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Star door knocker says it’s make or break for marriage

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David Jee holds his son aloft, with his other children by his side, at a vigil outside St Vincent’s Hospital when Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP was unwell last year. PHOTO: Giovanni Portelli

Sydney marriage campaigner David Jee is rallying Catholics to the marriage cause, saying this next week will be pivotal.

There are still many plebiscite forms outstanding, particularly among Australian men, with the effective postal cut-off date of 20 October fast approaching.

The strategic consultant, husband and father of six has been one of the staunchest, under the radar “no” campaigners around, knocking on more than 500 doors in the past four weeks.

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He has just returned from a two-week stint of campaigning and training other “door knockers” in Queensland, some of the more than 10,000 “no” campaign volunteers around the country, taking time out from work for the fight with the support of his wife, Bernadette.

The Catholic Weekly spoke to David during a brief return to Sydney to be with his family.

He got involved because he “didn’t want to be like the foolish servant, burying my talent in the ground”.

His main message to Catholics: We won’t win this unless we pray, fast and act.

The latest advertisement of the Coalition for Marriage

“We will win this, but we won’t win it if Catholics don’t get involved,” David says.

“We need courage to win. It’s the courage you get when you go out and doorknock, or when you help in any number of ways. The rest will come from supernatural power.”

Grace is more important than anything else, he says, and Catholics who have committed themselves to praying for the protection of marriage will make all the difference.

“Marriage has been deteriorating for so long, for decades. We’re not going to solve that with a pamphlet. But with the combined power of acting and God’s grace, it can be done.”

Nerves have gotten the better of some people (some of whom have gone on to make a significant contribution in some other area of the campaign), but David says that after the sixth door it becomes a lot easier.

People who have heard him speak at public events and churches who vowed that they wouldn’t or couldn’t help out, have phoned him after a few days to say yes.

He’s honed his door knocking technique to a fine art: greeting, introduction, the offer of a “no” campaign pamphlet, and most importantly – whether they politely accept or unleash a righteous tirade of “anti-homophobic” disdain – he says “thank you” and takes his leave.

More information is available from the Coalition for Marriage – www.coalitionformarriage.com.au

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