The post DCLM Daily Manna 28 May 2019 – You Are Blessed appeared first on Flatimes.
Open Heaven 28 May 2019 – There is an Alternative
The post Open Heaven 28 May 2019 – There is an Alternative appeared first on Flatimes.
how the Christian contenders fared
As MEP results come in across the UK, the general picture shows a trend towards decisiveness, with The Brexit Party, Liberal Democrats, Green Party, Plaid Cymru and SNP all improving their vote share.
The Brexit Party have the most seats, with 28, swallowing the 25 UKIP seats from 2014 and coming top in nearly every region in England.
The Lib Dems won in London, with Labour losing two of their four seats there.
Labour and Christians on the Left member Sanchia Alasia missed out in London, she told Premier: “These elections were always going to be tough for the Labour Party, both in London where I stood in, and nationally because obviously the country is still – from what we’ve seen from these election results – quite polarised.
“We’ve seen the Brexit party get get high results, but we’ve also seen, you know, Remain parties such as Lib Dems and Greens get high results, so the country is still polarised.
“For London where I stood, we’re happy that we got two MEPs elected because they will now go on to Brussels to champion workers’ rights, fight against climate change and many other important issues.
“Obviously, the Tories have been virtually wiped out. I think they’ve only got three MEPs left. They’ve been totally wiped out in London. So, obviously they’ve got to reflect on the results in London and also across the country.”
The Conservatives won 9% of the…
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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.
Church in Ireland moderator given honorary doctorate
The next Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Minister of Maze Presbyterian Church, Rev William Henry, has been awarded an honorary Doctorate of Divinity.
It is a tradition of the Church to acknowledge the incoming Moderator with this honour, which was conferred by the Presbyterian Theological Faculty, Ireland at its annual graduation ceremony at the Presbyterian Church in Ireland’s Assembly Buildings in Belfast.
Dr Henry, the youngest moderator in recent records, was one of a number of recipients of awards, which included five ministry students at Union Theological College graduating with Postgraduate Diploma in Ministry and two students graduating with Graduate Certificates in Youth Ministry.
Rev Professor Michael McClenahan, Professor of Systematic Theology at UTC, spoke about the years that he had known the Moderator-Designate, which included an eight week placement in Dr Henry’s Maze congregation as part of his application for the ministry.
Describing him as his “respected brother in Jesus Christ and as a minister of the Gospel of God,” Professor McClenahan also spoke of the Dr Henry’s clear sense of God’s call on his life to the ministry.
This included serving in Whiteabbey Presbyterian Church, as Assistant Minister to Rev Trevor Gribben, who is now Clerk of the General Assembly, and Dr Henry’s call to Maze Presbyterian Church…
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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.
Should a Church Show Individual Pastor and Staff Salaries in the Budget?
This question comes to the Church Answers’ team and me a few times a month. It often evokes some pretty strong emotions. Can a church member (or, in some cases, guests) look at a church budget and know exactly what everyone on church staff earns?
The tension is between transparency and misunderstanding. On the one hand, transparency is usually a good default posture. Especially in congregational polity, church members have final authority over major decisions. It just makes sense they should have visibility to pastor and staff salaries.
On the other hand, putting detailed staff salaries before all the church members can be a problem for the following reasons:
- Many church members get confused over the term “packages.” For example, pastors with a “package” of $60,000 may only be making $45,000. The difference is the benefits, such as retirement and health insurance. The package is the total cost to the church. The salary (which sometimes includes housing) is what the pastor actually gets. Many church members view the package as the equivalent of a salary, but it definitely is not. In fact, most church members likely do not know their secular-equivalent package in their vocations. In other words, they do not know the costs of their benefits to their employer.
- Visibility of a specific salaries and benefits of pastors and church staff can create tensions among the staff. Can you imagine what it would be like if secular employers posted all the salaries of their employees each month?
- Church…
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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Thom Rainer.
Justin Welby preaches at Walsingham National
Shrine staff and volunteers prepared for the annual day of celebration and welcomed pilgrims from all over the country.
