Evangelist calls for new freedom of speech law following arrest at St Paul’s Cathedral

Allen Coote also branded a subsequent concession by leaders to permit him up to 30-minutes speaking time outside the landmark per-week as “unreasonable”.

The 55-year-old from east London told Premier’s News Hour: “I can’t see why there was a problem.

 

“Nobody [members of the public] actually complained.

“I’m not sure why they wanted to take action on me but I felt it was right for me to read the Bible and I’ve been doing it since.”

The cathedral responded by saying it had a policy of limiting any “source of disturbance” outside its doors, in order to offer visitors a “welcoming space”.

It said in a statement: “The Chapter’s policy is to allow a short interval and then ask the person to stop, and to involve the police if they refuse to do so or to move off the Cathedral’s land.

“The police are supportive of this policy and on one occasion briefly arrested a man who regularly returned to read loudly passages from the Bible because he was refusing to respond to polite requests from Cathedral staff to move on.

“After this incident, the man concerned had a meeting with one of the Cathedral clergy, following which Chapter agreed to suspend its policy for this particular person so that he could read the Bible, as he requested, for half an hour outside the Cathedral once a week.”

Coote, who is a full-time bus driver, says his treatment contradicts the Epistle Dedicatory – a…

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Samaritan’s Purse Responds to Iowa Tornado Devastation

Samaritan’s Purse Responds to Iowa Tornado Devastation



As Iowa recovers from a recent strike of tornadoes, Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s Rapid Response Team are helping locals clean up the damage.


Last Thursday, an estimated 27 tornadoes hit Iowa, damaging businesses and homes, toppling trees, displacing automobiles, and injuring many. Residents have been shaken by this natural disaster.


Julie Owen from Des Moines was in Marshalltown during the tornado: “It was bad. I’ve seen a lot of tornado stuff (in the past) … It’s not like the whole town is destroyed, but downtown, a city of this size, it was something else,” CNN reports.


Samaritan’s Purse says that “The storm churned through Marshalltown’s central business district, leaving significant destruction in its wake.” Over 700 homes were damaged. Other nearby towns affected were Pella and Bondurant.


Since the devastation, Samaritan’s Purse has sent staff, disaster response specialists, and supplies to the area. They are also recruiting volunteers on their website to assist in the relief effort: “Volunteers will assist with debris cleanup, roof tarping and chainsaw work,” Samaritan’s Purse writes.


Focusing their efforts on Marshalltown, Samaritan’s Purse aims to meet the physical as well as spiritual needs of the community. Its president, Franklin Graham, says, “Many families are devastated by the twisters that tore through…

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Man Shooting Into Toronto Cafes Shoots 14 People, Killing 2, Before Dying From Police Gunfire – Urban Christian News

A man walked along a Toronto street firing a handgun into restaurants and cafes, shooting 14 people and killing two before dying after an exchange of gunfire with police.

Police Chief Mark Saunders did not rule out terrorism as a motive, though officials did not immediately identify the attacker, other than to say he was 29 years old.

Toronto police spokesman Meaghan Gray said early Monday that a second victim had died, though there were no further details.

Saunders earlier said that a young woman had died in Sunday’s shootings and that a girl aged 8 or 9 was in critical condition. The condition of the other victims was not known yet.

“This is an attack against innocent families and our entire city,” Toronto Mayor John Tory said in a city council meeting Monday.

The mass shooting in a usually peaceful city comes three months after a driver of a van plowed into pedestrians on a Toronto sidewalk, killing 10 people and injuring 14 and amid increasing concern about gun violence.

A video from one witness shows a man dressed in black clothes and a black hat walking quickly and firing three shots from the sidewalk into at least one shop or restaurant in Toronto’s Greektown, a lively residential area with crowded Greek restaurants and cafes.

