Proposed Omaha Sexual Orientation Ordinance

Ben Gray, from the Omaha City Council, plans to reintroduce a city ordinance on February 28th that adds sexual orientation and gender identity as additional protected categories under the City of Omaha’s prohibitions against discriminatory practices.

•  This ordinance creates a protected class for literally everyone to be involved in any legal sexual behavior... heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual or gender identity sexual behavior.
• A public hearing will be at the March 6th Council meeting and a vote as soon as March 13th. 

Click here to read the ordinance

Ben Gray has added an exemption for churches but states that parachurch ministries and non-profits will not be exempt. http://voiceomaha.org/2012/02/21/ben-gray-discusses-the-ordinance/ This raises some problematic issues including:

• Christian High School ministries could be forced to hire active LGBTQ people.
• Little Lambs Lutheran preschool (and other schools) could be forced to hire LGBTQ people.
• Catholic Schools could be required to hire LGBTQ people to be their gym teachers?
• A transgendered male who wants to be housed with women at a shelter house in Omaha, might have to be accommodated.
• Islamic study centers could be forced to hire LGBTQ professors.

This ordinance is a threat to our religious liberties. The First Amendment guarantees the free exercise of religion to individuals, not just to religious organizations. The church is the people, not the steeple. The ordinance, even with the religious exemption, restricts selected aspects our faith to being lived only within our faith community (our church buildings).

This ordinance would make sexual orientation a protected classification and subject employers and business owners to government sanctioned penalties and litigation if they do not conduct their business according to these newly redefined discrimination policies regardless of their personal religious convictions.

If you would like to be added to my prayer mobilization email list please email me at this email account created for this issue: pastordavidnathan@gmail.com

Click here to see the Nebraska Heritage Coalition Pastors Proclamation

Click here for more info and an action guide to get involved.

Note to First Responder PrayerWalkers

Special thanks to all of you who were able to respond to last Wednesday's PrayerWalk on such short notice and also to you who could not come but held us up in prayer. Moving quickly worked out very well and we had over a 100 there with fairly good weather.

We went into this one on high alert... This home had seen shootings about a week earlier and was just a 100 feet away from the NO Salvation Army Youth Center who brought out over 30 youth to our PW. That combined with a large family groups from both the house, the victim's family and the neighborhood made a very large and diverse group. I know most of you who were there could sense the dynamics at work and were in prayer for God's presence and peace on the group...for which I am very thankful. The Lord gave us a wonderful time of ministry...several pastors prayed with great anointing and Willie Barney shared a Divinely inspired challenge that strongly impacted the youth and neighborhood.


We are seeing the power of prayer and obedience on the streets...and are working on a report documenting answers to prayer, what we are learning, and where the Lord is leading.

While many of us celebrate the coming of the Prince of Peace it is also sadly true that domestic violence increases significantly in our culture during the Christmas season...OPD reported at our last network meeting that domestic violence is increasing right now in Omaha. A few weeks ago a wife shot and killed her husband as he brutally attacked her... a 2-yr old and a 3-yr old were home at the time. First Responders does not normally do PrayerWalks in front of a home where one family member has killed another...we try to reach out to the family and neighborhood quietly as we have opportunity and we encourage non-public prayer for or near where these tragic homicides occur.

As you go about your activities during this Christmas season please give God permission to guide your eyes to see, recognize and then pray for hurting people and situations. God may or may not lead you to do something, but it is important that we learn to see our community with the eyes of Christ and not miss His heart and purposes in the hustle and bustle of the season.

Many Blessings be upon you all for faithfully praying this last year.

See you on the streets...
Dave

Nine shot-two dead-in two days!

First Responders Homicide PrayerWalk:
Tuesday, November 22nd, 5:00-6:00 PM
Meet at Freedom Worship Center, 3015 Parker
then to the two sites nearby at 5:15 PM

Media Reports:

2:16 AM Saturday police found Jacquez Simmis, 23, dead at the corner of 33rd Ave & Burdette. Simmis' friend, Dominic Richards, also shot, told police the two had been walking down the street when someone shot them.

At 3:25 a.m. Saturday, James Mun, 19, suffered gunshot wounds at 1915 N. 27th Street and died of his injuries on Sunday afternoon. Two dead in just over an hour eight blocks apart.

The spree started around 1:45 Saturday morning outside Club X at 24th and O and ended Sunday afternoon at 5:00 PM with three critically wounded at 36th & Martin. At this time the shootings have not been connected.

Directions:

 At 5:00 PM Tuesday, meet in the parking lot at Freedom Worship Center, 3015 Parker where we will split into two groups, one to 1915 N. 27th Street and the other to 33rd Ave & Burdette, each 4 blocks away. We are encouraging those that can to PrayerWalk the 4 blocks to either site. After praying at each site for about 15 minutes we will reconvene at Freedom to pray into the overall violence in the city... especially this weekend. We should be done by 7:00 PM

Click here for a Google Map:

Insights:

Some of you may recall that 30th & Parker was a high priority area in 2008 where we saw God answer prayer after a number of prayer walks in that area based out of Freedom and Salem Churches that saw the removal of the Pleasant View Housing Projects and no homicides in 2009 and one in 2010. This weekend makes 4 Homicides so far this year within an 6 block radius of Freedom Church... In this area, one homicide last year and three of four this year were within 2 blocks of 33rd Ave & Burdette. This is another sober reminder of what we are learning in our battle against violence. To keep violence down in an area there must be an ongoing visible prayer presence and strong networking that brings together churches, schools, businesses, neighborhood alliances, police, and concerned neighbors.

Please Note:
First Responder PrayerWalks are not “prayer-vigils” on behalf of the family but a community response to violence. Family members are invited if we have contact info, and our team reaches out to care and minister to them as Jesus would.