Thursday, April 23, 2009

God Bless Augusta: Record Number of Honks!

“There were so many people honking for traditional marriage that it was like the home team just won a game.” That is how a good Catholic lady and local resident of Augusta who joined us for a while on campaign described the climate on the street today.
She was absolutely right.

In this tour, nothing compares to the overwhelming quantity of support for traditional marriage witnessed in Augusta. To give you an idea, when we displayed our signs at a busy roundabout near the capitol building called the Rotary, it was difficult to find cars that wouldn’t honk, wave, applaud, cheer, and give us a thumbs up or a double thumbs up of effusive approval.



To think that a small number of pro-homosexual activists could radically turn the definition of God’s marriage upside down despite this widespread common-sense rejection of same-sex unions is troubling. The opinion of most Americans is unfairly sidelined, silenced and discarded as “bigotry” – a tired, elastic, vague and amorphous talismanic word that few know how to define.

One of the few people who didn’t honk, asked, “What is this, the Crusades?” Followed by: “You bigots! BIGOTS! BIGOTS!” Two other cars threw whatever objects they happened to find in their cars at us: change and gummy bears. In both cases, the harmless objects scattered and rolled at our feet.

The wind blew fiercely making our banners sway and bend, adding an epic note to the scene. Our largest banner tugged like a sail nearly blowing over several times, but with Mr. Matthew Taylor as our anchor man, it was safe. The struggle to keep the banner up didn’t go unnoticed by a lady who stopped her car and said: “I love the way you’re holding those even though the wind is trying to blow you over. Keep it up!”

With a sigh of relief, another man honked his horn, paused and said: “It’s about time somebody says something! Thanks guys.”

Another commented: “I want to let you know that your coming here has encouraged us. It’s like seeing the cavalry arrive. It’s great. Thank you!”

When we first set up in the center of the roundabout, a police officer kindly asked us to move to one of the cross walk areas surrounding the circle as a safety precaution. “Do you want me to stop traffic for you to cross over?” he asked and proceeded to stop heavy traffic moving around the circle. The officer also asked if our group was part of the 40 Days for Life effort to oppose the sin of abortion. “I wanted to tell you how well the pro-lifers conducted themselves. We had zero problems with them and everything went smoothly.” Handing me his card, he added: “If you have any trouble, just give me a call.”

Meeting Pro-Family Leaders

Pro-family leaders at the Maine Family Policy Council gave us a warm welcome. Mr. Mike Heath, executive director of the Maine Family Policy Council briefed us on the struggle his organization is engaged in to preserve traditional marriage in Maine. In February, his group sponsored a traditional marriage rally that attracted a large gathering of at least 1,100 people. His good work deserves everyone’s support and prayers.



Then we visited the capitol building and distributed “10 Reasons why homosexual ‘marriage’ is harmful and must be opposed” fliers.

TFP volunteers also stopped by the Kennebec Journal, the local newspaper, and dropped off a press release.

Today, as in other cities, one family prepared a delicious dinner for us and another put us up for the night, providing us with a wonderful breakfast in the morning. So many people along the way have helped out. Several America Needs Fatima Rosary Rally Captains have assisted us and we are grateful to them for their tremendous support and encouragement.

God bless Augusta.

From the Mailbox:

“Thank you for being outspoken”

“I looked at your traditional marriage campaign blog on the TFP website, and I really appreciate what you have done. I would like to thank you for being outspoken and saying what many Christians believe but don’t speak out about.

“I was really surprised at how many people actually disagree with homosexual marriage! It is very encouraging for other Christians to hear this news. These days, many sick things such as this are becoming the norm, and I thank you for reminding many of the truth: Traditional marriage should be the only marriage. I guess you’ve probably been getting a fair amount of hate mail, so I decided to write this letter as an encouragement for you in these efforts. I also pray you have an impact on the people around you, and that people will open their eyes and see God’s truth.
“Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:10).
Amy W.
Canada
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1358 Jefferson Rd.
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