Operation Christmas Child

Dear Mr. Weinstein,
I am outraged that you would terminate delivering the Operation Christmas Child boxes. I understand your feelings on separating church with the military but this is about poor children who have nothing. No toys, no Christmas. They’re thrilled to get these shoe boxes of toys, as small a gift as they are. To take Christmas away from all these poor children is disgusting. And to pull out not 3 weeks before the boxes are to be delivered is just appalling. I’m assuming you’re the type of man that would take candy away from a baby.

Personally, I have not always been a religious person. I strayed because I wanted to do what I wanted to do. This didn’t work for me so much. The more I strayed from God the worse my life got and I see that happening with our country. Our forefather’s were God fearing men. The more we take God out of the Government, the worse it’s getting.

“In God we Trust”
(name withheld)

Dear (name withheld):

Mikey and MRFF are not taking Christmas away from children! What they are doing, and must do, is prevent one very narrow religious group to be officially sponsored by the military cadets. We in the mainline Protestant denominations do not believe that any of the things Mr. Graham does are well intentioned. Samaritan’s Purse withholds gifts from needy children until they and their parents sign a pledge to convert to Mr. Graham’s version of Christianity. That, we believe, is immoral and un-Christian. MRFF assures that the Cadets, as an official military body, do not use our tax money to promote Mr. Graham’s work.

The cadets are still delivering gifts to Samaritan’s Purse through their private work as people of a specific faith via their own chaplains. That’s fine. You may do the same. All of us may do the same to and for groups in which we believe. No one is stopping children from getting gifts – except, perhaps, Mr. Graham – but we taxpayers who do not believe in Samaritan’s Purse actions and find them immoral should not have OUR tax dollars behind any of this.

The Marines have, for years, supported “Toys for Tots” an entirely secular holiday gift project. That’s great! And last year Mr. Weinstein paid to make sure such gifts got to the Gulf Coast for children who’d been deeply harmed by the BP oil disaster.

The government never has had religion in it until recently when attempts have been made to insinuate narrow views into it – and it must never sanction or endorse religion in any way. Not only is that in the Constitution, to do otherwise through the governmental arm of the military means other religious views will pay to support the one some individual sanctions. Religious neutrality by the military and government is freedom for all of us. You have every right as an individual, congregation, denomination, religion to support what you believe in – but you may not commandeer our governmental bodies to abet your beliefs.

We are glad faith plays a solid role in your life and that it helps ground you and brings you joy. We celebrate anyone’s expression of that uplift in their lives. But it is yours – not something I can control or dominate, not something the military can support or shut down – and that’s what keeps you free. Christians everywhere in this nation are free to believe how and what they like. I’d think you would not want that to change. That is your Constitutional right. Treasure it – and that includes understanding we all have that right. No one view may triumph through governmental and military support over any other.

We wish you a joyous Christmas, hope you will actively support causes you believe in, and wish you a very happy new year.

Elizabeth Sholes
Director of Public Policy
California Council of Churches IMPACT
Sacramento, CA