A church-run kids group has been banished from a public library after being told that they were not allowed to sing songs that made reference to Biblical stories.

The volunteers at Noah’s Ark playgroup says it had been meeting at the Burgess Hill Library in the British county of West Sussex for eight years – they had never encountered any issues until now.

Despite the group serving the local community for free, library officials demanded that they move elsewhere after some parents complained that they were unhappy with the Christian message contained within the songs.

According to the Mid Sussex Times, in a statement, a spokesperson from the West Sussex County Council said: “Rhyme time sessions are held every week in all West Sussex libraries and are open to everyone including families of any faith or no faith. In Burgess Hill, a partnership was formed with a local faith group some years ago before rhyme time sessions were offered across all libraries.”

However, following “feedback from families,” the local authority had “decided to bring these sessions in line with the other rhyme times in our libraries which are led by staff.”

“Families can continue to access faith-based activities in community venues and library staff are very happy to help anyone looking for details of where they can join these,” the council added.

Many of the…

Although Christians have largely turned a wary eye away from climate change, several Christian groups have recently voiced their support for radical legislation in the Green New Deal. 

The Green New Deal, introduced by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey earlier this year, proposes sweeping changes to move the U.S. away from fossil fuels to renewable sources such as wind and solar power. According to Fox News, the deal also hopes to eliminate nearly all greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global warming by 2030. 

The controversial deal, however, has found support in Christians according to Relevant Magazine. In a statement posted to their website, the Young Evangelicals for Social Action acknowledged that “[a]s Christians, we recognize the biblical principles that are embedded in the Green New Deal’s many aspirations, including justice (Micah 6:8, Amos 5:24, Isaiah 1:17), neighbor-love (Matthew 22:34-40), and meaningful protection of the earth (Genesis 2:15).” 

A few days later, the United Church of Christ, a mainline Protestant denomination, stated that the Green New Deal was “what is needed to preserve and restore God’s great gift of creation.” 

The endorsements are rare amongst white evangelicals, where only 28 percent credit the warming of the earth to human action. According to research from the Center for…