Upcoming Supreme Court Ruling

A man named Brother Bruce Reed shares his experience of losing his job with the Department of Sanitation in New York City after refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine due to his religious beliefs. He believed that his body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and trusted in God's protection. He applied for a religious exemption, but it was denied. He felt that his constitutional rights and religious liberty were violated. He is now in the process of taking his case to the Supreme Court, which will be heard on Thursday, May 18th. Good morning everyone, and welcome to the morning program. Let's have a word of prayer. O Canaanite Father, we thank you so much for your love, for your grace, for your mercy. And our new every morning, we thank you for this opportunity to speak to one of your dear, precious children. I ask that the Holy Spirit will be with us now as we talk about experiences. We know that you are no respecter of persons, and that it's important for us to share our testimonies. So be with us now, I pray, and be with the hearts of the listeners as well. May all be blessed. In Jesus' name, Amen. Alright, so, this morning we have with us Brother Bruce Reed, and he has a very current and a very relevant experience to share with us this morning. Something that has touched many, many lives all over the world. So, Brother Bruce, it is a pleasure to have you here with us this morning. We know that you are devoted to your work. We know that you are devoted to principles. You're devoted to seeking for truth and sharing that truth. And most importantly, we know that you are devoted to God. We want to chat with you a little bit this morning about a recent experience that you had. So, welcome. Good morning, and thank you for having me on SWN Radio. Amen. Alright, so, you were working for the city, and you're going to tell us which city you worked for and for how long you worked for the city. Yes, I was working for DSNY, that's the Department of Sanitation of New York City, from August of 2004 until February of 2022. I was actually in my 18th year of service with the city of New York. It was a 20-year department service, and I had two more years to retirement. Alright, two years left to retire. And what did you think of your job? Was it something that you enjoyed doing? I mean, you were there for 18 years. Yes, I was a civil servant. I enjoyed the job. It was a job where you gave service to the community. You represented the city. And it was actually a job that gave great benefits. It was great pay, and I enjoyed the position that I had, and also my other co-workers. It was a wonderful career for me, and I was so sincerely appreciative, for God, for all that He gave me, and the job that He gave me. Wow, wonderful. So, you're in this job, almost 18 years, two and a half years left to retire. Can you tell us what happened? Yes, so I was in my 18th year, two years left to retirement. I was scheduled to retire in August of 2024. And in the summer of 2021, as we all know, we had this pandemic that occurred in 2020, and the country was shut down. As a consequence to that, they developed a vaccination. And the then mayor, Bill de Blasio, this is in the summer of 2021. The then mayor, Bill de Blasio, issued voluntary vaccinations. And a lot of people took the vaccination. But by the summer of that same year, it became mandatory. That's when there was a problem. He mandated weekly testing in September. In September, it was mandated weekly testing. Okay. And then by November of the same year, what was mandated was vaccinations. Wow. And so, all right, tell us what happened with this. Were you doing these weekly tests? What was the deal with this? Were you compliant with all their requests? Yes, so again, by September, weekly testing was required. We complied with all the tests. You had to do it on a once-a-week basis, and that was fine. And actually, it worked out well because the city was actually paying. They started out where they were paying us to go through the weekly testing. And then it seemed like almost like just two months later, for no reason at all, with no warning, no explanation, it just changed into mandatory vaccinations with the ultimatum that if we didn't get vaccinated, we would face termination. All right, let me back up a little bit. Because I'm hearing something that is a little bit shocking to me. You are saying it worked out well at the beginning because you were actually being paid to do weekly tests? Right. So the way that it worked out was that we would go through the weekly testing on the city time. That was a deal that was worked out with the union. So it wasn't even on our time that we had to go through the weekly testing. They would let us go a little bit early, like two hours early. I think it was two hours before the day was over. They would let us go, and you can go to like a nearby facility or some CVS or your local doctor and get tested and then just essentially upload the test online as to what the results were. That was September of 2021. That changed quickly in about two months, again, with no warning, no explanation whatsoever. It was just mandated for everybody to get vaccinated. And if you didn't get vaccinated, you would face termination. All right. So I'm guessing that you were feeling blindsided by this. You have not received any warning. You did not see this coming at all. And now it's either you do this or you lose your job. You lose your job. That's exactly