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The View: John McCain, Church and State and Being A POW


John McCain appeared on The View this morning and talked about Separation of Church and State, Roe vs. Wade and being a POW. shakesville.com http

Local church to award $24,000 in grants this year

Local church to award $24,000 in grants this year
Memorial Lutheran Church in Nevada announces that individuals and groups may now apply for 2010 grants from the church’s Ministry Endowment Fund.

Read more on Nevada Journal

Lewis Black on Politics and Religion


ME OF LITTLE FAITH by Lewis Black On sale June 3 from Riverhead Books

The Separation of Church and State, Violations of the First Amendment


The Freedom From Religion Foundation has brought a federal lawsuit against President George W. Bush regarding the National Day of Prayer. www.ffrf.org Many religious people get angry when these lawsuits come up, and often bring up “under God” in the pledge of allegiance and “in God we trust” on our money as evidence that the United States was founded upon Christian morals and Christian values. This video shows the origin of those phrases as a direct result of the fear incited by the “Godless communists” during the 1950’s. 1952 Pres. Truman and Congress declared a national day of Prayer June 14, 1954 Congress unanimously ordered “Under God” to be put in the pledge of allegiance July 11, 1955 Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a law that made it mandatory that coinage and paper currency carry the phrase “In God We Trust” 1956 Congress passed an act that replaced our national motto “E Pluribus Unum” with “In God We trust” Our rights are worth fighting for, whether the violations of those rights are old and ongoing or completely new. Some of us are willing to do something, whether it is about these issues or any other issues. Doing nothing will not move us forward. Music used with permission: Divinity Destroyed “Empty The Sky” www.myspace.com

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Traveling to the United States with a Canadian Criminal Record

Probably the most frequently asked question I receive on a daily basis is whether someone can travel to the U.S. with a criminal record in Canada.

If you have been pondering this question for yourself or for a family member, the answer depends on a couple of key issues.

Most criminal offences, but not all, will get you denied entry into the United States

For the most part, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents (those not-entirely friendly Americans tasked with protecting the U.S. borders) frown on anyone entering the U.S. with a criminal past. However, whether your past crimes get you outright denied, or just hassled unnecessarily, depends on the type of conviction(s) you have.

Not all criminal offences are considered grounds for inadmissibility according to U.S. Immigration law. The U.S. considers any crime that involved “Moral Turpitude” to be grounds for inadmissibility. A crime of “Moral Turpitude” is a crime which demonstrates the potential lack of moral character of the person who commits such an offence. 

Generally speaking, a minor crime of passion or poor decision making, such as a domestic assault or drinking and driving, will not constitute Moral Turpitude. 

Crimes of theft and fraud, crimes of a sexual nature, crimes involving significant physical violence and any crimes involving drugs, all constitute grounds for inadmissibility into the United States.

 But what if I have been traveling to the U.S. for years without being denied?

Many Canadians I deal with on a daily basis have been traveling to the United States for years with their criminal record and assumed that meant their criminal record was not an issue.

Unfortunately, this is not the case. Although it has long been the policy of the U.S. to forbid entry by Canadians with criminal records, U.S border guards would rarely check. When they did see a record, they would often make a personal judgment about the traveler in question, and would waive them through, usually not even bringing the matter to the attention of the traveler.

However, everything changed with 9/11. After the September 11th terrorist attacks, the focus on border security increased dramatically, and many Canadians with old criminal records have suffered the consequences.

Do I need a Pardon or U.S. Entry Waiver?

If you have a criminal record and intend on traveling to the United States, you need to apply for either a pardon or a U.S. entry waiver.

Which one you require, depends on your circumstances.

The first thing you need to know is that the U.S.  Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) does not recognize a Canadian Pardon. If they are already aware of your criminal record, you must apply for an entry waiver, specifically known as an I-192 Application for Advanced Permission to Enter as a Nonimmigrant.

You should always apply for a pardon for your criminal record in Canada, for many reasons, but it will not get you into the U.S. once you have been denied entry. Why? Because when the U.S. sees your criminal record on CPIC (Canadian Police Information Centre), to which they have negotiated access, they will copy your record to their system. If you then apply for a pardon and remove your record from CPIC, the U.S. will still have a copy of your criminal record on the CBP system, and will continue to deny you entry. If you have been denied entry to the U.S., you must apply for a U.S. Entry Waiver before attempting re-entry.

I have not yet been denied entry to the U.S. due to my criminal record?

If you haven’t been denied entry to the U.S., or if you are otherwise certain that the U.S. is not yet aware of your criminal record, you may choose to only apply for a Canadian pardon.

Although the U.S. does not recognize the pardon, they only have access to CPIC to search for criminal records of Canadians, and only upon their attempted entry into the U.S.

Consequently, if you obtain a pardon and remove your criminal record, and then enter the United States, they will not be able to see that you ever had a criminal record. In this case, unless you voluntarily disclose your criminal record to the U.S. border officials, they will not know to deny you entry.

Although the practice of concealing your criminal record from the U.S. border guards with a pardon is not condoned by this author, it is your choice to make and is very commonly practiced by Canadians who have the choice. Keep in mind, a pardon clears your criminal record for life, whereas an entry waiver is temporary, being granted for only 1 – 5 years at a time.

Follow this link if you would like more information on how to obtain a pardon in Canada.

Jared Church is RCMP accredited, a voting member of the Paralegal Society of Canada, and a leading expert in the field of Canadian Pardons, U.S. Entry Waivers, criminal record systems, and similar legal matters in Canada.

