The post Open Heaven 5 June 2019 – A Strange Hindrance to Prayer appeared first on Flatimes.
Researchers Uncover Oldest Church Ever in Egypt
Archaeologists working on ruins in an ancient port city near Alexandria believe they have uncovered the oldest church ever discovered in Egypt. Researchers said the church — with walls likely built in the shape of a cross — probably dates back to the 4th century AD. Such architecture was common in places of worship at that time.
Dr. Krzysztof Babraj and a team from Kraków’s Museum of Archaeology in Poland were working on the ruins of an ancient Basilica when they discovered an even older structure below its floor.
The find in the ancient port city of Marea is “likely to offer new insights into the growth of early Christianity in Egypt and elsewhere in the Mediterranean,” according to FaithWire. “Towards the end of the last research season under the basilica, we came across remains in the form of walls,” Babraj said. “It turned out, they were the outer walls of an even older church.”
The structure’s limestone walls, coupled with ceramic pots and glass fragments found inside, helped the researchers estimate its age at mid-4thcentury.
“It is, therefore, one of the oldest Christian temples found in Egyptian territories, today,” Babraj said.
The archaeologists noted that the older church was long forgotten after a major earthquake in the 8thcentury AD destroyed the Basilica, crumbling its masonry and pillars onto the original church, burying it in…
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Westminster Abbey ‘a special place’, says impressed Donald Trump
Mr Trump was welcomed by the Very Reverend Dr John Hall and the Duke of York, and remained solemn as he laid a wreath at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior.
Joined by the First Lady Melania, daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner in his first visit to the abbey, the president described it as an honour in a message in the distinguished visitors’ book.
Dr Hall led prayers at the grave on Monday afternoon.
Stood between the dean and wife Melania, Mr Trump kept his eyes closed as the prayer was delivered, reaching down to touch the wreath as it was placed on the grave by two marines.
He and Melania stood side by side as a choir sung behind them.
The president marvelled at the age of the building – which is celebrating its 750th anniversary this year – during a tour of the abbey.
After turning to his wife and relaying that it was built in 1269, Mr Trump asked the dean if the Queen would attend the anniversary celebrations.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and adviser Kellyanne Conway also joined the delegation as they walked through the abbey.
The dean, who remained tight-lipped about what he and the president discussed, said he was “friendly” and they had a “good conversation”.
“He was very interested, very engaged,” Dr Hall said after Mr Trump’s departure.
“This year we’re celebrating the 750th anniversary of the…
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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.
Twitter Bans Pro-Life Organization from Showing Pro-Life Ads
Live Action founder Lila Rose recently shared on Twitter that her organization has been banned from showing ads on the platform unless they delete the majority of the pro-life content on both their Twitter feed and their website. Rose’s announcement came after a lengthy back and forth with the social media giant in which Live Action repeatedly saw their ads banned by Twitter even though they contained similar content, but a different message from those run by Planned Parenthood.
Twitter told Live Action they can show ads again when they no longer carry content that violates their terms of service. They specified three particular categories of content they want to see deleted: information about abortion procedures, investigations of Planned Parenthood, and all ultrasound images.
Twitter banned @LiveAction & my account from all ads. When we asked why, @Twitter said we could resume ads, only if we deleted the following content from our Twitter AND website:-Anything about abortion procedures
-Investigations of Planned Parenthood
-All ultrasound images
— Lila Rose (@LilaGraceRose) June 4, 2019
Twitter is not prohibiting Live Action from posting to their own feed but has stifled their ability to pay for promoted tweets. Promoted tweets and ads allow a company to get their content in front of users who do not follow them. Through their actions, Twitter has allowed…
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CofE given funds to train leaders for estate churches
The grant from Allchurches Trust has been given to focus on work with children and young people.
50 leaders from estates will get access to training over the next three years, doubling the support given by the church.
It comes after the Church’s governing body, General Synod, backed a motion to bring about a flourishing church presence on every significant social housing estate in the country.
Jeremy Noles, Allchurches trust grants officer, said: “At the heart of our grant-giving is connecting churches with their communities and equipping them to meet the physical and spiritual needs of local people.
“Our grant to the National Estate Churches Network is aimed at resourcing the growing network of estate church groups across the country, and developing leaders who will act as catalysts for building impactful community partnerships on estates in Birmingham and London, with the learnings from these pilots then providing a blueprint for a national network.
“The focus on encouraging ministry with children and young people is also a great fit with our new Growing Lives programme, which offers funding to churches and Christian organisations to help them connect with local families.”
The Bishop of Burnley, Philip North, who heads the Church of England’s Estates Evangelism Task Group, said: “We are enormously grateful to Allchurches Trust for this generous grant which will…
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David Platt Responds to Criticism after Praying over President Trump
After praying over President Trump in an afternoon church service on Sunday, Pastor David Platt – known for his nonpartisan preaching – wrote a letter to his congregation disclosing his thoughts on the experience.
In a letter posted to the church’s website and later shared to social media, Platt shared that he had to make a split-second decision as to whether he would pray over his unexpected visitor or not.
