Boy, 8, dies after being hit by church float

Authorities said the youngster was seen to be on the float as he was taking part in one of the many parades marking the US holiday – celebrated on the first Monday in September.

It is not clear if he fell from the float or was walking alongside it when he was hit.

 

“We were watching them, and the next thing you know, you just hear shrieking and screaming,” one witness told The Greeley Tribune.

“The mum was just frantic, of course, just screaming and crying.”

 

Local news outlets reported that authorities, who arrived at the scene, appeared to focus on a Toyota Tundra pickup truck that had an ad for Generations, a Christian church in the town.

The boy – whose name hasn’t been disclosed – was taken to hospital but later died.

The investigation into his death is ongoing.

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Bishop Accused of Inappropriately Touching Ariana Grande at Aretha Franklin Service

Bishop Accused of Inappropriately Touching Ariana Grande at Aretha Franklin Service



The Christian Post reports that Bishop Charles H. Ellis III has issued an apology after he was accused of inappropriately touching Ariana Grande during Aretha Franklin’s funeral service.


The service was recorded, and clips of the footage and photos of the moment went viral on social media.


Ellis greeted Grande on the Greater Grace Temple stage in Detroit after she finished her rendition of “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” during the Friday service. At this point Ellis wrapped his arm around the pop star with his hand positioned near her breast and it appears as if his fingers were pressing down. Based on Grande’s facial expressions in the footage, many are speculating that she was clearly uncomfortable with what was happening.


In an interview with the Associated Press on Friday Ellis said, “It would never be my intention to touch any woman’s breast … I don’t know I guess I put my arm around her.”


He continued, “Maybe I crossed the border, maybe I was too friendly or familiar but again, I apologize.”


The bishop went on to say, “I hug all the female artists and the male artists. Everybody that was up, I shook their hands and hugged them. That’s what we are all about in the church. We are all about love.”


“The last thing I want to do is to be a distraction to this day. This is all about Aretha Franklin,” he concluded.


Many fans,…

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Christian campaigners remain ‘deeply concerned’ by opt-out organ donation plans

While encouraging people to join the donor register, Christian Action Research and Education (CARE) said it remained “deeply concerned” by a proposal to introduce presumed consent.

Spokesperson James Mildred told Premier the idea raises ethical questions and research investigating its effectiveness has been inconclusive.

 

He said: “It fundamentally alters the nature of organ donation, which should be a genuine beautiful gift; you voluntarily chose to give your organs.”

The family of a deceased person would still be consulted about organ donation under the plans, which could come into force in 2020.

Some 180,000 people opted out of organ donation in Wales in the twelve months after an opt-out system was introduced three years ago.

Philip Toscano/PA Wire

CARE believes a more effective way of boosting organ donations would be to have specialist nurses who can explain the process to a deceased person’s family.

Mr Mildred added: “Simply by having a short conversation with your loved ones and telling them about your wishes can actually increase the likelihood that, if you want your organs to be donated, they will be donated.”

Unveiling its consultation – which ended last December – the Government said: “The Government wants views from as many people as possible on plans to make it easier for people to give consent to be an organ donor.”

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Bishop of Reading to retire in 2019

In a letter to clergy and parishioners across the Berkshire episcopal area, Rt Rev Andrew Proud wrote that he feels a deep sense of gratitude: “It has been such a joy to ordain deacons and priests and see them grow and move on, and to have had the privilege of baptising and confirming so many.

The Bishop of Oxford said Bishop Andrew has been a great “gift to the Diocese of Oxford”.

 

Rt Rev Steven Croft said: “He has set humility, prayer, listening to scripture and the mission of God at the heart of his episcopal ministry.

“He has brought to the diocese a passion for the global Church, which has been threaded through every aspect of his leadership, and he has been a pastor and an encourager to many across the Berkshire area.”

Bishop Andrew’s last official engagement will take place on Easter Sunday next year.

