MIAMI, April 10, 2020 (Morning Star News) – Intelligence officials in Cuba have increased harassment of an independent journalist, summoning the Christian and his mother twice in the past two weeks to threaten harsh consequences if he continues reporting on human rights issues, sources said.

As part of his Christian calling, Yoe Suárez has reported for non-state media outlets in Cuba since 2014 about human rights and freedom of religion issues, including the imprisonment of husband-and-wife pastoral team Ramón Rigal and Adya Expósito. They were imprisoned in April 2019 for homeschooling their children.

Following a series of interrogations and threats by Cuba’s Department of State Security (DSE, the inland intelligence branch) over the past year, an intelligence official identifying himself as a second-in-command-for-the-press summoned Suárez and his mother on April 3 to the Siboney Police Station, Playa municipality in Havana, according to Suárez.

The official, who identified himself as “Captain Jorge,” issued a series of implied threats to Suárez’s mother about consequences her 29-year-old son would suffer if he continued working as a reporter outside of Cuban intelligence controls, Suárez said.

“He told us, ‘You don´t know what a dungeon is, or what it is to have a patrol in front of your house,’” Suárez told Morning Star News.

Suárez added that the…

(RNS) — Last year, leaders at Tate Springs Baptist Church hid thousands of plastic Easter eggs on its back lawn in Arlington, Texas.

This year, they plan to do the same. Except the eggs won’t be on the lawn. 

Instead, they’ll be in Minecraft.

Since it was announced in March, Tate Springs’ virtual Easter egg hunt, set for Sunday (April 12) afternoon, has grown into a national event, even catching the attention of the National Esports Association.

“It started out as a local event to reach our own people and also people in our community, and then people from all over the nation — churches and parents — just started jumping on, and then it just started going out from there,” said Jared Wellman, lead pastor at Tate Springs.

Hosting the Easter egg hunt on Minecraft — a popular video game that allows players to build and interact in blocky worlds populated with characters with names like “creepers” and “Steve” — was the brainchild of Curtis James, the family pastor at Tate Springs.

As stay-at-home orders took effect to slow the spread of the coronavirus, James said the church’s family ministry team wanted to make sure young people at Tate Springs still had a place to connect.

That was easy for its teenagers, who already were connected via text messaging and social media.

The church was sharing resources with parents of younger children in a group chat online,…

Christ’s light will always triumph over “trials and tribulations,” President Trump said in an Easter message that also commended Americans for displaying the “core tenets of Christianity” during the coronavirus pandemic. 

The White House released the statement over Easter weekend. 

“No matter the circumstances, we will always celebrate Easter as a time of rejuvenation, rebirth, and a renewed sense of purpose and faith,” Trump said. “The coronavirus will not stop Easter. Even in the darkest hours, God’s abundant love and mercy are unwavering.

“The light of Christ will always triumph over the trials and tribulations we face because He has defeated death. Today, let us take a little extra time to pray for the strength of our country and our people, and ask that God hold all Americans in the palm of His hand. Together, let us rejoice in knowing that Christ has risen.”

The statement acknowledged this year’s Easter observance came “during a somber time for our Nation” but said Americans have displayed many works of compassion. 

“Throughout this difficult period, we have witnessed the core tenets of Christianity – love, compassion, and kindness – reflected in the many acts of courage, generosity, and caring of the American people,” Trump said. “Our country’s citizens have taken to heart the words of 1 Peter 4:10: ‘Each one should use…

A federal judge’s decision halting a ban on drive-in church services is being applauded by Christian leaders.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer last week said drive-in church services wouldn’t be allowed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but On Fire Christian Church – a local congregation – quickly filed suit in federal court. On Saturday, federal judge Justin R. Walker issued a temporary restraining order against the mayor’s prohibition, saying the church had demonstrated a “strong likelihood” to win the case on the merits.

Although Walker’s decision technically applied only to the one church, he added, “Louisville ought not to view the limits of this injunction as a green light to violate the religious liberty of non-parties.”

“On Holy Thursday, an American mayor criminalized the communal celebration of Easter,” Walker wrote. “That sentence is one that this Court never expected to see outside the pages of a dystopian novel, or perhaps the pages of The Onion. But two days ago, citing the need for social distancing during the current pandemic, Louisville’s Mayor Greg Fischer ordered Christians not to attend Sunday services, even if they remained in their cars to worship – and even though it’s Easter.

“The Mayor’s decision is stunning. And it is, ‘beyond all reason,’ unconstitutional.”

First Liberty Institute represented the church.

