Standing like Wilberforce
Minor Transgender Bill SB 5599 Passes Senate
”As anticipated, SB 5599 passed the WA Senate on March 1. This bill will now head to the House side and we will continue to fight it with everything we have - our children deserve that.
This bill will allow minor children (of no minimum age) to access gender transition services without parental consent or notification. It is already legal for children aged 13 and over to get these services without consent, but this bill takes it a step further. If your minor child is seeking these services and is in the care of a youth shelter or a "host home", they would not need parental consent and the providers would not need to provide the parental notification.” Julie Barrett- CLW
"A parent may not even know why the child ran away and could involve law enforcement or other groups in a desperate search – all the while going through an unnecessary emotional nightmare, imagining the worst about what might have happened. It’s also wrong how this bill would also apply to children from other states who may travel thousands of miles for services not available to them at home. Unless there is reason to suspect parental abuse or harm, parents deserve to know where their teenagers are." Senator John Braun-
We are at war. Battles are lost but the war continues if we persevere, never give up, give in, or lose faith. The article below is about a legislator that stood in the face of evil year after year. At times, he was the only one that stood on the Parliament floor. Do not retreat. By the grace of God- this will be reversed if we continue to stand.
William Wilberforce was called and appointed by God to abolish slavery. Through his aunt and uncle, he converted to Christianity and was brought under the influence of great Christian men like George Whitefield and John Newton. John Newton was involved in the slave trade and, after his conversion, wrote the hymn "Amazing Grace." When studying history, thousands of abolitionists were passionate. They held the fire of freedom in their hearts, but William Wilberforce knew he was appointed to end slavery and began that process early in his life. He had a burning desire to see this task through before his complete conversion to Christ.
In his college years, he turned from his faith and went about living life on his own. Because he was born into wealth, he made friends easily and entertained them well. After college, he wasn't sure what to do in his life. His friend William Pit was groomed from a young boy to enter Parliament. Both men became best friends. William Pit encouraged Wilberforce to go into politics.
At last, William had sensed a deep purpose for his life and entered the political arena. He was elected to Parliament in September 1780 at the age of 21. His friend William Pitt eventually became Britain's Prime Minister. Pitt and Wilberforce were inseparable and worked together on many issues in Parliament. Both Williams were passionate speakers.
Wilberforce participated in Parliament and became one of Parliament's leading debaters, although Christ Jesus was not at the forefront of his mind and heart. Then something happened. He traveled to Europe and invited Isaac Milner, an Anglican clergyman, to accompany him. Isaac was also a scientist and mathematician. Through his knowledge and intellect, he immersed William in the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Christian worldview. They studied the Greek New Testament and other Christian writings to the point that Wilberforce became convicted of his sin and fully converted.
His conversion was so strong that he considered leaving Parliament because of the nature of politics. His desire leaned toward ministry, but his friend William Pitt persuaded him to stay in government. Pitt said, "Surely the principles, as well as the practice of Christianity, are simple, and lead not to meditation only but to action."
William began to work with a team to end the slave trade in England. Ending the slave trade would make it illegal to purchase kidnapped Africans and transport them around the world to plantations, where they were treated harshly, and many worked to death. William helped by giving the team access to shipping records kept in the government Customs House. The purpose of studying these records was to get accurate numbers of the enslaved people that died on ships during the "Middle Passage."
The "Middle Passage" was a voyage to the West Indies that took three to four weeks. Because the ships went right through the tropical belt, the heat in these ships was unbearable. A 100-150 tons vessel could carry 300-600 enslaved people. They placed the enslaved people so closely together that they could barely move or breathe.
William Wilberforce began his cause to end slavery, but another cause close to his mind and heart was the cause to reform society. His conversion to Christianity opened his eyes, and he saw the need for moral living. At the same time, King George III also issued a proclamation that ended gambling on Sunday. He called for the prosecution of excessive drunkenness, outbursts, and other harmful behaviors that became subject to the law. William encouraged morals and began societies of moral and good manners.
In 1789, William introduced his first bill to abolish the slave trade. He gave an impassioned speech and spoke for over three hours. He described the horrors of the Middle Passage, how over 400 people were fitted below deck on a ship, and the terrible conditions upon those trips. He ended his first speech to abolish the slave trade with these words. "The nature and all the circumstances of this Trade are now laid open to us. We can no longer plead ignorance, we cannot evade it, it is now an object placed before us, we cannot pass it. We may spurn it, we may kick it out of our way, but we cannot turn aside so as to avoid seeing it. For it is brought now so directly before our eyes that this House must decide, and must justify to all the world, and to their own conscience, the rectitude's of their grounds and of the principles of their decision…. Let not Parliament be the only body that is insensible to national justice."[1] It failed.
Then, in 1791, his motion to abolish the slave trade lost 163-88. In 1793, he proposed a bill in the House of Commons advocating gradual abolition. It failed by eight votes, and most members didn't show up for the vote. After that, he brought forward a bill prohibiting British ships from carrying slaves to foreign territories. It lost by two votes again, with many members not in attendance. Wilberforce reintroduced the Abolition Bill almost every year in the 1790s. Every year it failed. And yet, he continued to persevere.
A person must believe in their purpose to persevere through so many failures. Fighting the good fight and standing in what you believe against monumental odds causes the changes to happen. It was time to end slavery, and there was grace on Wilberforce to do it. The grace was not only on Wilberforce but on thousands around the world to break the chains of slavery. Some would argue that slavery was all through the bible and perfectly acceptable, but in the Christian's heart and mind, and according to conscience, the will of God was against kidnapping human beings and enslaving them.God came forth through Wilberforce to change the world. Each generation has a mandate from God. Failure is not an excuse to stand down but to keep standing according to scripture.
