Religious Liberty : Links

THANKS FOR MAKING THIS YEAR A SUCCESS!!

2010 NARLA Capitol Hill Summit
Friday, April 9 - Tuesday, April 13

Dear Friends of Freedom,

You are invited to an incredible experience in the nation’s Capitol - it is the eighth annual Liberty Weekend. NARLA members from across the nation will come to Washington to get the latest updates from frontline religious liberty experts, meet their Members of Congress, attend our annual banquet with a keynote address by an American Leader (2006 - Senator John McCain, 2007 - Senator John Kerry, 2008 - Representative Trent Franks, 2009 - Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II). Explore the many attractions, and enjoy one of the most inspiring, spiritually uplifting Sabbaths you will ever experience.

If you are a NARLA member and want to be part of this experience, RSVP by completing the registration form here. If you have any questions, email us at narla@religiousliberty.info or call us at (805) 955-7675. The sooner we hear from you, the sooner we can reserve your spot! We look forward to welcoming you to Washington, D.C. in 2010. Together we will raise “God's banner of truth and religious liberty” in the heart of the most powerful nation in history.

May God bless you,

Barry W. Bussey, Esq.
Executive Director

2010 Schedule of Events (April 9-13) (Subject to Change)

April 9	Arrive in Washington (for those coming from outside the commuting area)
7pm	Capital Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church 914 Massachusetts Avenue Northeast Washington, DC 20002-6228
	The Coming Economic Collapse? A Biblical Perspective Not Whether, but When! Alan Reinach
	Wall Street pundits charge hefty sums to give you the latest economic analysis and market predictions. Of course, they rarely agree. The Bible often speaks in more general terms, but is also more reliable. There will be an economic collapse. The question is not whether, but when. You can read it for yourself. It doesn’t take a magician to interpret. Whether you believe it or not is up to you. Find out what it says!
April 10	Capital Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church
9:30am	Meet at Capital Hill Adventist Church 914 Massachusetts Avenue Northeast Washington, DC 20002-6228 (202) 543-1344 For Sabbath School
11:00am	Orlan M. Johnson
	On November 20, 2009 President Obama sent Mr. Johnson’s name to the Senate as the nominee for a Director of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation for a term expiring December 31, 2011. He is a graduate of Andrew’s University. He received his law degree from Howard University. Mr. Johnson received numerous awards over the years including: Salute to Black Leadership Award, Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland Regulatory Simplification Award, United States Securities and Exchange Commission
7pm	Capital Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church 914 Massachusetts Avenue Northeast Washington, DC 20002-6228
	The Crisis Before the Collapse – Alan Reinach Society as we know it will self-destruct. How bad? Worse than you can imagine. The Bible describes only some of the events that bring world events to a crisis. We are given just enough to be able to prepare for such a challenge. No doubt, you’ve heard of the biblical “mark” of the “beast,”and of course, the “battle of Armageddon.” The real thing is not what you’ve seen in the grade B horror flicks dished out by Hollywood writers with juvenile imaginations. I won’t ask you to take my word, or my interpretation, we’ll just read the text together and think carefully about what it says and means. This is something you definitely “need to know.”
April 11	FREEDOM FUNDAMENTALS TRAINING DAY - Part One
	Sheraton National Hotel 900 South Orme St, Arlington, VA 22204 Closest Metro Stop: Pentagon City (Shuttle on the 15 and 45 past the hour will take you to the hotel)
9:00am	Worship – tba
9:30am	Adventism and Public Affairs – Barry W. Bussey
10:00am	International Religious Freedom Center – Nicholas Miller
10:30am	Making a Difference – Gerry Chipeur
10:50am	International Religious Liberty Association – John Graz
11:15am	Liberty Magazine – Your Religious Liberty Partner – Melissa Reid
11:45am	The Role of Local Religious Liberty Leaders – Kevin James and Wally Carson
12:15pm	Workplace Religious Freedom – The Oregon Experience – Greg Hamilton
12:30pm	Announcements
12:45pm	Lunch – On Your Own
1:00-5:00pm	Tour Washington
7:00pm	Capital Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church 914 Massachusetts Avenue Northeast Washington, DC 20002-6228
	How to Survive the Coming Economic Collapse – Alan Reinach Buy Gold? Stockpile weapons and food? The survivalists have multiple books, magazines and websites to teach you the practical skills to survive “off the grid.” You won’t learn any of that from us. After all, I grew up in New York City. My idea of survival is to order in Chinese Food. No, the more difficult problem is how to keep your wits about you when everyone around you are losing theirs. Can you maintain your integrity and your faith in a world bent on destroying everyone and everything? The very reason the Bible warns us of the crisis to come is to provide us with the necessary tools to keep our heads together.
April 12	FREEDOM FUNDAMENTALS TRAINING - Part Two*
	Sheraton National Hotel 900 South Orme St, Arlington, VA 22204 Closest Metro Stop: Pentagon City (Shuttle on the 15 and 45 past the hour will take you to the hotel)
9:00am	Worship – Lincoln Steed
9:30am	Sabbath Accommodation and the Workplace – Amireh Al-Haddad and Todd McFarland
10:00am	Workplace Religious Freedom: What’s Next – Barry W. Bussey Divide into Teams, Review Congressional Visits with Team Leaders - Barry W. Bussey
10:30am	Fifteen Minute Break
10:45am	Will Religious Freedom Endure in the 21st Century? – Dr. John Graz
11:15am	Liberty is Present Tense – Lincoln Steed
12:15pm	Closing Thoughts – Barry W. Bussey
12:30pm	Lunch – On Your Own
1:30pm-5:00pm	Congressional Visits

