9-11, THE CHINESE AND SARAH PALIN

Your missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:

What a week it's been! Just to give you an idea of some of what it entailed:

- Monday, Tuesday and Thursday I guest hosted the 3-hour Adam McManus Show on AM 630 KSLR Radio out of San Antonio, Texas. Adam is a great friend (I presided at his wedding) and I'm a frequent guest on his program. This is the second time I've guest hosted for him. I'm not even close to the professional broadcaster he is, but it's fun and very interesting.

This week I opened the phones for listener comments on Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin (the lines lit up and wouldn't quit), talked with Dr. Charles Nestor, a longtime Assemblies of God minister, about Gov. Palin's history with that denomination, and with Fr. Giacomo Capoverde, a politically active Roman Catholic priest about the faith of Gov. Palin's complement on the Democratic ticket, Sen. Joe Biden. It all made for very insightful analysis. 

I also talked on the air with Rabbi Yehuda Levin of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis in the United States about his assertion that God raised up Barack Obama to derail Hillary Clinton from taking the White House, then raised up Sarah Palin as a prophetic witness of strong, pro-life femininity and motherhood to de-rail Obama. Wow!

Finally, I reflected on my own memories of 9-11 and interviewed two friends who saw it up close: Fellow board member at the National Pro-Life Religious Council, Pastor Kirk van der Swaagh of Manhattan's Neighborhood Church located just a few blocks from Ground Zero. He and his family watched as the two planes hit the towers and later as the structures collapsed; and Denny Nissley whose Christ in Action Ministries provided food and temporary shelter for thousands of emergency workers at both the Pentagon and Ground Zero sites.

- Last night I co-hosted the first ever face-to-face meeting of its kind on religious liberty with government and "legal" religious leaders from China. The 10-member delegation was with "SARA," or the State Administration for Religious Affairs of the The People's Republic of China. This is the entity created by the communist regime to monitor and control religious groups in their country. Many religious dissidents in China consider SARA officials as collaborators in religious persecution perpetrated by the government. In my remarks to the group I reminded them that religion is the pursuit of truth and I challenged them a truly honest dialogue with us. The initiative is led by Joe Grieboski at The Institute on Religion and Public Policy for whom I serve as a board member.

- Today I attend the Values Voter Summit at the Hilton Hotel here in Washington. This annual event, sponsored by our friends at the Family Research Council, is a call to action for voter participation and a rally for the sanctity of life and marriage, religious freedom and against judicial activism. The enormously popular Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin is expected to address the attendees. I heard her in Dayton when I was on the platform at John McCain's announcement of his pick of her for running mate and in St. Paul at the Republican Convention. Few people can electrify a crowd like she can.

- This weekend I'll be with two great church families: Saturday night Cheryl and I join our dear friends Pastor and Mrs. Kenneth Barney of the incomparable New Antioch Baptist Church of Randallstown, Maryland for their 30th Anniversary of Pastoring Celebration. On Sunday morning I'll be guest preaching for Pastor Del Smith of the large and influential Christian Life Center of Bensalem, Pennsylvania. If you're nearby, come by to join us!

As you can see, we're never bored around here!

Your grateful missionary to our nation's leaders,

Rob Schenck

Faith and Action

www.faithandaction.org

109 2nd St, NE

Washington, DC 20002

202-54608329