Prior to becoming Bishop of Reading in 2011, Bishop Andrew served as chaplain of St Matthew’s, Addis Ababa and was consecrated Bishop of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa in 2007.

The Diocese of Oxford said since returning to the UK, Bishop Andrew has been instrumental in introducing a major mission initiative to the diocese.

Details of Bishop Andrew’s successor will be announced by the Diocese of Oxford later this year.

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Louie Giglio Talks ‘Radical’ Vision of Passion, Reaching College Students With Jesus

(Photo: Passion)College students worship at Passion, founded by Louie Giglio.

When Louie Giglio, founder of Passion, began graduate school at Baylor University, he found himself watching many of the high school students he had previously ministered to enter college and almost immediately abandon their faith.

“I saw the students who had been in our ministry in the summer … arrive at Baylor (a Baptist school) and check their faith on day two,” Giglio said on a recent Essential Church podcast.

“These are kids that were on the mission trip, were leading out in the ensemble, were the stars of the church, second day in, put it (faith) on a hook on the wall — ‘I am going to go to the party this weekend, I’m going to check out the scene … I’m going to sleep through church on Sunday and nobody’s going to know.’

It was at that point that Giglio realized that the influences of a student’s life — including parental, church, school, and coaches — all came to a halt during one’s college years.

“You have free choice and free will, every option is on the table and whatever your base beliefs are, they are probably being assailed every single day in the classroom,” the pastor of Passion City Church in Atlanta said.

“It’s a crossroad of life. It’s the moment where people stop…

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Abducted Nigerian girl’s parents speak out

The 15-year-old Christian teenager is being held by terror group Boko Haram who kidnapped her from her school in Dapchi, Yobe state, Nigeria, along with 109 of her classmates.

While five died during the ordeal and the rest were freed, it’s been reported Leah remains in captivity because she has refused to convert to Islam.

 

Speaking to the World Watch Monitor in a phone call, Leah’s mother said: “When I heard her voice and saw the picture where she is sitting down with a hijab on, I began to cry.”

Crying out to God, she said: “Oh God, see my little Leah, she has been forced to wear hijab, God please bring her back to me.”

In the 35 seconds-long recording, Leah – who is seen in pictures wearing a hijab, asked the Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari to help her.

“I am Leah Sharibu, the girl that was abducted in GGSS Dapchi. I am calling on the government and people of goodwill to intervene to get me out of my current situation,” she said.

“I also plead to the members of the public to help my mother, my father, my younger brother and relatives. Kindly help me out of my predicament. I am begging you to treat me with compassion, I am calling on the government, particularly, the president, to pity me and get me out of this serious situation. Thank you.”

AP Photo/Hamza Suleiman

 

Leah’s father said in March, after hearing that Leah had turned down an…

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The missing Dallas priest – Denison Forum

Father Edmundo Paredes disappeared from Dallas six months ago.

The Roman Catholic priest stands accused of financial theft and sexual abuse. Earlier this summer, his diocese reached a financial settlement with three males who accused him of molesting them when they were teenagers.

Paredes was suspended in June 2017. Earlier this year, church officials lost touch with him. They sent certified letters to him and went to his house but could not find him.

One church member said of the now-missing priest, “Let’s say he avoids man’s law. He can’t avoid God’s.”

Is the pope facing a “watershed moment”?

Father Paredes is just one example of the sexual abuse scandal enveloping the Roman Catholic Church. This morning’s Washington Post carries a headline asking if Pope Francis is facing a “watershed moment” for his handling of the crisis.

Princeton legal scholar Robert George, who is Catholic, asked recently in the Wall Street Journal, “Is it time for Pope Francis to resign?” The Journal reports that US bishops are deeply divided over the pope’s handling of the crisis.

Whatever our view of the pope’s response, we would all agree that abusing even one child is an unspeakable sin that deeply grieves the One who loves and welcomes children (Matthew 19:13-15) and denounces all who harm them (Matthew 18:5-6).