April 13	CAPITOL HILL DAY AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY DINNER

8:00am-8:30am	Morning Worship – Grace MackIntosh Sheraton National Hotel 900 South Orme St, Arlington, VA 22204 Closest Metro Stop: Pentagon City (Shuttle on the 15 and 45 past the hour will take you to the hotel)
9:30am	Congressional Visits
3:00pm	Complete Congressional Visits, Return to Hotels to Prepare for Dinner
6:45pm	Religious Liberty Dinner Meet at Capitol Hilton, 1001 16th St NW Washington D.C., 20036. Nearest Metro Station: Farragut North (about a seven minute walk from station)

April 14	Check-out for Home

IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Registration Fee

          Early Registration (Before March 9)
For NARLA Members: $75/person, $125/couple
Non-NARLA members: $140/person

          Late Registration (After March 9)
For NARLA Members: $85/person, $145/couple
Non-NARLA members: $160/person

Registration Form

The registration form can be printed here.

You can fax your registration to (805) 522-1082 or mail it to:

          The North American Religious Liberty Association
          Attn: Casey
          101 West Cochran Street
          Simi Valley, CA 93065

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: March 9, 2010

When to Arrive

* Prerequisite to participate in the congressional visits and formal Religious Liberty Dinner on Tuesday, April 13.

The NARLA Annual Events begin promptly at 7 p.m. on Friday. For members coming in from outside commuting range, you will need to be in Washington, DC by the mid-afternoon of Friday, April 9.

Traveling to Washington, DC

There are three airports that service the Washington, DC area: Reagan National, Baltimore-Washington International, and Dulles International. Reagan National is the closest and has a Metro subway station right at the airport giving you inexpensive and easy access to the city. From the other airports, there are shuttle services available to downtown hotels. Check www.southwest.com, www.expedia.com and www.orbitz.com for the best airfare rates.

Where to Stay

We invite you to stay at the Sheraton National Hotel at 900 South Orme St., Arlington, VA 22204. Breakfast buffet at $10.00/person and if you need parking only $12.00/night $8.00/day and there is free shuttle to and from Pentagon City Metro Stop. The Pentagon City Metro Stop is at the Fashion Center which has one of the best shopping in the Washington area. We scouted out the hotel on your behalf and found it to be the most comfortable within a reasonable price range; and easily accessible to the Capitol Hill region for our meetings. As our meetings will be held there on Sunday and Monday mornings it will be most convenient to stay there.

To find other hotel options in your price range in the Washington region, you can search online (www.hotels.com or www.expedia.com).

