care agencies discriminates or is open to all loving families. If they are open to all, make a donation to support their work.
The Prayer
Holy One, we pray for all children everywhere in our nation and around the world tonight. We pray that each child might find a loving home and we celebrate every family that opens their home to a child. Transform the hearts of those who hate LGBTQ people to see the value of your love and dignity which is offered to all people. Amen.
–30–
Cross-posted from The Resistance Prays. You can subscribe to their newsletter here, and you can support them on Patreon here.