right. Wow. And so I'm taking it that you were not okay with going this next step and taking the vaccination. Can you tell us why? Was this a spiritual reason? Was it a personal reason? Right. So the way that I felt and the way that I understood the Bible, and it was really a connection with me reading the scriptures. I firmly believe that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and that we should. And also, again, God gave us a health message. So this was a pandemic. This was a sickness. And I believed in natural healing. I believed that prayer. And I believed that God would protect us. And I was looking to proceed in that direction and trust in God. And, again, we have a health message. But the only thing that the city would listen to was the requirement for the vaccination. But what they did do was they were going to allow some people who had religious convictions, like myself, to apply to the city to perhaps receive a religious exemption. Okay. So to receive a religious exemption, yes. All right. So let's talk about the exemption now. What was the process like to apply for this religious exemption? And what happened to you as you processed through this exemption? Okay. So the way that it went was that anyone who felt that they didn't want to receive the vaccination, you were allowed to, a deal that was worked out with the union, you were allowed to appeal, I'm sorry, to apply for a religious exemption. Right. And if you were denied, you were also allowed to appeal it. So initially, I was denied. And then when I was denied, I was somewhat surprised. But what I did was I said for the appeal, I wanted to get an attorney, which was interesting because God actually provided an attorney for me to handle the appeal. And she was actually a sister. She was a sister in the church. Okay. And she was working on the case for me, actually pro bono, like no cost out of pocket, she was working on the case. And that, my friend, is a huge blessing just in and of itself. Yes. Okay. That was a great blessing from the Lord. And I really, I was sincerely thankful to God. And again, I really believed in my mind and in my heart that I would prevail in the appeal. Okay. So you consult with the lawyer regarding the appeal. You appeal. What happens next? Okay. So we appealed the denial. And that went to, obviously, the city lawyers who was going to examine and evaluate it, which they did. And as part of the appeal process, I had actually took it upon myself to call the lawyer from the people who were going to handle the appeal or examine the appeal. And what she told me was, she said to me that the appeal was going to be based on what your church believes. Okay. That's what she said, what your church believes. And she gave me an example. She says to me that, for example, this is what she said, if you are Catholic, she said, we know because the Pope has made public statements that he is in agreement with the vaccination and he's encouraging people to be vaccinated. Right. That if you're Catholic, we're not going to give you a religious exemption because the leader of the Catholic Church, which is the Pope, is in agreement with the vaccination. He's encouraging people to be vaccinated. So, it would be determined upon what the leader of your church or what your church believes or what they have, any information that they have posted online. Wow. That's what was conveyed to me. Wow. And, you know, as I'm listening to you say this, I'm thinking to myself, so this is not really about your personal conviction. This is about the thoughts and beliefs of an organization. This is not, you know, this is not about your conscience. This is about what someone else says. But, you know, we are all going to have to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. This is not going to be about what denomination you belong to or who, you know, outside of yourself says what ought to be. This is about you and God. That's correct. You know, for them to be looking beyond or looking past your personal conviction to, hey, what does the church say online? To me, that's really telling and not telling in a good way. So I'm taking it that they looked at what the church's stance was on vaccinations in order to make a decision regarding your appeal. I believe that that's what they did. And from what I had already heard from this lawyer that was handling the appeal process, that's what she had told me. And obviously I was denied in the appeal. And I would have to believe, although no one told me personally, I'd have to believe it was essentially based on any information that they had found, any statements that the church had made about vaccinations. If they were in agreement with it and they were expecting me to take the vaccination because the leaders of the church or the church has said that they are in agreement with taking the vaccination. Now, my appeal was based on my religious convictions according to the scriptures. Right. That's what my appeal was based on. It was based on the Bible and the word of God. And they weren't looking at that. They're looking at what the church has determined we should do. And I think, you know, that's a red flag. That's something to pay attention to. Is it what God says? Or is it what man says? Or what man says. And Peter said we should obey God rather than man. We are to obey God rather than man. Now, the thing about it is, even if it's a church organization, a religious organization, whatever it is they say has to line up with what the Lord says. Yes. Right? Yes. Even