Note to Families with Young Children--PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

We encourage families to attend the Summit, seeing that it is a wonderful learning experience for children. Only children nine years of age and older may participate in the Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Capitol Hill activities (The morning briefing, Congressional visits, and the Liberty Dinner). This is our most formal day and it runs late into the night, and would not be appropriate for children eight and under. The other weekend events on Saturday are appropriate for children of all ages, and we are eager for them to participate.

Concluding Thought

We are just so pleased that you are considering coming to Capitol Hill to be a part of these fabulous events. When we began these events seven years ago, we never dreamed that they would mature so quickly into such dynamic, inspirational and effective means of pushing forward the religious liberty mission entrusted to our Church. The doors of Washington, DC are wide open – this is our time to, under the grace of God, walk on through!

About the A.T. Jones Medal

Each year NARLA presents the A.T. Jones Medal to one of its own who exemplifies the best of Jones’ contribution to the field of religious liberty. This includes willingness to speak truth to power, applying his or her talents to the practical business of researching, writing, speaking and organizing in the advance of liberty, and displaying through action a dedication to the gospel principle of religious liberty.

Past Honorees Are:

2004 - Diana Czajkowski: One of the first NARLA members, Ms. Czajkowsk galvanized her church in Maryland to be active in supporting religious liberty. She sponsored rallies, promoted letter writing campaigns, and kept the church updated on breaking religious liberty developments. A year after receiving the award, Diana decided to make a career in religious liberty and now works as a legal secretary supporting religious liberty litigation.

2005 - Dr. Roger Coon: A tireless religious liberty advocate, Dr. Coon has placed stories in his local paper in West Virginia, organized letter writing campaigns and rallies in his community, and met with his elected representatives to advance religious liberty.

2006 - Deborah Fountain: Threatened with being fired from her job, Ms. Fountain remained strong in her convictions and prevailed, she came to Washington to present to congressional leaders considering the Workplace Religious Freedom Act, organized support for the bill in California, and has been become the face of a major religious liberty campaign.

2007 - Sonja DeWitt, Esq: An attorney for the Cambridge Human Rights Commission, the anti-discrimination agency of the City of Cambridge, Ms. DeWitt has a strong interest in public affairs and government, and is committed to the cause of religious liberty. She handles complaints of discrimination in housing, public, accommodations, and employment. Her role also includes mediation, fact-finding, and education and outreach activities to the Cambridge community. She has been a member of NARLA since 2003, and for the past three years has served as a group leader for a lobbying team at the NARLA Annual Capitol Hill Summit. Her article "An American Agenda" appeared in the November/December 2005 issue of Liberty Magazine.

2008 - Dorothy G. Keith: Dorothy G. Keith recently retired after working 29 years for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in various positions, including as a missionary in both Sierra Leone, West Africa for nine years and Seoul, Korea for three years. She also served as Associate Director of Recruitment at Oakwood College for seven years and with the North American Division Religious Liberty Department. Because of her love for the religious rights of others, she accepted the responsibility of managing the North American Religious Liberty Association’s membership services department. She also serves on the board of the regional chapter, NARLA-West.

2009 – Alan J. Reinach, Esq: Alan Reinach serves as the Director of the Church State Council and President of the North American Religious Liberty Association-West. He is an attorney and a Seventh-day Adventist minister. Reinach represents employees who have suffered religious discrimination, and has filed briefs in religious liberty cases in state and federal courts, and in the California and United States Supreme Courts. When he’s not in court, Mr. Reinach maintains an extensive speaking schedule, hosts the weekly radio program, “Freedom’s Ring,” and appears regularly on radio interviews throughout the nation. He is a frequent and favourite contributor to Liberty Magazine, and a passionate advocate of liberty of conscience.

2010 – Gregory W. Hamilton: Greg Hamilton is President of the Northwest Religious Liberty Association (NRLA). Established in 1906, NRLA is the oldest and most active religious and civil liberties advocacy organization in the West. It champions religious freedom at all levels of government, in the workplace, the home, the school, the military, and the state prison system. It helps mediate religious discrimination issues for people of faith at their place of employment and in other venues as well. Hamilton is an ordained minister, and obtained his Master's Degree in Church-State Studies from the J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies at Baylor University. Pastor Hamilton publishes Liberty Express, an online journal or "blog" that explores religious, political, and constitutional trends, and movements, in light of Bible prophecy.