The shrine in north Norfolk, which depicts Mary the Mother of Jesus, is often referred to as ‘England’s Nazareth’.
“It’s a huge boost and a wonderful privilege for us to welcome the Archbishop of Canterbury back to Walsingham and I am sure the pilgrims will be delighted to have him with us for the National,” said Fr Kevin Smith, Priest Administrator.
On Sunday, there was a prayer vigil throughout the night so that people could be in the Shrine Church to pray, reflect and meditate.
At 12 noon on the Bank Holiday Monday the Bishop of Burnley, Rt Rev Philip North, celebrated the Eucharist.
He was joined by bishops, priests and Guardians in the Abbey Grounds as hundreds of faithful pilgrims also share in the worship.
A feeling of anticipation grows in @ShrineOLW as we await an all night vigil before the Blessed Sacrament and the #NationalPilgrimage pic.twitter.com/8L1YuGncaH
— The Church Union (@TheChurchUnion1) May 26, 2019
After a picnic lunch, the Archbishop of Canterbury preached the sermon.
There was then be a procession through the streets of the village back to the Abbey Grounds where Benediction was given.
Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and…
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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.
‘All gave some; some gave all’: A Memorial Day reflection
Howard William Osterkamp served in the US Army during the Korean War. He was wounded in the leg by shrapnel, but Army doctors misdiagnosed his injury.
He was sent back to the front lines with his leg broken in two places and served there for four months. He spent a total of nine months on the front lines during the conflict and later received the Purple Heart.
Osterkamp is widely credited with a phrase that is especially appropriate today: “All gave some; some gave all.”
As the son and grandson of military veterans, I know something of the sacrifices so many men and women have made to preserve our freedom. Today at 3 p.m., we are asked to pause for the National Moment of Remembrance, a minute of reflection and gratitude for the 1.1 million soldiers from all our wars who died for our nation.
“What the State is there for”
The Memorial Day weekend also marks the beginning of summer. Barbeques and parties dominate the holiday.
Americans will consume 818 hot dogs every second from Memorial Day to Labor Day (seven billion in total). We will spend $1.5 billion on meat and seafood over the weekend. More than forty-two million of us are traveling.
Such activities are a strange way to remember the soldiers who died for our country. We might expect this day to be entirely one of somber reflection.
And yet, the fact that we can spend Memorial Day happily with our families and friends is a significant consequence of the sacrifices we honor today.
C. S. Lewis: “It is easy to think that the State has a lot of different objects—military, political, economic, and what not. But in a way things are much simpler than that. The State exists simply to promote and to protect the ordinary happiness of human beings in this life.
“A husband and wife chatting over a fire, a couple of friends having a game of darts in a pub, a man reading a book in his own room or digging in his own garden—that is what the State is there…
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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Denison Forum.
Methodist evangelicals plan day of prayer to keep ‘biblical teaching on marriage’
The Methodist Church in Britain is at a crossroads as it debates its understanding of marriage after, two weeks ago, it was announced there will be a report presented to the annual Methodist Conference in June that will support same sex marriage within the Methodist church.
If the 67-page report is passed at the conference in Birmingham, the wider Church will consider it with a final decision made at the 2020 conference.
A clause has been included that states no-one would be forced to officiate at a same-sex wedding if they felt prevented by “their personal beliefs and integrity”.
Methodist Evangelicals Together, a group who aim to uphold the authority of scripture within the denomination, has called Christians around the world to engage in prayer and fasting for the British Methodist Church on Friday 21st June 2019, before the conference starts the following Thursday.
They have called on the global church to join them ‘in prayer that our church would remain faithful to the Bible’s teaching’.
In response to the recent report from the Methodist Marriage and Relationships Task Group, Methodist Evangelicals Together said: “Methodist Evangelicals Together continues to be committed to the Wesleyan convictions that the gospel is for all, that the Bible is our supreme rule of faith and practice, and that all Christians are called to holiness.
“We therefore uphold…
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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.