if you belong to the church, if it's not lining up with what the Lord says, you still have to obey God rather than man. Absolutely. So, friends, here we are talking about a very devoted man, very devoted to God. He's decided that he's going to obey God rather than man. And so your appeal was denied. It was denied. Did not get an exemption. So what happens next? You're out of a job. Well, at the point the process worked, exactly right. But the way that the process worked was that initially my last day of service was, I think, was January 25, 2022. And then ultimately, you know, at that time there was a new mayor that came into office, which was Eric Adams. But he also embraced the same policies as Mayor de Blasio before him. And he was still requiring people to take the vaccination or face termination. It wasn't just me in DSNY, Department of Sanitation. It was also the police department, the fire department, corrections, the medical, the people in medical industry, as well as the teachers. So there were a whole, there was a huge group of us that were actually municipal workers who were being required to take the vaccination. And when he set a date that we had to take the vaccination, which was February 11th of 2022. And when we didn't comply with that, he terminated us. And I'll tell you this, at the time, I really sincerely just believed in serving God and righteousness. That's why I didn't take it. I really believed that. And I didn't think about the consequences. I really didn't think about it. I just wanted to serve God and righteousness. But this was ultimately what happened. I was terminated, lost my job. And here I am right now telling you the story with the prospect of perhaps now the case is in Supreme Court. Wow. Yes. We're still trusting in God. You're still trusting in God. So here's the thing. You said something really key. You said as you were thinking about just wanting to serve God, just to be devoted to what he was asking you to do. You did not think about the consequences. A lot of times that's where we get stuck. We know what God is asking us to do. But then you have a flood of questions. Well, what if? What if? You know what's going to happen? Am I going to be able to feed my family? Am I going to be able to finish school? Am I going to be able to continue to climb the career ladder? Am I going to lose my life? Am I going to go to jail? These are all consequences, possible scenarios that we could face when we decide to choose God. You didn't think about that. I didn't think about that. I really didn't. I didn't think about that. To tell you the honest truth, I really believed in my mind and in my heart that God could take care of me without that job. Of course. I really did. I didn't think I was going to lose the job. I really didn't think it was going to happen, but I didn't consider the consequences of losing it. Ultimately, that's what did happen. I was terminated. But at the same time, I really just believed that God could take care of me without the job. I also believed in my mind and in my heart that the job wasn't my job. I believed that the job belonged to God. I said that if the job belongs to God, He gave it to me for 18 years. If He wants to take it away from me now, then the Lord has the right to do that. I said He has the right to do that because it belongs to Him. Everything in heaven and earth belongs to God, and I'm just going to trust in Him. He doesn't need that job to take care of me. He can take care of me apart from that job. That's what I really believed in my mind and in my heart. Wow. Wow. A cattle on a thousand hills. The earth is the Lord and the fullness thereof. We have a Heavenly Father who owns everything. Everything. The earth and all the fullness thereof. That's right. That's right. In all of this now, you're thinking, okay, you're probably going to get an exemption. You don't get the exemption. You lost the appeal. Do you think you were treated fairly? No, not at all. I wasn't treated fairly. I don't believe any consideration was even given to the appeal at all. I think it was all based on what they found online, what the leaders of the church said that they believed. I felt that I was treated very unfairly, especially the fact of the matter that I was a person from the day that I was employed with DSNY Department of Sanitation, that I had told them I'm a Sabbath keeper and I won't be able to work on the Sabbath, that I was well documented with the department at the time because they required me to give them a Sabbath observance letter from the church that I was a member of the church in good standings and that I observed the Sabbath. So the department knew all about this with me. It wasn't something that I was saying that I belong to a church and I just can't take the vaccination. No, I had documented this with the department. Clearly, they understood this. And even in the face of that, now remember, we're talking about 18 years that I've documented that I'm going to church, that I'll be at church. I can't work on the Sabbath. And I had never worked on the Sabbath at that job for 18 years. So this is well documented. So I was very surprised about it. But they did give exemptions to some people on the job. And that's fine. That's OK. They gave exemptions to some people. But the way that I felt is that I felt to myself that I was discriminated against and that my constitutional and religious liberty was violated. My constitutional rights and my religious liberty was violated. That's the way that I felt