Birmingham to build national landmark celebrating the power of prayer

The Wall of Answered Prayer will be made up of one million bricks, each one telling a unique story of how Jesus has intervened in someone’s life and answered their prayer.

The public art piece is due to be completed for Birmingham’s 2022 Commonwealth Games and allows visitors to interact with the sculpture and read the prayers via their smart phones.

The Wall Project CEO, Richard Gamble says the structure has been designed as a legacy of the Christian faith and with the hope of inspiring the nation to pray.

 

 

Speaking to Premier he said: “The idea is that people when they come to this monument will be able to type in their circumstance or situation and find a story that is similar to what they’re going through and they’ll be able to read how another Christian has coped with that situation, how they pray, and how God has answered.

“This country has a Christian heritage and we want to preserve it with all those stories and answer prayers that have happened not only in this generation, but through the whole history of this country.”

Following a global design competition run by the Royal Institute of British Architects, the winning submission by Snug Architects features a Mobius strip, a non-orientable surface which seemingly has no beginning and no end, to interpret the project’s message that Jesus answers prayer.

The structure has been referred to as the Landmark of…

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Megachurch Pastor James MacDonald Under Investigation for Allegedly Seeking out Hitman

Megachurch Pastor James MacDonald Under Investigation for Allegedly Seeking out Hitman



Illinois police have opened an investigation into beleaguered Harvest Bible Chapel founder James MacDonald after multiple claims surfaced that the pastor sought a hitman to commit murder. 


“A subject came in and filed a report and we are doing an investigation based on that report,” Wilmette Deputy Police Chief Pat Collins told The Christian Post.


That report was filed by Chicago radio personality Mancow Muller, a former church member. A similar but separate report was also filed with police in Bartlett, Illinois by Emmanuel “Manny” Bucur, a deacon at HBC and former confidant and volunteer bodyguard for MacDonald. Harvest recently fired MacDonald following accusations of bullying, mismanaging finances, inappropriate touching and other actions.


Muller made his allegations of murder-for-hire public during a recent podcast, saying that MacDonald asked him at least twice in 2018 if he knew a hitman. Muller said he thought the prominent pastor was joking but, during another conversation in December, it became clear to him MacDonald was “really serious.” According to Relevant magazine, Muller went on to say he believed the target was one of MacDonald’s rivals.


“And at that moment I realized I was in a cult, this guy was bad and I couldn’t support it any longer. Do I think he was kidding? No. I think he really wanted me to find a…

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Pro-life group awarded affiliation with Student Union after rejection and delay

Aberdeen Life Ethics Society (ALES) is a group for pro-life students to meet and campaign on the issue of abortion.

Last week, they were allowed to be affiliated with the student body after the Aberdeen University Students’ Association was threatened with legal action on the grounds of discrimination based on belief.

The case against the Student Association will come to Aberdeen Sheriff Court.

 

 

Until last week, they were denied the privileges of affiliation with Aberdeen University Students’ Association, such as ease of room bookings and a place at freshers’ fair in September 2018 while the student body decided their verdict. The union’s delay also made networking ‘impossible’ to do on campus, according to a member of the society.

Alex Mason, a PhD student and Christian, told Premier the group were inconvenienced and that he thought it was ‘used as a way to shame pro-lifers, despite their views being legal and protected’.

He added that it was a ‘small vocal minority’ who wanted their exclusion from campus and that many who did not even agree with their stance on abortion did not think the pro-life group shouldn’t exist.

 

 

The Aberdeen University Students Association (AUSA) had a pro-choice policy which they said conflicted with the group’s aims. They said that the National Union of Students (NUS) also had a pro-choice policy and in March 2017 AUSA had a policy to…

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Severe Weather across the Midwest Spawns 2 Dozen Tornadoes, Flash Flooding

Severe Weather across the Midwest Spawns 2 Dozen Tornadoes, Flash Flooding



At least 11 midwestern and southern states are under severe storm warnings today as a slew of dangerous weather conditions continues to batter the states.


According to AccuWeather, over the weekend and into Monday, severe weather broke out across the central and southern Plains spawning more than two dozen tornadoes across the region. Reporters in Sky 5 helicopter’s for Oklahoma’s local ABC News syndicate even captured two tornadoes side-by-side, touching down at the same time over Logan County, Oklahoma, Time Magazine reports. The storm system produced dangerously high winds, severe thunderstorms and flash flooding which particularly affected Texas, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. 


According to NBC News, the storm caused tremendous damage to building structures and homes, but no deaths have been reported at this time. 


News outlets warn residents of Texas and Oklahoma to expect more severe weather on Tuesday, as violent thunderstorms are expected to produce damaging winds of at least 75 mph, hail storms producing 2-inch hail or larger and more tornadoes. NBC News reports that a tornado was confirmed to have touched down Tuesday morning near the Tulsa International Airport forcing passengers to run for cover. No injuries or fatalities have been reported so far. 


NBC News reports that areas in the central Plains are still at high risk for flash flooding, as…

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Charity offers thousands of pounds to churches to connect with younger generation

The struggle for many churches to connect with young people has been revealed in a new survey.

A poll of more than 800 churches by Allchurches Trust has shown that more than two thirds have five or fewer young people in their worshipping community; but 96% would love to provide more support and activities for them if they had the right skills and resources in place.

 

 

In light of these findings, the Christian charity has launched a new grants programme, Growing Lives.

It launched this week and makes grants of up to £25,000 to help churches and Christian organisations to connect with children and young people and forge lasting links with families in their area.

