Church of God Issues Statement on White House Ceremony
Cleveland, TN–On March 8, the 17th annual International Women of Courage Awards were presented at the White House in a ceremony hosted by First Lady Jill Biden and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. The pair honored eleven persons with global representation for “exceptional courage, strength, and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights, gender equity and equality, often at great personal risk and sacrifice.”
Since 2007, the awards ceremony has been a US State Department platform to present courage awards to more than 180 notable women from approximately 80 countries. However, despite being a biological male, the March 8 ceremony included recognition of Alba Rueda, a transgender from Argentina, who is the Special Envoy for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship. Rueda was the driving force for Argentina’s executive order on a transgender labor quota in the public sector which was converted into the Transgender Labor Quota Act. Further, Rueda campaigned to change the name of the National Women’s Conference to the “ Plurinational Conference of Women and Lesbian, Cross-Dresser, Transgender, Bisexual, Intersex and Non-Binary Persons .”
In an ironic statement from the First Lady, she proclaimed during the ceremony, “Today, we’re here to tell girls everywhere the truth that they need to hear: Yes, you matter. Yes, you can make a difference. That’s why we wanted to bring the leaders we’re honoring today, and the stories that they share, to the biggest stage we could: The White House.”
Unequivocally, the Church of God supports women of all ages, backgrounds, and ministry callings, born in the image of God as a woman. It in no way condones the recognition of any man, also born in God’s image, who has taken the unholy path of transgenderism. Honoring non-biological women – or men – in this manner robs biological persons of rightful dignity and devalues the accomplishments earned through God-given talents and abilities.
Our prayer for this nation and the current culture is for a return to the spiritual values and principles as presented in Holy Scripture. May the eyes of those deceived by false belief and acceptance of these immoral behaviors be opened to the truth of the Gospel and the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Women of courage are women of faith who exemplify the life and essence of Christ!
