Truly we have been given so much as Canadians. Not only have we been given remarkable, natural resources, we have also been gifted with a wonderful spiritual heritage. In many ways, we, as a nation, are like Cinderella with amnesia. We’ve been chosen as a princess, and given many wonderful gifts, but we can’t remember who we are. Some have described Canada as a nation without a soul.
Meet the people of the National House of Prayer. They have a purpose. They have financial backing. They have gatherings in support of C-484. They hold meetings that are attended by politicians and public policy makers. They are fundamentalist, evangelical Christians.
The right to hold religious belief and to observe its practices, such as praying, is protected under the Charter of Rights. However. One does wonder how the general public would react if a group of devout Muslims set up a base in Ottawa to mobilize informed, focused, and sustained prayer for Canada and its leaders? And if this were accomplished by having an ongoing presence of praying people in the halls of the Federal Government, attending daily Question Period, sitting in Senate sessions, positioning themselves in Committee meetings and making appointments with individual Parliamentarians, by interceding in the official Prayer Chapel, prayer-walking the grounds of Parliament Hill, visiting the Supreme Court, and the Governor General’s residence and praying with Muslim groups from the many different departments of national Government.
Exactly. One would start to wonder about the separation of state and church.
The staff of the National House of Prayer are missionaries. If you read the FAQ section regarding lobbyists on the government website, you will note that many of the actions covered by the regulations of Bill C-15, An Act to Amend the Lobbyists Registration Act, are similar to those promoted by the NHOP staff and volunteers.
The staff of NHOP seems to have been given complete access to legislators. How can this be? They are not registered lobbyists. We hear what happens to women and children in countries that are governed by the political practitioners of fundamentalist Sharia Law, from the testimony presented by refugees who flee these regimes. Missionaries like to describe their indoctrination, proselytizing and conversions as crusades to save people’s souls.
The National House of Prayer is a registered Canadian, charitable society. … Please know that any gift helps, but our greatest need is regular monthly partners. One great benefit of many people partnering with us is that it brings a national authority to this ministry.
Funny thing, that ministry mission. NHOP is a non-denominational Christian endeavour, so the tentacles they extend appear to be benign and legitimate. Were the organization Muslim instead ….. SHRIEEEEEKKK!
Should Birth Pangs be alarmed at the actions of NHOP, in support of C-484? Yes and no. As described above, their lobbying praying techniques are sustained and focussed. But they are also directed at other urgent issues, such as freeing Tibet …
from the centuries of spiritual darkness and oppression that the Tibetan Buddhist priests exerted over the people. …. from the power of blinded obedience to the Dalai Lama
One wonders what their position on Catholicism is.
As for the “Cinderella with amnesia” reference? …. It’s another one of those obtuse and bizarre attempts at imagery that some of the fundamentalist evangelists seem to favour. Cinderella, a stolen big screen TV and a parrot in a cage. Go figure.
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A great big thanks to Dennis Gruending for bringing NHOP to our attention.
Excellent post deBeauxOs. Here is an excerpt from an article that was written just before Harper’s minority government victory:
“…The newest groups with an Ottawa presence are the National House of Prayer, a grassroots organization that encourages Christians from across the country to spend a week in the nation’s capital praying for their political leaders; and the Institute for Marriage and Family, a research body spun off from B.C.-based Focus on the Family Canada, a sister organization of the powerful U.S. Christian group headed by psychologist James Dobson.
Other Ottawa players include the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, Real Women, World Vision, Mennonite Central Committee and Trinity Western University, whose main campus is located in the Bible belt of Langley, B.C.
Their presence is bolstered by a growing slate of evangelicals running in this election. At least eight new candidates are running for the Conservative party, after securing their nominations with the help of Christian leaders. Another handful are running after working for Christian advocacy groups.
According to Lloyd Mackey, an Ottawa-based journalist for several Christian publications, the 308-seat House of Commons has nearly 100 religious conservatives, including Catholics, Muslims and Sikhs as well as evangelical Protestants. Of that number, about half are in the 98-person Conservative caucus.
With potentially more evangelicals forming the next Parliament, are these Christian organizations poised for a more influential role?
According to Mr. Foster, the intent of these groups is to wield more clout, even though they can never hope to replicate the formidable influence of their U.S. cousins.
“They’re picking up some pointers from their American counterparts, and taking a serious run at building a conservative policy network. That means going to where the action is, and that’s Ottawa,” he says…”
http://www.religionandsocialpo.....fm?id=3725
I’m on their mailing list
They keep asking me to join a Prayer Group, but I’m not sure if I have what it takes.
JJ – I think that you should offer to lead a prayer group.
eheheheh.
Every time I see that acronym NHOP I think pancakes.
Coming soon to parl – breakfast “pancake” meetings, just like the WH.
Actually, those “pancake” meetings arrived with the PredaTories’ minority New™ Government. They say that attending is voluntary, but I suspect that some staff are intimidated by the prospect of losing their jobs so they show up, regardless of their personal religious beliefs or practices.