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The Episcopal Diocese of Michigan has consecrated its first openly lesbian bishop, in a move that the liberal mainline regional body is confident will not lead to further large-scale departures from the denomination.

The Rev. Bonnie A. Perry was consecrated as the eleventh bishop of the diocese at a ceremony held Saturday at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center in Dearborn.

Perry had been elected bishop in June of last year on the fifth ballot of the Special Electing Convention held at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Detroit. She got the votes of 64 clergy and 118 laity, which surpassed the minimum requirement of 55 clergy and 94 laity, according to Anna Stania, director of Communications for the diocese.

Stania also told The Christian Post that Perry did not experience any opposition to her candidacy because of her sexual orientation or that she is married to someone of the same-sex.

“We have experienced an overwhelming outpouring of joy, grace and excitement since her election and consecration,” explained Stania.

“We have been an open and affirming diocese for many years. Bishop Perry brings many incredible talents and abilities to our diocese, including her talent for growing congregations and serving and engaging deeply within communities. These talents are something that all of our congregations are eager to utilize and to learn from.”

In 2003, The Episcopal Church garnered controversy when it consecrated the Rev. Gene Robinson as the first openly gay bishop in the denomination’s history.

SOURCE: Christian Post, Michael Gryboski

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The Philippine government has frozen the bank accounts of a church organization critical of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration for “probable cause,” alleging they are “related to terrorism financing.”

UCA News reports that the government’s Anti-Money Laundering Council ordered a 20-day freeze on three of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines’ accounts with the Bank of the Philippine Islands.

In December 2019, the AMLC also ordered the bank to submit details of related bank accounts and proposed the filing of a petition before the Court of Appeals to extend the freeze order to six months.

In a statement, the RMP expressed its “utmost dismay” with the council, saying that the decision “greatly encumbers our mission to collectively witness and act as Christ’s disciples with the rural poor.”

“We vehemently deny involvement in any form of financing terrorism,” it said. “Donations and funding received by the RMP are used to implement projects and programs to help the marginalized and oppressed. In contrast to the government’s false narrative, RMP has delivered much-needed services to rural communities across the country for 50 years. We have our mission and community partners to confirm this.”

The group, established on Aug. 15, 1969, as a mission partner of the Association of Major Religious Superiors, said it has been repeatedly accused by government security officials of having links with communist rebels.

“We’ve been accused of being a communist and terrorist front. Our members have been harassed and threatened, forcing some of them to seek sanctuary elsewhere,” read the group’s statement.

SOURCE: Christian Post, Leah MarieAnn Klett

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Mainstream rapper turned Christian emcee, Demarco “Gemstones” Castle, recently shared details about surviving a highway shooting in Chicago that he said God forewarned him about. 

“About 3 months and 8 days ago around 5:10 in the morning after getting off work someone followed me on the expressway, rammed my truck twice from behind and shot my truck up while I was driving to be left for dead,” Castle wrote in a Feb. 4 Facebook post that included several photos of himself covered in blood following the attack.

Castle said he found a 984 K20 Suburban Lifted on Craigslist and purchased the vehicle in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. What he wasn’t aware of before he purchased the vehicle was that the Suburban model he purchased is “gang-related” and shouldn’t be driven through certain neighborhoods in Chicago.

“And if you’re seen in the wrong neighborhood driving one they will ram you from the back or from the side shoot the truck up while you’re in it and set it on fire and kill you,” he added.

The rapper said he had just become aware of the dangers surrounding the model when God began speaking to him.

“When I pulled into work [that] night a voice in my head told me don’t park against the gate because someone was on the other side waiting to kill me and that I should park in the middle of the lot with all the other cars. I thought I was trippin so I just parked in the middle of the lot,” Castle explained.

