International Organization for the Family (IOF)

WORLD CONGRESS OF FAMILIES LEADERSHIP MEMO – St. Lucia Conference, Sydney Family Festival, ADF Chicago Banquet

World Congress of Families Leadership Memo, October 13, 2017

Upcoming St Lucia WCF Caribbean Conference, Over 10,000 Australians at Sydney Family Festival In Support of Natural Marriage, Chicago Christians and Pro-Family Leaders Gather at ADF Banquet

“For pro-family leaders…a project of the International Organization for Family, uniting and equipping leaders worldwide to promote the natural family.”

WCF St. Lucia Conference – “The Family Development – Strong Families, Prosperous Nations.” November 16-18

The World Congress of Families Regional Caribbean Conference in St. Lucia, will be held in The Johnson’s Centre, Rodney Bay, Gros Islet, November 16-18. The theme is “The Family Development – Strong Families, Prosperous Nations.”

Speakers include: Dr. Julie Xavier, “The Caribbean/St. Lucian Family” – Don Feder (World Congress of Families), “Why Marriage Matters” – Sharon Slater (Family Watch International), “Stand for the Family” — Dr. Godfrey St. Bernard, “Demographic Reality in the Caribbean” — Ted St. Catherine, “Demographic Reality in Saint Lucia” – Philippa Davis (Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society), “’Two is better than too many’ is leaving Jamaica with too few” – Anna Halpine, (Founder, World Youth Alliance) “Fertility Education and Medical Management” – Kim Olson, (Director, Journey to Freedom) “The Unexpected Pregnancy” – Susan Roylance (International Organization for the Family’), “Family Capital and the Sustainable Development Goals” – Rebekah Ali Gouveia (WCF Caribbean Coordinator), “Motherhood” – Rev. Philip Gumbs (Chairman, Caribbean Conference, Church of God), “The Role of Fathers in Family And Nation Building” – Theresa Okafor,” (WCF African Coordinator) “The African Experience” – Glen Stanton (Focus on the Family) “The Five Fatal Inconsistencies of Gender Theory”– Professor Brendan Bain “HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean”– Reverend Fr. Linus Clovis “The Church’s Role in Addressing HIV/AIDS”– Reverend Scot Strim — and panels on “The Caribbean Experience,” “The Way Forward: A Frank Discussion Among the Clergy” and “The Way Forward: A Frank Discussion Among Youth.”

The conference organizer is the Caribbean Centre for Family and Human Rights (CARIFAM), under the leadership of Sarah Flood-Beaubrun, a Member of Parliament and CARIFAM Founder, who was a speaker at the World Congress of Families Antigua Conference in June. For more information contact: sarahfloodbeaubrun@carifam.org.

Sydney Gathering of 10,000+ Shows Strong Support for Marriage and the Natural Family

Australia is in the midst of a non-binding referendum by mail ballot to determine if voters want to change the nation’s marriage laws to allow same-sex “marriage.” Voters have until November 7 to return their ballots.

The Coalition for Marriage reports that on October 9, more than 10,000 people attended a Family Festival at Fairfield Showground in Sydney, organized by the Eastern Churches of Australia. The gathering demonstrated the strong support for a ‘no’ vote among Australians Orthodox churches.

Besides food and entertainment, the gathering included addresses by the Hon. Michael Sukkar MP, Member for Deakin and Assistant Minister to the Treasurer, Sophie York, Coalition for Marriage spokeswoman, His Excellency Robert Rabbat, Melkite Bishop of Australia, Dr Pansy Lai from Australian Chinese for Families, and Susan Hourani from Radio 2Moro.

Dr Lai, who coordinated a petition of more than 17,000 Australian-Chinese parents against Safe Schools in NSW, which was then followed by similar petitions from the Australian-Indian and Australian-Lebanese communities, addressed the crowd about the link between a change in the marriage law, the introduction of radical LGBTIQ sex and gender programs into the classrooms, and the removal of parental rights.

