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Did You Know? Address to the Inhabitants of the Province of Quebec - First Continental Congress · Voices Of Life

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  This is the Voices of Life podcast, a ministry
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  of the Church for Life. Today, Pastor David brings
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  us to October 22, 1774. The day the First Continental
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  Congress reached beyond the English colonies
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  and spoke directly to the people of Quebec. It
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  was a message of invitation, of shared liberty.
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  and of faith and freedom. Friends, welcome to
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  the Voices of Life podcast. I'm Pastor David.
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  Today we remember a remarkable moment when the
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  American colonies extended their hand northward,
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  inviting their Canadian neighbors to join in
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  the cause of liberty. The address to the inhabitants
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  of the province of Quebec was not a declaration
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  of war, but a declaration of fellowship. it was
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  a plea for unity among all who cherished freedom
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  under god the congress watched with concern as
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  the quebec act of seventeen seventy four reshaped
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  the government of canada it granted sweeping
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  powers to royal officials restricted representatives
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  assemblies and established a system of law foreign
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  to the english tradition of liberty to the delegates
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  in philadelphia this was not merely a canadian
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  issue it was a warning to all free men if tyranny
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  could take root in quebec it could spread throughout
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  the continent and so they wrote not in anger
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  but in hope appealing to the conscience of the
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  canadian people the address invited the inhabitants
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  of Quebec to join the colonies in defending their
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  rights. It reminded them that liberty was not
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  the gift of kings, but the inheritance of all
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  who lived under God's law. The Congress urged
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  them to form representative assemblies, to speak
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  freely, and to stand with their southern neighbors
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  in peaceful resistance. It was a call to courage,
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  a call to faith, a call to unity. the scene parchment
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  carried by a courier across the northern wilderness
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  bearing words of friendship and conviction it
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  was the first time the colonies reached out beyond
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  their borders to invite another people into the
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  struggle for freedom though quebec did not join
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  the cause the gesture itself revealed the heart
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  of the american spirit a willingness to share
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  liberty not hoard it Before we continue, we want
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  to share something special with you. Our team
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  has prepared a full narrative reconstruction
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  of the Address to the Inhabitants of the Province
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  of Quebec, written by the Continental Congress
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  in October of 1774. It's a powerful message of
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  unity, liberty, and hope. And now, for your listening
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  pleasure, here is the narrative of the Quebec
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  Address. Adopted by the First Continental Congress,
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  October 22, 1774. Reconstructed for Voices of
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  Life podcast. 250 years of faith and freedom.
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  To the people of Quebec. Friends and fellow subjects
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  of the British Empire. We, the delegates of the
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  United Colonies of America, speak to you not
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  as strangers. But as brethren, though separated
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  by distance and language, we share one king,
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  one faith, and one desire. That all men may live
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  free under just laws of liberty and representation.
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  We have learned with sorrow that the government
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  established for you by the Quebec Act denies
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  the rights, which are the birthright of every
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  Englishman. It places power in the hands of a
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  few. without the consent of the people. It abolishes
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  trial by jury and subjects you to laws made without
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  your voice or vote. We entreat you to consider.
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  Liberty is not the gift of rulers, but the inheritance
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  of all mankind. It is the safeguard of virtue,
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  the shield of property, and the guardian of conscience,
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  of faith and fellowship. We honor your devotion
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  to God and your loyalty to peace. We do not ask
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  you to forsake your religion or your customs.
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  We ask only that you join us in defending those
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  sacred rights which heaven itself has ordained.
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  The right to speak freely, to worship freely,
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  and to govern ourselves through representatives
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  of our own choosing of the common cause. The
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  same hand that oppresses one province may soon
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  oppress another. If tyranny is permitted to take
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  root in Quebec, it will spread across this continent.
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  Let us therefore stand together, English and
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  French, Protestant and Catholic, as one people
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  under God, resolved to preserve the blessings
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  of liberty for our children, of hope and providence.
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  We pray that the Almighty will enlighten your
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  minds and strengthen your hearts. May he guide
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  you to see that our struggle is not against lawful
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  authority, but against injustice. May he unite
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  us in friendship and in faith that we may together
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  restore peace and freedom to this land. Signed
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  in Congress at Philadelphia. October 22, 1774.
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  By order and in behalf of the delegates of the
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  United Colonies of America. Signed by order of
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  the Congress. Henry Middleton. President. The
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  address closed with a prayerful appeal that the
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  people of Quebec would see the justice of the
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  colonial cause and join in defending the rights
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  of mankind. It was a message grounded in faith,
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  framed in reason, and spoken with love. It reminds
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  us that liberty is not confined by borders, language,
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  or creed. It is the common gift of the Creator.
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  As we look back on October 22, 1774, we see a
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  people reaching out in hope, believing that truth
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  and freedom could unite nations. May we, in our
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  own time, carry that same spirit of invitation.
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  May we speak truth with grace, extend friendship
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  with courage, and defend liberty with faith.
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  I'm Pastor David, and I thank you for joining
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  us today. May the Lord bless you and may he continue
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  to guide this land and all who seek freedom under
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  his care. Thank you for listening to the Voices
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  of Life podcast. On behalf of Pastor David, And
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  the church for life. May God bless you. May he
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  keep you. And may his hand rest upon this land
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  we call home. Until next time. Walk in truth.
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  Stand in liberty. And live. For life.