Dear reader, I promise to love God, cherish my family, honor my country, and serve in my community. Thus is the Oath that an American Heritage Girl recites at each Troop meeting and ceremony and has done so since our very beginning in 1995. These words, over time, become engraved on a girl’s heart and mind. Concepts of loving, cherishing, honoring, and serving are integral to the AHG experience. They are rooted in the belief that there is a loving Creator who deserves our love in return. That loving Creator has provided a family for us to cherish, a country for us to honor, and a community that desperately needs to know His love—demonstrated through selfless acts of kindness or service. AHG believes that each life is truly a gift from God and has an immense innate worth. After all, we are created in the image of our Creator! “So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27, NIV). John 1:3, ESV reiterates: “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.” The protection of human life is a recurring theme in Scripture. It has such importance to God that He included it in the Ten Commandments given to Moses for His people, “You shall not murder,” (Exodus 20:13). David speaks of this in the Psalms: “For you created my inmost being you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well” (Psalms 139:13-14, NIV). Human life begins at conception and ends at natural death. Because we are made in God’s image, we are different than His other creations—we have a soul. Only the Creator can destroy His creation. God gives life, and He alone should take it away. God is the giver of life and as a result, human life is precious. This primary tenet of the Christian faith is celebrated by American Heritage Girls. God has created each of us uniquely on purpose for a purpose. We are created to fulfill God’s unique purpose for our individual lives. Despite the cultural trade winds of today (and they are indeed “trade” winds, not stable and sovereign), AHG stands unabashedly for life. We celebrate life through service to pregnancy care centers and nursing homes. We stand for life through completing service projects and attending pro-life marches. We honor life through compassion, friendship, and prayer. And we glorify the Giver of Life through humble submission to His Truths as found in His Holy Word. May we steward the gifts of our Creator well. And may we love all His people, no matter the age or stage of life, as we love and glorify Him. Blessings,
Patti Garibay Founder & Executive Director American Heritage Girls, Inc. AMERICAN HERITAGE GIRLS | 3
