Friday Afternoon, September 29, 2023

MRFF VICTORY!!!

MRFF STOPS CHRISTIAN ZEALOT

MILITARY COMMANDER’S “SUGGESTING” 

UNIT “PRAY ON OUR KNEES TO THE LORD” 

TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

“On behalf of 26 members of our military combat unit I wanted to thank our local base MRFF Rep. for working so closely with Mikey Weinstein and the MRFF to stop our combat unit commander from ‘suggesting’ at every unit meeting for the last 2 weeks that all of us ‘should pray on our knees to the Lord to make sure our CongresMEN of spirit and faith pass a bill to keep our government from closing.’”

— MRFF client

MRFF OP-ED

ON DAILY KOS

Trending story on Daily Kos

MRFF stops commander “suggesting”

unit “pray on our knees to the Lord”

to avoid government shutdown

By: MRFF Senior Research Director Chris Rodda

Friday, September 29, 2023

The email below from a service member, on behalf of 26 members of her military unit, thanking the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) for stopping the unit’s “outspoken conservative Christian and MAGA enthusiast” commander from “suggesting” (which in the military might as well be ordering) that everyone in the unit “should pray on our knees to the Lord to make sure our CongresMEN of spirit and faith pass a bill to keep our government from closing,” speaks for itself and needs no further introduction from me ...

From: (Active Duty U.S. Military Enlisted Member’s E-Mail Address Withheld)

Subject: MRFF stops Military Commander “suggesting” prayer to avoid government shutdown

Date: September 29, 2023 at 10:33:22 AM MDT

To: Information Weinstein <mikey@militaryreligiousfreedom.org>

Dear (MRFF Representative’s name and rank withheld), Mikey Weinstein and the MRFF,

On behalf of 26 members of our military combat unit I wanted to thank our local base MRFF Rep. (name and rank withheld) for working so closely with Mikey Weinstein and the MRFF to stop our combat unit commander from “suggesting” at every unit meeting for the last 2 weeks that all of us “should pray on our knees to the Lord to make sure our CongresMEN of spirit and faith pass a bill to keep our government from closing.”



I happen to be both female and Catholic but we all know what our commander meant. When he “suggests” he orders. After all, he is our commander. We get it and we don’t like it this time. He is a very outspoken conservative Christian and MAGA enthusiast and never misses an opportunity to remind all of us about it. He is a member of some officer Christian group and they proselytize at every turn in the road here in our unit and elsewhere on our installation.

After we consulted with our base MRFF Rep. she worked with Mikey Weinstein to take our complaints to senior command and they apparently were able to get our commander to stop “suggesting” these prayers. He has not only stopped this demeaning Christian proselytizing behavior but he has now also even taken down several framed signs in his office citing New Testament passages warning of the consequences of not accepting Christ as Savior.

For the record: of the 26 MRFF clients here 19 are either Catholic like me or Protestant. The others are Muslim, Atheist, Jewish and Buddhist.

Without the immediate intervention of the MRFF working with our base MRFF Rep. we never would have been able to get the win here!

Thanks MRFF for everything!

(Active Duty U.S. Military Enlisted Member’s Name, Rank, MOS/AFSC, Unit and Installation ALL Withheld)

If you haven’t done so already, please take a minute to submit our petition letter opposing Christian nationalist Rep. Mike Turner’s amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which, if passed, would make it ILLEGAL for members of the military to contact or respond to MRFF, to your representative and senators. Turner’s amendment must be stopped so that MRFF can continue to effectively fight the Christian nationalist insanity in our military like what’s described in the above email.

MRFF veteran client, "inspired by the great work MRFF does," takes the initiative to get Christian Bible removed from POW/MIA table at their own VA medical center

MRFF is awesome!

From: (MRFF veteran client’s name withheld)

Date: September 29, 2023 at 12:18:22 PM MDT

To: mikey@militaryreligiousfreedom.org

Subject: MRFF is awesome!

I have been following the brave men and women at MRFF for over a decade. The articles detailing the amazing work they have done is just outstanding. The fact that they have gotten so much good work done in the face of hateful and threatening emails from religious extremists just kicks things up another notch on how amazing they are.

I have always found the articles to be well thought out and very informational, but never applied to me directly ... until recently. I saw a situation at my local VA that was a blatant violation that the MRFF had dealt with at another location. Knowing how busy the great people at MRFF are, and being inspired by their example, I spoke up and sent an email to the local VA Public Relations office, carefully explaining the problem, and why it was a problem. Unfortunately, there were no other email addresses I could find, but I figured PR would know who to talk to before this became a PR problem. I will admit that I cheated and used sterling examples from Mikey Weinstein when drafting my letter so it would sound much better and more professional. The good news is that the Chief of Chaplain Services at the local VA contacted me within 24 hours and said "I appreciate you bringing this to our attention, we will take care this matter immediately."

Not only was I able to follow in the very competent footsteps of MRFF, I was able to get a reaction from a top level at the local VA so the chance of this reoccurring is slim.

In summary, I was motivated to get a problem solved, inspired by the great work MRFF does to try and solve this myself, didn't add to their work load, and feel better about myself for having spoken up. Not bad for a disabled junior enlisted. Mind you, if this is not resolved when I check at my next appointment, I have no problem handing off the situation to the wonderful people at MRFF, having laid the groundwork for them.

Sincerely,

(MRFF veteran client’s name withheld)

Christian nationalist Rep. Mike Turner's amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to SHUT MRFF DOWN by making it ILLEGAL for members of the military to even communicate with MRFF is now part of the GOP-led House's version of the NDAA, WHICH HAS BEEN PASSED BY THE WHOLE HOUSE WITH TURNER’S DESPICABLE, VINDICTIVE, AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT STILL IN IT!!!

Last week, the Senate passed its version of the NDAA,

which does not contain any language regarding MRFF. When Congress returns from its August recess, a conference committee made up of both House and Senate members will meet to reconcile the two bills. THIS IS WHERE TURNER'S AMENDMENT TO SHUT MRFF DOWN MUST BE REMOVED!!!

If Turner's amendment is allowed to remain in the final, bicameral version of the NDAA, it will obliterate MRFF's ability to protect and advocate on behalf of our service members facing religious discrimination, harassment, and aggressive proselytizing!

If you haven't already, please take a minute to submit our petition letter opposing Turner's amendment to your representative and senators.

This form submits a letter to Congress on your behalf, which

will be sent to your U.S. Representative in the House and your

U.S. Senators urging removal of Christian Nationalist Rep. Turner's

blatantly unconstitutional NDAA amendment and, additionally,

sends a copy to the entire Senate Armed Services Committee.

Previous MRFF coverage of

Christian nationalist Rep. Turner's amendment

A handful of MRFF's numerous run-ins with

Christian nationalist GOP Congress members

and Senators over the years