“While I was working that night there was a voice in my head said, ‘you’re going to die tonight.’ I got very afraid and I started praising God and talking in tongues coming against those words. I then heard a voice say, ‘you will be rammed once you get off work.’ So I begin praying and pleading the blood of Jesus again. I heard the voice of God tell me to repent. With no hesitation I confessed everything I’ve ever done in life and began to repent and I felt free,” he added.

SOURCE: Christian Post, Jeannie Law

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The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of BCNN1. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s).

Let me tell you about my father. When I was young, he regularly left my mother and us three kids to fend for ourselves. I was there when he killed a helpless animal with his bare hands. Not only that, but he hit me (often). Based on this information, you could be justified in believing that my father was a tyrant. However, there is some missing information. The reason he left us each day was to work to earn money to provide food, clothing, and shelter for us. He killed the animal because it had been hit by a car and was in agony. He put it out of its misery, and it grieved him to do so. He regularly chastened me because he loved me enough to teach me right from wrong (I was a brat).

So, now you can have a balanced view of my dad. He was a loving father and a very compassionate man.

One view of God from the Bible can paint Him to be a cruel tyrant, but in the entirety of Scripture we see a different picture. God bestowed life on each of us. Think of what He did for you. He gave you life itself, eyes to see with, ears to hear beautiful music, and taste buds to enjoy delicious food. He created the blueness of the sky and the awe of a sunset. He gave you a nose to smell the fragrance of flowers. He lavished you with His kindness. He didn’t treat you according to your sins, but has shown incredible mercy to you in allowing you to live this far. In addition, He became a Man in Jesus Christ, in whom we see the most compassionate, loving Person who ever lived. Then He demonstrated His love for us by suffering unspeakably and dying for our sins.

With that extra knowledge, it’s easy for me to look at anything God did and say, “All His judgments are true and righteous altogether” (Psalms 19:9). Some will say, “But He instigated the deaths of men, women, and children!” Yes, and He did that with the whole of humanity. The Judge of the universe said, “The soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4). God proclaimed the death sentence on every man, woman, and child. But this same God of justice is rich in mercy and will grant everlasting life to every man, woman, and child who will humble themselves, repent of their sin, and trust in Jesus Christ.

Excerpted from The Evidence Bible.

SOURCE: Christian Post, Ray Comfort

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The remains of 2,411 aborted babies were laid to rest at an Indiana cemetery Wednesday after being discovered by the family of abortionist Ulrich “George” Klopfer who died last September. 

“We have identified a burial site with the purpose to memorialize these 2,411 unborn, keeping them together in rest, each of them connected by their common fate,” said Republican Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill at the graveside service at Southlawn Cemetery in South Bend.

“Each of these 2,411 was a life — a life that was terminated — and each deserves to be secure in a final resting place, with dignity and respect, as should be afforded all human beings. May each of the 2,411 buried here, now and forever, rest in peace,” Hill added.

At the service that was streamed live by pro-life groups including the Susan B. Anthony List, clergy offered remarks decrying the evil of abortion and thanking God that the remains had a final resting place.

Mario Sims, senior pastor of Doulos Chapel in South Bend, urged Christians to continue to speak on behalf of the unborn.

“We are witnesses today of an American Holocaust. Two thousand four hundred-and-eleven children’s lives that were given by God but snuffed out by the will of man. We, as followers of Jesus Christ, must stand strong. We must speak out. We must not be silenced. We must not be shouted down. We must not be told that we are politically incorrect,” he said.

“These children’s lives were taken after God gave them life. This must stop. As a pastor, I have never done a funeral for 2,411 human beings. But that is what we are doing here today. … This is not a choice. This is murder.”

Cathie Humbarger, head of Right to Life in northeast Indiana, told The Washington Post that she was “so grateful that, finally, the bodies of these little boys and girls will be treated with the dignity they deserved.”

Klopfer performed tens of thousands of abortions in Illinois and Indiana. The abortion clinics he operated in South Bend, Gary, and Fort Wayne are now closed.