Sir Philip Mawer, chairman of Allchurches Trust, said: “It’s inspiring to read that 96% of the churches we asked said they would love to run more activities for children and young people if they had all of the right resources and skills, but it is important not to under-estimate the scale of the challenge.

“While our survey uncovered some truly inspiring examples of churches running innovative projects that are addressing a very real need in their communities, it’s clear that many are struggling to run activities at all or are offering support that they feel lacks relevance or is unattractive to local families. Many are hampered by buildings that are not fit for purpose and outdated equipment.

“We…

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A Democratic Governor Is Set to Sign an Abortion Ban into Law

A Democratic Governor Is Set to Sign an Abortion Ban into Law



The conventional wisdom that says pro-life laws are a Republican-only issue may be challenged soon in Louisiana, where a Democratic governor has signaled support for a heartbeat bill banning abortion as early as six weeks of pregnancy.


It wouldn’t be the first time Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards has bucked his party’s platform. Last year he signed a bill prohibiting abortion after 15 weeks. In 2016, he signed a bill requiring a 72-hour waiting period before obtaining an abortion. Both are being challenged in court. 


The nation has 23 Democratic governors. Edwards is the only one who is pro-life, according to The Times-Picayune. 


“My position hasn’t changed. In eight years in the legislature, I was a pro-life legislator,” Edwards told media members last week, according to CNN. “When I ran for governor, I said that I was pro-life. And so that’s something that’s consistent.”


He added: “The people of Louisiana are overwhelmingly pro-life.”


Ben Clapper, executive director of Louisiana Right to Life, said Edwards “has a good record with us.” 


Louisiana’s heartbeat bill, SB 184, makes it unlawful to “knowingly perform an abortion with the specific intent of causing or abetting the termination of the life of an unborn human being when a fetal heartbeat has been detected.” It makes exceptions for the life or the mother and to “prevent a…

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Pro-life group finally awarded affiliation with Student Union after rejection

Aberdeen Life Ethics Society (ALES) is a group for pro-life students to meet and campaign on the issue of abortion.

Last week, they were allowed to be affiliated with the student body after the Aberdeen University Students’ Association was threatened with legal action on the grounds of discrimination based on belief.

The case against the Student Association will come to Aberdeen Sheriff Court.

 

 

Until last week, they were denied the privileges of affiliation with Aberdeen University Students’ Association, such as ease of room bookings and a place at freshers’ fair in September 2018 while the student body decided their verdict. The union’s delay also made networking ‘impossible’ to do on campus, according to a member of the society.

Alex Mason, a PhD student and Christian, told Premier the group were inconvenienced and that he thought it was ‘used as a way to shame pro-lifers, despite their views being legal and protected’.
He added that it was a ‘small vocal minority’ who wanted their exclusion from campus and that many who did not even agree with their stance on abortion did not think the pro-life group shouldn’t exist.

 

 

The Aberdeen University Students Association (AUSA) had a pro-choice policy which they said conflicted with the group’s aims. They cited that the National Union of Students (NUS) also had a pro-choice policy and in March 2017 AUSA had a policy…

… Read More



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Who Will Be Our Rachel Now?’ Progressive Christians Reflect on Movement Without Held-Evans

Who Will Be Our Rachel Now?’ Progressive Christians Reflect on Movement Without Held-Evans



(RNS) — When the Rev. Emmy Kegler heard her friend Rachel Held Evans had died earlier this month after a sudden illness, she offered a prayer.


Then Kegler got together with other friends who had known Evans, a popular progressive Christian writer and speaker, to share their memories and process their grief.


As she walked to her car afterward, she wondered what the future would hold. Who would fill the void their friend had left behind?


“Who is going to be our Rachel now?” she asked.


Kegler isn’t the only one asking.


Since Evans’ untimely death on May 4 at age 37, her readers and friends have shared stories of her impact and her kindnesses toward them online — sparking renewed interest in her work and putting her 2015 book “Searching for Sunday” on this past weekend’s New York Times bestseller list.


Along with them, progressive Christian scholars are also considering Evans’ legacy and what’s next for their movement without one of its most prominent and beloved leaders.


It’s the same universal question people ask any time “people who have brave and strong voices who emerge as leaders” die, according to Diana Butler Bass, an independent scholar specializing in American religion and culture.


“When they pass away, the people who look to them for guidance have always asked that same question: ‘What should we…

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Asia Bibi’s lawyer named Secularist of the Year

Saif ul Malook defended Bibi after she was sentenced to death by hanging for allegedly insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad in November 2010.

While Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered her to be released in October 2018, it upheld her acquittal following mass protests and petitions calling for her to be executed.

 

Malook also faced death threats from Islamic extremists for his decision to represent Bibi since 2014, as have the judges who ordered Bibi to be freed.

Responding to his award, Malook said in a statement: “Thanks to the National Secular Society for recognising my efforts to secure the acquittal of Asia Bibi (below).

 

“To fight blasphemy cases in Pakistan is putting one’s own and families’ lives at risk.”

He is now representing another client in a blasphemy case involving Shaghufta Kausar, who faces a possible death sentence in Pakistan over a text message that allegedly insulted Muhammad.

“The moral support from organisations such as the National Secular Society has given me the courage to take the case of Shaghufta Kausar – another Christian woman on death row on blasphemy charges,” Malook added.

“I assure you that I plan to continue my mission in providing legal aid to all blasphemy victims even in future regardless to the threat to my life.”

AP Photo/Shakil Adil

Supporters of Pakistani radical groups burn a poster of…

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