Police say a gunman and one victim are dead after a man shot 14 people in Toronto’s Greektown neighborhood. Toronto police chief Mark Saunders says a young woman was killed in the shooting Sunday night. A young girl is in critical condition. (July 23)

Witnesses heard many shots and described the suspect walking past restaurants and cafes…

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Woman’s Neighbor Turns Out to be Her Long-Lost Sister

Woman’s Neighbor Turns Out to be Her Long-Lost Sister



Hillary Harris of Eau Claire, Wisconsin was almost ready to move before she discovered something amazing about the house next door. The woman’s neighbor is long-lost sister she’s been searching to find!


The house beside Hillary shared a driveway with hers and there had been a constant stream of renters coming and going from the home. Some of those tenants were less than desirable and Hillary was fed up with it all and ready to move. Until her daughter befriended the woman who moved in next door.


When Dawn Johnson moved in, Hillary was downright cold to her. “She would not acknowledge me whatsoever,” Dawn said. But for some reason, Hillary’s 7-year-old daughter and Dawn struck up an unlikely bond. This led to Hillary’s husband getting to know their new neighbor. After starting a conversation, he found out that Dawn was from Greenwood, Wisconsin.


When Hillary was an infant, she had been adopted and her adoption papers showed that she had a sister named Dawn Johnson from Greenwood. But Hillary and her husband just could not believe that this coincidence could be real–their new neighbor could not actually be her sister. That seemed like too much of a stretch. After doing a bit more research and talking with Dawn, it was officially confirmed. Hillary’s neighbor next door that she’d been brushing off was actually her long-lost sister.


Now, these two beautiful ladies are happy to…

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11-year-old uni grad on mission to prove 'God does exist through science'

An 11-year-old boy who graduated over the weekend with an Associate in Arts degree has revealed he will work towards becoming an astrophysicist to prove God’s existence.

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Boy or girl? Parents raising “theybies”

Zyler and Kadyn Sharpe are three-year-old fraternal twins living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Which is a boy, and which is a girl? According to their parents, that’s a question only the children can decide.

Nate and Julia Sharpe have kept their children’s biological sex a secret from their birth. They have not taught them to associate their body parts with being a boy or a girl. They are going to allow their children to determine their gender. Such children are known as “theybies.”

Other parents are making the opposite decision.

Model Chrissy Teigen and her husband, singer John Legend, made headlines when they announced that they had selected the sex of their unborn child. They used in vitro fertilization to become pregnant. This process creates embryos in the laboratory which are then implanted in the mother’s womb. Teigen and Legend asked doctors to select a female embryo for her to carry to term.

In related news, “sex-selective abortion” is now common around the world. When a couple learns that their unborn child is not the gender they wanted, they have the baby aborted. According to Newsweek, such abortions “are rife in the U.S.”

“You will be like God”

Letting a child choose his or her gender, choosing a child based on gender, and aborting a child based on gender are all symptoms of an underlying condition. At their heart, they succumb to the temptation, “You will be like God” (Genesis 3:5).

Scripture clearly teaches that God created us in his image as “male and female” (Genesis 1:27) and values males and females equally (Galatians 3:28). He has a purpose for our lives before he makes us (Jeremiah 1:5).

For several decades, however, our culture has embraced the lie that truth is what we believe it to be. Such relativism explains the sexual revolution of the 1960s and the legalization of abortion in 1973. It gave birth to same-sex marriage in 2015. It makes our bodies and lives our own to do with as we wish.

To…

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Inquiry investigating leak of Charles’s statement about disgraced bishop

Charles’ statement will say he was “deceived” by Ball and that he was unaware of the true nature of the clergyman’s behaviour until more than 20 years after allegations first surfaced, it was reported last week.

The statement is due to be read on July 27, as the inquiry examines how abuse allegations against the former Church of England bishop were handled.

 

Ball, jailed in 2015 for sexually abusing 18 young men over 30 years, previously boasted of his links to royalty and was said to be a confidant of Charles.

At the outset of a five-day case study into Ball, IICSA chairwoman Professor Alexis Jay said the leak was a “very serious breach of confidence by someone with direct access to information in this investigation” and promised “firm action” should the source be uncovered.