at the time. And it did hurt. Of course. Of course. I still have the responsibility as a man to take care of my family. So it did hurt. But I'm trusting in God. I was trusting in the Lord. And all things are possible with God. But I felt discriminated against. I felt my constitutional rights were violated as well as my religious liberty was taken away. OK. And, you know, as I'm listening to you talk about the constitutional rights being violated and your liberty of conscience being violated, this is a foretaste of what's coming to all Bible-believing Christians. Correct. Your rights, you know, you can claim the First Amendment or any of the other amendments as much as you want. They are going to be stripped from you. All earthly support will be stripped from you. It's coming. It's coming. It's coming. So this was just a test, Brother Bruce. Yes. So what's happening now? Were you able to get another job? So what happened since that time was in June of 2022, the same year, the department did contact me again. And they told me that they asked me if I wanted the job, if I was interested in taking the job back. They would give me full benefits, top pay, the same position that I had had at the time. I would be able to return to my same job location and that there would be no loss of time. In other words, meaning that I would receive my pension with no loss of time. Wow. But. Sounds good. And it was a but. Yeah, that was all good. They told me all of these things. They said, you want the job? We'll give it back to you. No loss of time, that you can return to your same job location. You'll have your same seniority. And you can have your same piece of equipment that you had. You'll be at top pay again. You'll have your benefits all back. And that sounded great. But. Yeah. And it was a but. But. But you had to take the vaccination. And that is funny to me. I said, no, I'm not doing that. Yeah. Because the whole reason you lost a job in the first place is because you did not want to take the vaccination. So what would make them think that you would change your mind this time? I guess what they thought is that since that time that I was terminated in February of 2022 until June, that I had been brutalized financially, that I would now be looking to take the job back under any circumstances. But God took care of us. God took care of us. I felt that I was being coerced. I felt the coercion that you're being coerced again, being forced to take a job and take a vaccination to get my job back. But I was still going to trust in the Lord. It was difficult. God took care of us. The Lord has provided for us. And again, we were still trusting in God. So now fast forward to this date. We're here now, May 2023. And at this time, I still have the same attorney that God provided for me. And she has taken the case. And it's now in the Supreme Court, which is, to me, is a miracle in and of itself because so many cases, so many cases, the Supreme Court actually refuses. They refuse, I believe, like 90% of the petitions that come before them. But they've taken this case. In this case, it was first, we first applied for this case to be heard by the Supreme Court. It went to Sotomayor, the Supreme Court Justice. She refused it. Then the lawyer appealed it to Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and he accepted it. Wow. Amen. Praise God. You know, God writes these scripts. There's no way that we can ever figure out how it is that he's going to work. You just have to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. You know, so many times in his word, he's given us the promises that he'll be with us, and he'll fight for us. And so just the fact that you were able to get it to this point is a miracle in and of itself. It really is. It really is. It's a blessing of God. It's a miracle. And the case will be heard. This Thursday, May 18th at 9 o'clock in the morning. Okay. This Thursday, May 18th at 9 o'clock in the morning. This is in Washington, D.C., right? Yeah, so Washington, D.C., the nation's capital. And it's a rally for medical freedom in the U.S. Supreme Court. It's Thursday, May 18th at 9 a.m. at the nation's capital, and they're going to have a rally outside before the case is heard at 9 o'clock by the Supreme Court justices. So I'm looking forward to that. We're very excited about it. And what's on the agenda, what's in the case that's going to be considered by the Supreme Court justices, is a complete ban of mandatory vaccinations, not just COVID, but all vaccinations that people are being required to take or mandatory vaccinations that are being imposed upon people is going to be before the Supreme Court justices for consideration. So this is something that's huge, I believe, for all of us here as American citizens in this country. It is. It is huge. It is huge. Let me tell you why. For all vaccine mandates is why it's huge. Because a lot of times what I have found over the last few years that this COVID-19 vaccine has been a trending topic is that there's this focus on just that vaccine. But the fact that it's going to include all mandatory vaccinations, I think, is key. Because, you know, the other ones can cause harm and damage as well. And just the fact that you are trampling upon somebody's conviction. The rights of conscience. Yes, the rights of conscience. Is something to be seriously considered. You know, you mentioned a word earlier as you were speaking, coercion. And I guess I can put mandated in the same category where you are being forced to do