{Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On, Aug 5, 2011]
What's the agenda for The Cry Ottawa rally later this month? Depends on when you heard Faytene Grasseschi talk about it, I guess.
As has been mentioned before, Faytene Grasseschi (the former Faytene Kryskow), is planning a major rally of conservative christian youths on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on August 27.
I had heard Faytene talk about her plans for the event on July 23 at the concluding event of the Awakening Love Fest conference in Surrey B.C.. So, now that I have a moment to report on what she said, I was pleased to see, earlier today [August 4] that Faytene Grasseschi has just posted
a promotional video for The Cry Ottawa on YouTube.
However, now that I have watched the video and relistened to my tape of the Love Fest event, I am a little puzzled.
In each of her descriptions of the goals, it's not as if she is describing a rally in one and a bake-off in the other. It's just that Faytene has a very curious way of nuancing and talking about her goals when you compare the "in public" version [the YouTube video] and the more private version that I saw [where the public was allowed in, yes, but she thought she was talking to an audience that she presumed thinks pretty much as she does].
Faytene takes Christ's admonition to be "as wise as serpents" and runs with it.
An example that jumps out at me...
In The YouTube video, Faytene is talking about a proposed UN resolution in September, which she believes will take away land from Israel to a Palestinian state.
She is talking about why it is important to pay about this at The Cry, when at 3:02 of the video she says that this is a decision
"....that could, no matter what you believe or think about that scenario, that could trigger a war in the Middle East. And the Bible is really clear about this, that we need to pray for the peace of Jerusalem."
You could read this language as somewhat neutral, just wanting the two sides to settle their problems peacefully. No one wants war, right?
She reinforces her tone, by suggesting that Canada's purpose as a country is to bring about healing amongst the nations. "One way that we can bring healing is to pray...We're going to pray for the healing of the nations."
I will be returning to this, but for now, I'll note that Faytene's other goals for The Cry Ottawa include praying for economic turnaround in the United States. She says "...and it's time for us to get over any anti-American sentiment we have and become our brother's keeper."
Other speakers and prayer times at The Cry Ottawa, she says in the video, will address upcoming nominees to the Supreme Court of Canada, First Nations issues, human trafficking (including some remarks from the current Miss Canada) and "life issues" such as abortion.
It makes a great deal of sense, that Faytene would have always planned to have several issues in play, as she did at The Cry Vancouver. But when I heard her describe The Cry just a week and a half ago in Surrey, Faytene's sense of what was crucial at this upcoming rally was somewhat different.
In the past week and a half Faytene may have changed her thinking and priorities about The Cry Ottawa, which is quite possible. But given what she said in Surrey, I wonder if that is probable. I'll share what she said then, so you can wonder too.
Back on July 23, Faytene mentioned the need to have God work in regards to the upcoming UN motion she fears.
Remember how neutral and perhaps moderate Faytene may sound in today's video? A week and a half ago, she sounded--to put it mildly--that she has picked sides in favour of Israel on behalf of The Cry Ottawa.
Faytene then said [emphasis mine]:
"The very first agenda item that we have discerned that we are to pray for Israel and to contend fervently that our Prime Minister will continue to stand [in a friendly policy towards Israel] and having done all to stand. We're going to be interceding for a spirit of courage to come upon our Prime Minister because of the upcoming [UN] motion that is coming down the pike."
To be fair to Faytene, "very first" may not mean the most important--this could be merely the first of a series of roughly equal priorities.
However, to be fair to her audience, she should have said in her promo video today that she is pro-Israel and wants Canadians to be the same way.
[My concern here is with honesty. It's unfair to lead pro-Palestinian Christians think that The Cry Ottawa will be moderate on this question, when Faytene--speaking to a friendlier audience--demonstrates that she has picked a side.]
The next priority for The Cry Ottawa that she talked about at the July 23 conference is not mentioned in her promotional video of today.
On July 23, Faytene said:
"The second thing that we are going to do there is pray for America to be strong and stand in support of Israel, which will be an act of God. That will be an act of God. The Congress, by and large, is pro-Israel, but the President sure isn't. And so, we need to pray for the United States of America, like never before, specifically on this issue."
After Faytene led prayer for Israel, a young lady named Georgina came up to make prophetic-style declarations about The Cry Ottawa. I don't know if she is one of her interns, but she talks like a mini-Faytene.
Declaring that "Abortion is finished!" and "Immorality is finished!", Georgina went on to later say "It's the dread champions that are going to stand up on the [Parliament] Hill! And God said to these dream champions that 'You need to pursue, you need to overtake, and you need to recover all, because it [the evils she mentioned] is finished!"
"Dread Champions" is NAR-speak for the "Joel's Army" that will take over the world so that Jesus may return. Grammatically, "these dread champions" would refer to the previous mention, those who "stand on the Hill" at The Cry. So this is a reference to The Cry Ottawa being dominionist in intent, so far.
In an
earlier post on The Cry Ottawa, I had been wondering out loud whether Faytene and her allies felt a need to remind the Tories that they were only conditionally supporting the party. I think what Faytene said next might be alluding to this.
Faytene got the mike back and said that The Cry Ottawa needed to get people mobilized again.
"...It's only a month away, honestly, so we need to mobilize the nation a break off--there's been a sleepy spirit over us. It's almost like since the government shift, there's been this spirit of complacency that's come on. We need to shake it off. We need to shake it off. We're living serious times and we need to pray, and we're the answer. And the glory of God is going to break out and we are going to see the dream of God manifested in our time, as we show up, okay? You are The Cry. Take the posters and spread them around..."
No pressure, eh? ;)
Well, I'll pray that good things come of the rally. But, so far, it seems to me that that would be despite some of the intentions of Faytene and her friends, not because of them.
Being coy to the public, and fire-breathing among friends, is not a good start