She said the inquiry panel was “disappointed” at the breach, describing it as something that “not only undermines the authority of the inquiry to get to the truth but can also erode public confidence in the inquiry at all levels”.

All core participants and those with access to the statement will be asked to confirm in writing whether they shared it with any unauthorised party, she added.

“I have already set in motion an investigation to identify the source of this leak and will take firm action to protect the integrity of the Inquiry should the source be identified,” said Prof Jay, who said the…

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Tourist boat tragedy victims remembered at church memorial service

A church bell at Williams Chapel at College of the Ozarks chimed 17 times for those who died last Thursday at Table Rock Lake.

More than a dozen survivors of the tragedy, along with their family and friends, filled the front pews of the church to organ music.

 

Although a police officer guarded their privacy, he allowed one person, Carmen Lawson, to deliver pink and red roses after the service to a family that lost nine loved ones.

“It was such a tragedy,” said Ms Lawson, 61, of Branson, who delivered the flowers.

“I feel for the family.”

Branson mayor Karen Best recalled the desperate family members who turned to City Hall for information about their loved ones.

“We started putting faces with names. Those who were once strangers to us quickly became family,” Ms Best said.

“They were a part of our community. And we did what families do. We held hands, we wept and we prayed together.”

She praised the people who tried to save others from drowning, calling them “heroes who did everything in their power to save lives”.

The service was held at the college near the site of the accident, which happened as winds approached hurricane strength.

The city and college hosted the remembrance for the victims.

“Today we are all family,” said College of the Ozarks President Jerry C. Davis.

“We are here to comfort those who have been affected by this tragedy in so many, many ways.”

Online…

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Lewis Hamilton gives ‘big, big thanks to God’ after surprise race win

Remarking on his sensational victory, the British driver also said he recited a “long, long prayer” before the contest in Hockenheimring on Sunday.

Asked during a FIA post-race press conference whether he ever thought he could have won, the 33-year-old answered: “I did.

 

“I mean, it’s obviously very, very difficult from that position and highly unlikely, but you’ve always got to believe.

“I said a long, long prayer before the race started.

“We did the parade lap, I could see how much support I had out there and I just wanted to stay collected, stay calm.”

The Mercedes driver has regained the lead position in the F1 2018 standings, with a 17-point advantage over second-placed Sebastian Vettel.

 

The German, who competes for Scuderia Ferrari, had been leading in the race before sliding off the tarmac during the 52nd lap, amid wet conditions.

Hamilton, who has spoken out about his faith before, continued: “But the team did such a great job, the car was fantastic today.

“Honestly, I’m so grateful.

“I would never have though…

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Five Reasons Why Church Revitalization Leaders Must Be Risk Takers

We have rightly described church planters as risk takers.

They start churches. They often have little funding. They typically have no building to begin with. Many have no members at the onset.

So, church planting is indeed inherently risky.

But I would argue that church revitalization must be risky as well. Indeed, I believe church revitalization leaders should be consummate students of risk taking and change leadership. Let me offer five reasons why:

  1. There is no such thing as a status quo church. Here is the harsh reality in today’s culture. Churches are either headed toward greater health or they are declining in health. Many of the declining churches are dying. There are no churches “holding their own” or “hanging in there.” We need risk-taking leaders to lead church revitalization because the alternative is dying and death.
  2. Churches that need revitalizing must be led by change agents. That path is risky. Change can be painful. Change is often resisted. Change can be three steps forward and two steps backwards. But if the revitalization leader does not lead change, the church will not become healthier.
  3. Leaders of revitalization must be willing to risk their jobs. Leaders of revitalization know the harsh reality of job insecurity. Thousands and thousands of change leaders have been fired because they upset the status quo or threatened the power group. While leaders should not foolishly lead change, any change they lead could result in their ouster.
  4. Criticism is a constant for…

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