On Fire…

Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney says he believes God will be “glorified” during the COVID-19 pandemic and that football will be played this fall.

Swinney, who often discusses his Christian faith during public interviews, made the remarks last week on ESPN’s First Take. 

“Faith and hope,” he said, make him optimistic the pandemic will end soon enough to allow for a football season. 

“I just have always lived my life with optimism,” he said. “… I think that God is bigger than this [pandemic]. I think He’s gonna be glorified and shine through this in a mighty way. … He has the ability to stamp this thing out as quick as it rose up.

“… If it doesn’t work out that way, then you adjust. But my plan is to get back at it and hope for the best.”

Swinney’s optimism, he said, is driven by his faith.

“The reason I have that optimism is because of 50 years of life and because of my faith in Jesus,” Swinney said. “Over 2,000 years ago this weekend, the world was in a crisis. And I’m sure a lot of smart people didn’t think that Jesus could come back to life. But He did. And this Sunday, we’re gonna celebrate that.”

Swinney acknowledged the decision to have a football season was out of his hand.

“At the end of the day the leaders of the universities – the presidents, the [conference] commissioners, the medical experts – they’re ultimately going to…

The Harris County, TX Sherriff’s Office held a prayer vigil last week for one of their deputies who was diagnosed with COVID-19, Click 2 Houston reports.

Sgt. Raymond Scholwinski is a 26-year veteran of the Sherriff’s Office and is in the ICU. Scholwinski, 70, works precinct 2 in Humble and is one of 30 members of the department who have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

Lt. Shannon Bowdoin, the Sherriff’s Office Chaplain, prayed, “Father, we come to You now, and I come to you in the name of Jesus, and I ask you, Father, to touch this family. I especially ask you right now Lord, to reach down into that hospital room where Ray is…and by Your sovereign strength, power, and authority, will You touch every cell of his body?”

Bowdoin noted in his prayer that the time of Passover had begun and prayed, “Father, bless each of us with Your presence. Let each of us know that You have never left us nor forsaken us and on this Passover day that we would see death pass us over.”

Dozens from the Sherriff’s Department stood outside the patrol vehicles with their hands lifted during the prayer. Members of Sgt. Scholwinski’s family joined them, with everyone wearing masks and standing “an appropriate distance from each other.”

Sheriff Ed Gonzalez told reporters that the Department is “continuing to work closely with the family just to make sure he has the best care…

Authorities who choose to single out religious organizations to enforce social distancing rules will face action for discrimination, Attorney General William Barr’s office said.

In the week leading up to Easter, the attorney general’s office said they would begin “monitoring govt regulation of religious services,” The Christian Post reports.

“While social distancing policies are appropriate during this emergency, they must be applied evenhandedly & not single out religious orgs. Expect action from DOJ next week,” read a tweet from the official DOJ Twitter account on Saturday.

During this sacred week for many Americans, AG Barr is monitoring govt regulation of religious services. While social distancing policies are appropriate during this emergency, they must be applied evenhandedly & not single out religious orgs. Expect action from DOJ next week!

— KerriKupecDOJ (@KerriKupecDOJ) April 12, 2020

Many churches have turned to online or drive-in services, but many state officials have been uncertain about how to treat churches in light of social distancing rules.

In late March, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio considered closing churches and synagogues if they refused to follow a stay-at-home order. He was criticized for what others called an “unconstitutional threat.”

“De Blasio’s incendiary & unconstitutional…

Evangelist Franklin Graham shared some encouraging words for pastors in the U.S in response to COVID-19 on the Ben Shapiro Show Sunday.

The Christian Post reports that Graham told Shapiro “we can’t slow down” when asked how he, his family and organization are doing in the pandemic.

Despite Easter Sunday, many churches have shut down following social distancing guidelines and being deemed as “non-essential” by state and local governments.

However, “we need to obey those in authority. That’s what the Bible teaches,” responded Graham, son of the late evangelical leader Billy Graham. “The churches are not shut down,” he continued.

“I think more people are attending online services than they did when they were meeting in person.”

Graham emphasized that the Church “needs to continue to be the Church.”

“But I’d just encourage pastors across the country to obey those that are in authority. And I think that’s what the congregations would expect us to do,” he said, calling the virus very infectious and deadly. “Especially for those who have underlying health issues, this could be a death sentence,” he added.

Graham, who is also the CEO and president of humanitarian aid organization Samaritan’s Purse, also noted the work the organization is doing in New York and the aid the group has sent to Italy.

As Christian Headlines previously reported,…