something. And Brother Bruce, friends who are listening, we have to weigh that. We have to test that. You know, the Bible says, prove all things, hold fast to that which is good. If you're being coerced or mandated, forced to do something, we have to ask ourselves, is this something that is of God? Or is this something of the enemy? Yes. As far as I know, God does not coerce. That is not a part of his government. It's not a part of his character. So if you are being forced or coerced to do something, you may have to stop and think twice about which spirit is leading in that situation. And so I just wanted to bring that out here as I heard you speak. So for those who want to help, to support you in any way, I am encouraging you to get in touch with SWM radio so that we can give you more instructions on how to participate in this rally for medical freedom. And on the docket is a ban on all mandatory vaccinations, right? And that's May 18th, this Thursday in Washington, D.C. Well, the rally is right before the hearing. The hearing is at 9 o'clock. So contact us so that we can tell you how to support our brother Bruce. Brother Bruce, one of the things I want you to think about and to remember as you are there is John 14 verse 26 which says, But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. He'll give you the words. You don't have to worry about what to say. You know, he is the one who will preside and will work in your behalf and put what you ought to say or what your lawyer ought to say in her mouth or in your mouth. You know, I was just sharing a little testimony the other day about, you know, memorizing scripture and how it is so helpful when you are, especially in trying situations or in huge situations like the one that you are in right now and how much peace they bring. And I just want to share also Deuteronomy 31.8 with you where it says, And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee. He will be with thee. He will not fail thee, neither forsake thee. Fear not and be not dismayed. So that's my charge to you, my brother. Amen. That's a wonderful promise. That's a great promise. Amen. Amen. So it has been a pleasure spending time talking to you about this topic, such a relevant topic, because let me say this also, Brother Bruce, God has blessed you with another job. He has blessed you with a supportive family. He's blessed you with, you know, people who have been there for you in the space of time, I'm guessing between when you lost your first job and now that you have this new job. There are people who rallied around, right? Yes, yes, absolutely. Very supportive. My family supported me. My wife, my children supported me. And even there were people in the churches, in the church, that the people who I didn't expect would actually help me were the ones that helped me. So it was an amazing experience from God where people actually helped me. The Lord blessed me and took care of us and guided me and just strengthened me through this whole process. It's really been a process which has really helped me to have greater faith in the Lord. And no matter what happens now, from the beginning of this process, my prayer to God, my prayer to God, it did hurt that I lost my job. I did want the job back, but I wanted to obey God. But my prayer to God was I said, Lord, when this is all over, all I want, I want a testimony that honors and glorifies you. Amen. That was my sincere prayer to God. I prayed that then, and that's my still prayer right now. As even what happens at the Supreme Court, I would be happy, I would be absolutely ecstatic if I received, when this is all over, a testimony that honors and glorifies the God of heaven. Amen. That's my prayer to God, and that's what I would say to everybody, and that's what I'm looking for. I want God's name to be glorified on it at the conclusion of this process and when this is all over. Amen. Amen. And what better note can we end on than this, that God's name will be glorified through this whole process. What man may mean for evil, God means for good. God means for good. Amen. Amen. So no matter what the situation is that you have found yourself in, make it your goal that you are honoring God and that, as Brother Bruce said, that God's name will be glorified, that God's character will be vindicated through all of this. Amen. So I thank you, my dear friend, for spending time with us this morning, for sharing this wonderful, very relevant, current testimony with us. We are praying that God will continue to be with you, especially on Thursday as we do this, as we have the Supreme Court hearing. And may God bless you as you move forward with your journey. Let's have a word of prayer. We are kind of lovely fathers. Thank you so much for, again, the time that we have been able to spend together talking about your love, your goodness, the ways that you have worked, the miracles that you have in Brother Bruce's life. We know that you have given us exceeding great and precious promises, that you will be with us, that you will fight for us, that you will never leave us or forsake us. And we are so thankful for those promises. So as Brother Bruce moves forward with his situation that we have talked about, as you move forward with the tests that are in your life, help us to remember those promises and hope that it will be our goal to glorify your name and do the same. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you very much for having me, and enjoy the rest of your morning. For more information visit www.fema.org