Plat wrote, “At the end of my sermon at the 1:00 worship gathering, I stepped to the side for what I thought would be a couple of moments in quiet reflection as we prepared to take the Lord’s Supper. But I was immediately called backstage and told that the President of the United States was on his way to the church, would be there in a matter of minutes, and would like for us to pray for him.”
Platt explained that he immediately thought of the message taught in 1 Timothy 2:1-6, which is to pray for everyone, including world leaders because it “is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior.”
So, Platt decided to pray over the President together with his church body.
In his letter, however, Platt made it clear that this was not a show of support for the President. The pastor wrote, “My aim was in no way to endorse the president, his policies, or his party, but to obey God’s command to pray for our president and other leaders…
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Church of England provides update on oversight to Channel Islands
Historically, churches in Jersey and Guernsey have been part of the Diocese of Winchester.
However in 2014, a disagreement over the handling of abuse allegations led to the Bishop of Dover being given temporary oversight.
Rt Rev Trevor Willmott retired earlier this year and the Church now has to decide what to do next.
Justin Welby has put together an Archbishop’s Commission to look at the longer-term relationship between the Islands and the wider Church of England.
Members of the Commission recently met with civic and church leaders on the Islands and says it will now reflect on what it has heard.
Lord Chartres, Chair of the Commission, said: “Our main task is to look forward and make recommendations for the future that will best enable the flourishing of the church on the Islands.”
Back in 2016, the Archbishop of Canterbury apologised to the Dean of Jersey over claims he didn’t handle abuse allegations properly.
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Bishop Under Fire for Encouraging Catholics Not to Participate in LGBT Pride Month Activities
A Rhode Island Bishop has come under fire for tweeting a warning against participating in pro-LGBT “pride” events.
In a message addressed to his diocese, Bishop Thomas Tobin tweeted that these occasions “promote a culture and encourage activities that are contrary to Catholic faith and morals,” before warning that “Catholics should not support or attend LGBTQ ‘Pride Month’ events held in June.”
In addition to this stern caution, Tobin also insisted that the events, which often involve the appearance of scantily clad gay, lesbian and trans people, are “especially harmful for children.”
Within a day of posting the message, Tobin was inundated with criticism, receiving almost 100,000 replies, most of which were overtly negative. “This is pure ignorance & bigotry. Ignore this hate-filled hypocrite. His mind set leads only to suffering,” one person wrote.
“You know what’s proven to be actually harmful to children..? The Catholic Church,” another jabbed, seeking to draw attention to the sexual abuse crisis that has engulfed the church in recent years.
Tennis star Martina Navratilova also took this line of criticism, tweeting that “the Catholic clergy has been a lot more dangerous to kids than LGBT. Just so you don’t forget….”
In response to the Bishop’s tweet, the pro-LGBT community decided to organize…
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Australian Cardinal to appeal against child sex convictions
Australian Cardinal George Pell has applied to attend the Victoria state Court of Appeal in Melbourne in person for the challenge that is set to be heard by three judges on Wednesday and Thursday.
But he is not required to come to court and could remain in the Melbourne prison where he has been held in custody since he was sentenced in March to six years in prison. He is held in special protective custody because paedophiles are regarded as being at higher risk of harm from other prisoners.
Pope Francis’s former finance minister was convicted in December of orally raping a 13-year-old choirboy and indecently dealing with the boy and the boy’s 13-year-old friend in the 1990s. Pell had become archbishop of Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city, only months before.
Court orders had prevented publication for months of the details of that trial and an earlier trial on similar charges that had ended in September with a deadlocked jury.
Pell was initially spared prison when he was convicted so that he could have both knees surgically replaced at a Sydney hospital.
Professor Jeremy Gans, who heads the Melbourne Law School and is an expert on Victoria criminal law, said Pell has a strong chance of winning the appeal on the ground that the verdicts were “unreasonable”.
Pell’s lawyers will argue that the jury could not have been satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Pell…
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Australian Catholic Schools to Teach that God Is ‘Gender-Neutral’
Catholic schools in Brisbane will soon begin teaching their students gender-neutral pronouns for God and will stop using “Lord,” “Father,” and “Son” in prayers. The Daily Mail reports that schools such as All Hallows, Stuartholme, Loreto College, and Stuartholme School “are leading a push towards a feminist interpretation of the Christian Bible.”
A spokeswoman for the schools told the Sunday Mail that, “’As we believe God is neither male or female, Stuartholme tries to use gender-neutral terms in prayers … so that our community deepens their understanding of who God is for them, how God reveals Godself through creation, our relationships with others and the person of Jesus.”
This commitment to gender-neutrality has shown itself in a number of different ways at the schools. Loreto College took the word “Lord” out of their prayers because it is a “male term.” Families at Stuartholme School will pay almost $40,000 a year for their children to learn to use “Godself” instead of the pronoun “himself.” St Joseph’s College, a Catholic boys’ school in Brisbane, replaced “brothers” with “sisters and brothers” and “brotherhood” with “international community.”
Loreto College’s principal, Kim Wickham, said the prayers the college uses don’t assign a gender to God. She said the school has a commitment to inclusive language,…
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