Albertans from all denominations attend Battle for
Marriage Rally to hear Bishop Henry, David Mainse

Janet L. Jackson
The Interim

Close to 1,200 Albertans came from near and far to attend a Battle for Marriage Rally in the heart of downtown Calgary at the Calgary Full Gospel Church, organized by the Calgary Coalition for Traditional Marriage.

Featured speakers included Calgary Bishop Fred Henry and the prominent evangelist and founder of Crossroads Christian Communications, David Mainse. They shared the pulpit and stage for the first time in history, speaking to a crowd that cheered and gave standing ovations to their message supporting pro-family values.

Despite the church’s close proximity to the downtown core and the city’s gay activists, there was not any disturbance.

David Krayden, the rally’s primary organizer, commented on how faiths of all persuasions came together. “I never imagined that I would be the organizer of what turned out to be a perfectly designed ecumenical event, but that’s what the times are producing.”

With 66 per cent of Canadians wanting to maintain marriage between one man and one woman, and 67 per cent wanting a referendum according to a recent Compas poll, “Evangelicals and conservative Catholics are uniting on this issue at this important juncture in history,” said Krayden. “Marriage is a line in the sand that cannot be crossed without severe, profound and far-reaching consequences for the church, the family and children.

“Canadians are increasingly refusing to cross that line,” said Krayden.

Asked why he flew from Toronto to Calgary and back again in the same day to attend the rally, Mainse explained, “I’m here, as you are, to defend an institution that transcends Canada itself.”

Bishop Henry’s solid doctrinal defence of marriage was embraced by both conservative Roman Catholics and evangelicals attending the rally.

Explaining the importance of marriage, Henry pointed out, “The social institution that has always symbolized our society’s commitment to the future, to our children, will be transformed into an institution that … will focus on the needs and the desires of adults only.”

Henry took the opportunity to once again call on Paul Martin to remain true to his Catholic faith and the dictates of the Catholic religion.

The event’s turnout was indicative of the support in Alberta for traditional marriage, said Hermina Dykxhoorn, president of Alberta Federation of Women United for Families. She told the Calgary Herald that the numbers point to the fact Alberta’s Premier Ralph Klein is on the right track. “I think Albertans support what the premier is doing,” said Dykxhoorn.

Mainse, who has been spending the last year studying the breakdown of the family overseas, challenged Klein and the Alberta provincial government to send academics to Europe to study the effects of both same-sex marriage and civil unions on the European family unit. He pointed out Canada was heading into “dangerous and un-charted waters.”

Rally attendees were encouraged to call and e-mail Prime Minister Martin, Premier Klein and local politicians like Conservative MP Jim Prentice from Calgary Centre North, who reported to the CBC that he plans to support Martin’s anti-marriage Bill C-38, which, if successful, will exponentially speed up social re-engineering in Canada. Disappointed in Prentice, but still hoping he will return to a conservative fold, rally organizer Krayden pointed out, “We cannot afford to lose any of the Conservative votes.”

To contact Jim Prentice by phone and e-mail and let him know you support the definition of marriage remaining being between a man and a woman, go on the internet to www.canadianconservativeunion.com and click on “What Can I Do?” near the top of the page. To find out how your own MP is planning to vote on anti-marriage Bill C-38, go to www.defendmarriage.ca.

To order a cassette tape of Calgary’s Battle for Marriage Rally, ask for Pastor Dan McNaughton at the Calgary Full Gospel Church at: (403) 244-2948.