‘We parents must have a say in what our kids get taught about life, relationships, sex and marriage. We parents are the ones who must speak up to protect our children because nobody is going to do it for us,’ Dr Lai said.

MP Sukkar commented on the cultural importance of the link between mother and child. ‘I’ve learned you don’t come between a Lebanese mother and her kids,” he said to tumultuous applause. Sukkar reminded the crowd that it was not only okay, but their duty, to say “no” to same-sex “marriage.”

Coalition for Marriage spokeswoman Sophie York said the gathering “shows that there is still so much energy and so much resolve in the ‘no’ camp. The people I met today (at the festival) are committed to working tirelessly to ensure that as many ‘no’ votes as possible are posted over the coming weeks. “

Also present were Archbishops or Bishops of the Maronite, Coptic, Melkite, Syriac, Assyrian, Armenian, Antiochian and Chaldean Orthodox Churches in Australia, or their representatives. Read more…

The Australian Christian Lobby, a World Congress of Families Partner, has been active in the campaign to save marriage in Australia. More information on ACL…

Alliance Defending Freedom Vision & Victory Banquet – Chicago, October 15th

The Alliance Defending Freedom’s Chicago Vision & Victory Banquet will take place on October 15, 6:00 pm, at The Loews O’Hare Hotel Ballroom, Rosemont, Illinois near the Chicago O’Hare Airport.

The banquet will be the first time ADF will have an opportunity to present its vision and the many victories to the broader Chicago Christian community. Almost 300 guests are pre-registered, representing mission organizations, Christian ministries, legal firms, and state family policy institutes.

Michael Farris, CEO, Alliance Defending Freedom

Speakers will include Michael Farris, newly named president and CEO of ADF (there’s a link to his biography below), and Kelvin Cochran (ADF client) former fire chief of the City of Atlanta, who lost his job when the mayor learned that he personally believes that marriage is between a man and a woman.

One focus of the evening will be the upcoming Supreme Court case (Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado) which ADF will be arguing later this fall. Christian and secular observers of the court have said this may be the most important religious freedom case in a generation.

Registration is $50 per person. For more information, contact Grady Hauseradf, Banquet Steering Committee Chairman, phone: 847.441.2955

Read more about Michael Farris. Read more about Alliance Defending Freedom, a World Congress of Families Partner

Calendar of Upcoming Events

October 11-13, 2017 — International Consultation on Christian Persecution, Hungarian Government Conference, Budapest, Hungary. More information…
October 12-14, 2017, Touchstone Annual Fall Conference, “Be of Good Cheer: In the Company of Christ & the Great Cloud of Witnesses,” hosted by Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity, The Fellowship of St. James, Jim Kushiner and Allan Carlson among speakers, Trinity International University , Deerfield, Illinois. More information and registration….
October 13-15, 2017 — Values Voter Summit, Washington, D.C. More information…
November 16-18, 2017 — WCF Caribbean Regional Conference, St. Lucia, Contact information…
November 17-18, 2017, #Teens4Truth Conference, “Countering the LGBT Agenda,” Hosted by Professor Dr. Robert Lopez, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas. More information and registration…
November 28-30, 2017 — African Regional Conference, Malawi , Contact information…
January 1, 2018 — Celebrate “Year of Families” Budapest, Hungary, Read more…
January 19, 2018 – National March for Life, Washington, DC, USA, More information…
February 2, 2018 — Movieguide’s Annual Faith & Values Awards Gala & Report to the Entertainment Industry. Read more…
May 11-12, 2018 — WCF Family Forum, Lisbon, Portugal, hosted by Dom Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza and Dona Isabel, Duchess of Braganza, Contact information…
May 15, 2018 – Seizing the Future, Protecting the Family, WCF Regional Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, co-sponsored by Kenyan Christian Professionals Association and Foundation for African Cultural Heritage, Contact for more information…
May 15-19, 2018 — Global Home Education Conference, Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, More information…