You prove Jesus was right

Dear Military Religious Freedom Foundation:

I’m writing to inform you that your actions are only going to further prove that Jesus was right in St. John’s Gospel Chapter 15 and verses 20 through 25. Would you mind if I put your organization on the prayer list of the Church I attend?

(name withheld)

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Hi, (name withheld)

Thank you for contacting the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF). When you send an email to info@ you send it to Mikey, the Board and the Advisory Board.

First and foremost, we are not anti-Christian. In fact, there are many mainline Christians that volunteer with MRFF. I am one of them and am also an ordained minister in the Assemblies of God. The California Council of Churches IMPACT with 5,500 churches supports us besides many individual churches, ministers and lay people. We also have many active duty and retired personnel and Chaplains from all branches of the military. We are the most ardent supporter of the Constitution and the separation of church and state under the articles within it.

MRFF currently has over 26,000 clients in the military – 96% of them Christian. We fight for the rights of all soldiers when their chain-of-command fails to do so.

I see you have listed John 15:20-25. This is about persecution of the Christian faith. MRFF is not persecuting anyone let alone the Christians. We are not trying to take Christianity out of the military. We are trying to take it out of the Commander’s and all other superior’s hands and back into the hands of the Chaplains. Our military academies are not churches or seminaries. If that were so we wouldn’t need Chaplains. I don’t see the connection between this scripture and what MRFF is doing. If MRFF was anti-Christian I wouldn’t be here.

We at MRFF have absolutely no problem with the Chaplains instituting a call for gifts within the confines of their church affiliation parishioner soldiers. What we do have a problem with is the Commander and other high ranking military endorsing an email to ALL soldiers – regardless of their religious beliefs or non-belief – against the Constitution.

The USAFA KNOWING that they cannot support one religion over another, deliberately mislabeled the event as “Operation Christmas Child” when it is really the “Samaritan’s Purse” run by Franklin Graham. The shoebox that a person fills with Christmas presents is not to be wrapped so the Graham association can put a Christian message in it. This is endorsing one religion over , which is un-Constitutional, and they did it deceptively.

As a Christian I have filled and given many shoeboxes to Samaritans Purse. It filled my heart with joy knowing that some child was getting things he/she needed.

The Gazette –

“The academy, which initially stood by its promotion of the charity, changed its tune Thursday evening, with an email to cadets that retracted an earlier missive asking for help with the program. The academy’s commandant of cadets Brig. Gen. Richard Clark called Weinstein Thursday with an apology.

“We agree that it was inappropriate,” said Lt. Col John Bryan, an academy spokesman.

The project has been handed over to the academy’s chaplains, who can legally take part and recruit support for religious endeavors.”

Brig. Gen. Richard Clark even admitted that it was inappropriate (illegal) and the academy’s Chaplains are now in charge, as they should be.

“Commanders have put “religious respect” training in place. In September, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz issued a memo to commanders that told them to avoid mixing religion with their military roles.

They must refrain from appearing to officially endorse religion generally or any particular religion,” Schwartz wrote.”

We are only doing what the Chief of Staff of the USAF stated. Gen. Schwartz had to make this statement because Lt. Gen. Gould has been defying him and the Constitution for years. If you have a problem with this I suggest you contact General Schwartz – – who is also a Christian – and tell him he is wrong.

MRFF is not persecuting the church via John 15. In fact, we stood up for it and gave it back to the Chaplains where it belongs.

Pastor Joan