Authorities found 2,246 abortion babies remains in the garage of Klopfer’s Illinois on Sept. 12, 2019. At the time, Will County Sheriff Mike Kelley said the remains recovered from Klopfer’s garage were found individually sealed in plastic bags and stored inside 70 cardboard boxes stacked from the floor to nearly reaching the height of the ceiling.

SOURCE: Christian Post, Brandon Showalter

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Vocabulary.com defines “paper tiger” as an entity that appears powerful but is actually ineffectual. Critics might claim this is a fitting description of the new International Religious Freedom Alliance, while supporters laud its potential.

Isaac Six with Open Doors USA says the coalition could create opportunities for Gospel workers by making religious freedom a global priority. “Where are the missionaries at, and what’s keeping them from being able to share their faith with others?” he asks.

“Often, there are either societal or governmental pressures or regulations that really, really inhibit the freedom of people to share the Gospel.”

The International Religious Freedom Alliance launched last week at the U.S. National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. It’s the first group of its kind, with 27 countries committed to five principles.

“Honestly, most countries don’t bring this issue (religious freedom) up as one of their top priorities,” Six explains. “So, anything you can do to make this a part of the normal discussion [between countries] is great.”

Efforts to secure global focus on religious freedom came up this summer during the U.S. Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom.  Additionally, President Trump underscored U.S. commitment to the issue in September. Alliance members continue this emphasis.

“The Alliance determined to be proactive in their work, not just… ‘We all agree on these principles and will sort of passively make sure everything’s fine’,” Six says.

Instead, Alliance members decided “we’re going to pro-actively work on promoting religious freedom, not just in our own countries, but in other countries as well.”

SOURCE: Mission Network News, Katey Hearth

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A decision made during peace talks earlier this week means, theoretically, Sudan’s deposed dictator will face the International Criminal Court on genocide charges.  No one knows whether this monumental transfer will happen or not.

A member of the ruling council told reporters “authorities in Khartoum had agreed to send to the International Criminal Court all those who had an arrest warrant against them, so that would include the former president, Omar al Bashir,” Middle East Concern’s Daniel Hoffman says.

“If that [happens], that will be very big; it will be enormous.”

The ICC issued warrants for Bashir’s arrest in 2009 and 2010, BBC News reports. He was the first sitting president to receive ICC warrants, and – prior to Bashir’s ouster – Sudan’s government refused to hand him over:

Non-cooperation has prevented the ICC from executing arrest warrants for senior figures in the Sudanese government, including former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who has sought to undermine the Court through the African Union.

If transferred to the ICC, Bashir would stand trial for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide connected to the ongoing Darfur conflict. More about that here. However, “nobody really expects that the military would agree to that (handover), partly because it may open the prospect of some of them being charged… with the same crimes,” Hoffman explains.

“Some of them, including the Vice President of the Council, [were] very much involved in those kinds of atrocities.”

While it’s a positive development, Bashir’s potential transfer isn’t the only noteworthy change in Sudan.

SOURCE: Mission Network News, Katey Hearth

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Mysterious attackers took Pastor Raymond Koh from his vehicle on this day three years ago.

As captured on a nearby surveillance camera, three black SUV’s surrounded his car and pulled him over. More assailants quickly arrived, and in less than a minute he was being driven away.

Malaysia’s Human Rights Commission would later blame the attack on on a special branch the Malaysian police, but no one has officially taken the blame. We still don’t know where Pastor Koh is.

Now, Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) USA has released a petition, available for anyone to sign, demanding that the Malaysian government release any information about Raymond Koh and his whereabouts.

VOM’s Todd Nettleton says, “So on this anniversary, we want people to pray for Pastor Raymond, for his wife Susanna, and for their children, and we want people to sign that petition and ask the Malaysian government, ‘Hey, tell us what happened to pastor Raymond Koh.’”

SOURCE: Mission Network News, Kevin Zeller

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