There is another issue at work here as well. To the degree that Catholic officials protected the institution of the church rather than those it is called to serve, they committed the sin of idolatry.

Tragically, they are not the first to commit this sin. Nor is this sin limited to Catholic officials.

“He burned the house of the Lord”

“In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month–that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon–Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who served the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. And he burned the house of the Lord, and the king’s house and all the houses…

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Two former monks charged with murder of bishop going to trial

Bishop Epiphanius was found dead in front of his own monastic cell at the Saint Macarius Monastery in Wadi al-Natroun on 29th July.

The Cairo Court of Appeal announced that Ash’eyaa al-Makary and Faltaous al-Makary will face their first trial session on 23rd September.

 

Bishop Epiphanius was reported to have been discovered with fractures in the back of his skull, leading to a suspicion of murder.

It is alleged that Ash’eyaa, 33, confessed to the killing earlier this month, and was deprived of his ecclesiastical rank over behaviour that violated his duties.

He is said to have alleged that he worked alongside fellow monk Faltaous to carry out the killing. Faltaous later attempted suicide on 6th August to escape punishment. He is currently under police guard at Qasr al-Aini Hospital.

Ash’eyaa is reported to have claimed that he hit Epiphanius three times on his head using an iron tube, which was prepared for the crime. He added that his partner in the crime Faltaous had been making sure the coast was clear until the deed was done.

The crime has shaken Egypt’s Coptic Church whose members constitute ten per cent of the Muslim-majority country. They have also been targeted in a series of attacks by Islamic militants since winter 2016.

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Abu Dhabi delays exhibition of Christ painting by Leonardo da Vinci

Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism announced the delay on Twitter, saying “more details will be announced soon”.

The department declined to answer any questions from reporters, saying: “At this stage, we do not have any further information.”

 

The Renaissance oil painting of Christ, whose title in Latin means Saviour of the World, sold for a record-breaking $450 million (£350 million) at an auction in New York at Christie’s in November.

The painting depicts a blue-robed Jesus holding a crystal orb and gazing directly at the viewer.

It was to be displayed from September 18. The National, a state-aligned English-language newspaper in Abu Dhabi, wrote online on Monday that “speculation suggests the museum might be waiting for its one-year anniversary on November 11” to unveil it.

 Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci. Photograph: AP

 

Mystery has surrounded the museum’s acquisition of the painting.

Western diplomats say a Saudi royal acting as a proxy for Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is close to Abu Dhabi’s powerful Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, was the buyer.

The Saudi Embassy in Washington and officials in Abu Dhabi say the Saudi royal purchased the painting on behalf of the museum in Abu Dhabi, which opened just days before the auction.

The display of the painting would be a major draw for the new museum, which has…

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Your Church Has Been Offered a Facility…Now What?

Podcast Episode #464

SUBSCRIBE: iTunes • RSS • Stitcher • TuneIn Radio • Google Play • iHeart Radio

Tim Cool joins us to discuss facility management and why a free building could be the most expensive building your church has.

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

  • Total annual operational costs of your church building should run between $5.50-$7.00 per square foot.
  • Does your church facility speak the same language that your church culture speaks?
  • Never accept a free facility without a facility assessment to determine how much it’s really going to cost you.
  • Does your church truly have a grasp on how much your facility costs to run?

About Tim Cool:

Tim Cool is founder of Cool Solutions Group, and has assisted nearly 400 churches (equating to over 4 million sq. ft.) throughout the United States with their facility needs. He has collaborated with churches in the areas of facility needs analysis, design coordination, pre-construction, and construction management as well as life cycle planning/facility management. Cool Solutions Group is also the developer of eSPACE Facility Management software products including Event Scheduler, Event Registration, Work Order Management, Life Cycle Calculator, and HVAC integration. Tim is also the author of three books, Why Church Buildings Matter: The Story of Your Space, Church Locality (co-authored with Jim Tomberlin) and Plan 4 It: The 4 Essential Master Plans For Every Church as well as a church Facility Management manual, Intentional…

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