And while we stand, God sends strength and encouragement in and through the battle. In 1791, John Wesley, the fiery preacher and founder of the Methodist Movement, wrote William a letter.
"I see not how you can go through your glorious enterprise in opposing that execrable villainy, which is the scandal of religion, of England, and of human nature. Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them stronger than God? Oh be not weary in well doing! Go on, in the name of God and in the power of his might, till even American slavery (the vilest that ever saw the sun) shall vanish away from it. Reading this morning a tract [written] by a poor African, I was particularly struck by that circumstance that a man who has a black skin, being wronged or outraged by a white man, can have no redress: it being a "law" in our colonies that the oath of black against a white goes for nothing. What villainy is this? That he who has guided you from youth up may continue to strengthen you in this and all things, is the prayer of, dear sir,
Your affectionate servant,
John Wesley."[2]
This was the last letter John Wesley ever penned.
William knew that ending the slave trade would only come about through the power of God. The British Empire was one of the largest empires that extended worldwide. It went from England to Canada through the United States, into the Orient, then down into the South Seas, South American, Central America, and all over Africa. Millions of enslaved people were entwined, and in most English businesses and enterprises, slavery had its tentacles.
Wilberforce had the faith and tenacity to end it, but it would take all of his life to do it. It took over two decades to end the slave trade in England. During that time of presenting bills to end the slave trade year after year, William worked on his other passions for Christ. Because of his vast wealth inherited from his father and uncle, he could work and give himself to many volunteer societies, church work, and philanthropic efforts. Wilberforce said, "God has set before me two great objects, the suppression of the slave trade and the reformation of manners." His ambition was to "Make Goodness Fashionable."
According to Richard Gathro, "One historian has calculated that Wilberforce was a member of the committee of some sixty-nine voluntary societies. In addition to his abolition work, he was consistently involved in church work that included the Church Missionary Society and the sending of missionaries to India and Africa, the British and Foreign Bible Society, the Proclamation Society Against Vice and Immorality, the School Society, the Sunday School Society, the Society for Bettering the Condition of the Poor, the Vice Society and others. His public philanthropic efforts were many, including relieving the suffering of the manufacturing poor, and French refugees and foreigners in distress. History records Wilberforce as having made major financial contributions to at least seventy such societies, and as being active in numerous reform movements which included reform in hospital care, fever institutions, asylums, infirmaries, refugees and penitentiaries. He supported religious publications and education, especially the schools of Hannah More, a close friend and leading reformer of British education"
Wilberforce didn't set out on any of these projects alone. According to Gathro,"Wilberforce and his closest friend, Henry Thornton, called together a group of Christians with the desire to apply their faith in Jesus Christ to personal, social, political, national, and international matters. The group was called the Clapham sect. The group did not claim to be theologians, yet they regarded prayer and Bible study as serious matters. The Clapham group believed they were representatives of God's kingdom on earth and the faithful stewards of all God had given them. Together, this Clapham fellowship sought to make the British Empire an instrument of social and moral welfare for all people. Throughout their time together, they remained remarkably committed to these goals.
Perhaps this circle of friends can best be remembered by these characteristics:
• They shared a common commitment to Jesus Christ and a clear sense of calling.
• They were committed to lifelong friendship and mutual submission was the norm.
• Their advocacy was marked by careful research, planning and strategy.
• They worshiped both privately and publicly, gathering twice weekly at the Clapham Church.
• Their friendships were inclusive and focused on the
essentials. For example, Wilberforce was a Wesleyan and his closest friend, Henry Thornton, was a Calvinist.
• They made family life a clear priority and delighted in each other's marriages and children.
• They kept the "long view" on completing projects. Abolition of the slave trade took 20 years!
• They made no dichotomy between evangelism and social action. Their magazine, The Christian Observer, exemplifies this.
• Their faith was integral to all of life...family, career, friendship and more. It was a faith that the younger generation calls, "24/7." They talked together of a faith that impacted every part of their lives. There were no "compartments."
• They enabled one another vs. trying to "have it all." [3] They recognized each other's passions and supported one another in addressing them.
Finally, in 1807, the bill for the Abolition of the Slave Trade went into the House again with a passionate speech. This time, abolitionists introduced the bill to the House of Lords first instead of the House of Commons. The bill passed the House of Lords by a vote of 100 for and 36 against. When the bill went to the House of Commons, several MPs gave speeches and mentioned Wilberforce's name. They gave him a standing ovation. William wept in his hands and cried out to God in thankfulness. The House of Commons passed the bill 283 to 16. It finally happened. The slave trade was banished from the British Empire.
Banning the slave trade meant British ships could no longer go to Africa and take human beings on slave ships, but the English colonies still enslaved people. Wilberforce was not content to just ending British slave ships but putting an end to slavery entirely. He never gave up on that dream and continued to work and contribute to ending slavery and several other noble causes.
It would take another twenty-six years to end slavery in the British Empire. During that twenty-six years, a new generation of abolitionists rose up to fight the good fight. In 1833, a retired Wilberforce gave one last speech in Parliament to put slavery to an end. On July 26th, 1833 slavery ended in Britain. William Wilberforce fulfilled his dream. He died three days later.
[1] http://www.emersonkent.com/speeches/abolition.htm
[2] https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-2/wesley-to-wilberforce.html
[3] https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/KD-2001-Summer-William-Wilberforce-and-His-Circle-of-Friends-471.pdf