Feel free to Email Jared your questions at info@ExpressPardons.com

For more information on the author’s Better Business Bureau Accredited firm, visit www.ExpressPardons.com

Cooljc – Refuge Bibleway Church

Refuge Bibleway Church is located in Summerville, SC and is part of a worldwide church organization called the Churches of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith, Inc. 

 

We believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ
We believe in the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ into heaven after His resurrection from the dead
We believe in confession, repentance, water baptism in the name Lord Jesus Christ, and the infilling (baptism) of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance
We believe that there is salvation in no other name – that the Lord Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life

 

Along with many other doctrinal teachings, we focus on spreading the love and compassion that God has towards men through the gospel message of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

It is the goal of Refuge Bibleway Church to bring:

 

spiritual revival to the city of Summerville through the preaching of the truth of God
community service to those in need
ministry to the youth of this generation that will inspire them to seek the kingdom of heaven first and to have a plan for their lives
ministry to those who are abused physically, mentally, and emotionally through counseling and fellowship with believers
unity in the community of Christians in Summerville, SC to promote the furtherance of the gospel
peace to our violent stricken schools, communities, and surroundings
ministry to business owners to promote the uplifting of the church in the community through constant, consistent support and dedication

 

COOLJC has several churches in the State of South Carolina and one of Refuge Bibleway Church’s goals is to continue to bring these churches closer together in fellowship and help grow the congregations through community exposure (via internet, street meetings, house to house witnessing, etc).

 

By all means, our main goal is to preach salvation from sin through the gospel of Jesus Christ the Lord. 

 

So we would like to invite you to our website to find out more information about our church and we hope that you will take the opportunity to visit us soon!

 

http://www.refugebiblewaychurch.com

 

We are also looking for local business owners to donate funds to the completion of our 1 million dollar educational center that is being built in Summerville, SC.  We are in the last phase of completion.  The Mother Inez Heyward Educational Center has classrooms, conference room, dining facilities, commercial kitchen, restrooms with shower stalls, and a ladies lounge to accomodate upcoming workshops and events.  Please send all donations to:

 

Refuge Bibleway Church
215 East 4th North Street
Summerville, SC 29483

 

Make all checks payable to:

 

Refuge Bibleway Church

 

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you soon! 

Church: Cuba to free political prisoners

Church: Cuba to free political prisoners
Fifty-two Cuban political prisoners are set to be freed and will be allowed to leave the country, Cuba’s Roman Catholic church announced Wednesday in a written statement. It would be one of Cuba’s largest prisoner releases in recent history.

Read more on CNN

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Summerville Church

     Growth is amazing and seems to happen right before your eyes.  After all, that is what life is all about – growing and changing.  I moved to Summerville, South Carolina about 7 years ago from Columbia, South Carolina.  Engaged to the most beautiful woman I ever met, my best friend in the whole world, I had my mind made up that she would be moving to Columbia for us to start our family and work in the ministry.

     After praying and seeking the Lord’s direction, I moved to Summerville instead to help out at Refuge Bibleway Church.  This is the church of my wife and her grandfather, Bishop Herbert C. Heyward is the pastor.  The church is a nice size – not so big where you don’t know anyone and not to small where everyone is in your business!  Moving from Columbia and coming from Refuge Temple Church where there are over 1,000 members, it was a new experience for me.  My prayer was to be able to work closely with the youth department and during our first church business meeting that prayer was answered when our pastor asked me to be the youth president.  So I accepted with great joy and gladness.

     Refuge Bibleway Church has a lovely youth department that is growing continually.  We have services specifically for our youth every 1st Sunday afternoon at five o’clock and on 2nd Sundays our young people participate in morning services by singing in the youth choir and ushering.  Our bible trivia that the youth department hosts every month gives away cash prizes to the winners that took their time to study the topic for the month and won in the trivia competition!  Just recently we went to the Presbyterian Home to sing Christmas carols to the elderly and it was a joyous occasion.

     Our Missionary Department is definitely lead by powerful women of God who are focused on teaching the ways of the Lord and living by example for other young women to pattern themselves after.  Every 2nd and 4th Wednesday night, the Missionary Department has services and we always are traveling with them wherever the Lord takes them so we can be a blessing in others lives.  Whether at district meetings or state conventions, whether at international convocations or the Women’s Council Convention. to the streets of Charleston and Summerville to the whole United States of America, whereever the Lord takes them, we support them and continously pray for their strength in the Lord.

     The Deacon’s are a fine group of men that constantly take care of the business of the church.  They feed the hungry, deliver communion to those that are sick, and constantly support the pastor in the vision the Lord have given him to build a new educational center in memory of the late Mother Inez Heyward.  These deacons are strong men of God, faithful, and true.  They are always there when you need them and encourage you every step of the way.

      Gosh, I could name all the other departments and names, but I would probably be typing forever.  But our church, www.refugebiblewaychurch.com is definitely the place where you should visit.  We have so many areas for you to participate in and are just about to finish the new educational center and dedicate it to the work of the Lord!  We built it, a $1 million dollar  building without mortgage and we owe no many nothing but love.

     So feel free to go to our website and check us out.  Give us a call if you need us and if you have any prayer requests, submit them through the site and we will turn those requests over into the hands of our pastor.  And when we pray for you, you can rest assure you will get the victory!

     Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!  We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you soon!