After saying she would cancel her halftime show at the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day game if the Salvation Army didn’t make a pledge to the LGBTQ community, singer Ellie Goulding said late this week that she would perform at the halftime show.

“We’d like to thank Ellie Goulding and her fans for shedding light on misconceptions and encouraging others to learn the truth about The Salvation Army’s mission to serve all, without discrimination,” a statement from the Salvation Army. “We applaud her for taking the time to learn about the services we provide to the LGBT community. Regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity, we’re committed to serving anyone in need.”

As Christian Headlines previously reported, Goulding had threatened to pull out of the show after fans said the Salvation Army discriminates against the LGBTQ community.

“I have reached out to The Salvation Army and said that I would have no choice but to pull out unless they very quickly make a solid, committed pledge or donation to the LGBTQ community,” Goulding wrote on her Instagram.

“I am a committed philanthropist as you probably know, and my heart has always been in helping the homeless, but supporting an anti-LGBTQ charity is clearly not something I would ever intentionally do. Thank you for drawing…

November 13, 2019 (Morning Star News) – Islamic State (IS) militants claimed responsibility for killing an Armenian Catholic priest and his father on Monday (Nov. 11) in eastern Syria, where they had traveled from their home in a northeastern town hit by Turkish airstrikes and terrorist bombs.

In the wake of a Turkish military operation into Syrian territory that hit civilian border areas in the priest’s base in Qamishli, the Rev. Hovsep Bedoyan and his father, Abraham Bedoyan, were killed by gunmen in Deir ez-Zor, according to media reports. The priest made regular pastoral visits to Deir ez-Zor, an IS stronghold in eastern Syria until Syrian Democratic Forces retook it over the past two years, and he was overseeing the reconstruction of a church building in the city.

He and his father were in a car with two others, including deacon Fadi Sano, who was wounded by the gunfire, according to reports. They were attacked in their vehicle as they were nearing the Armenian Catholic church in Deir ez-Zour.

On the same day in Qamishli, bombings near a Chaldean church killed at least six civilians. IS also claimed responsibility for those attacks.

The killings come at a time when Christians in Syria’s border areas with Turkey are caught in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s military offensive to drive Kurds from an area roughly 20 miles into Syrian…

A group of students from an Oregon high school staged a walkout last week to protest the school’s use of Chick-fil-A food at football games, saying the company’s presence contributes to an unsafe culture for LGBTQ individuals at the school.

The protest at West Linn High School was organized by the Gender and Sexuality Alliance, which says it has seen an increase in bullying at the school, according to KGW-TV.

The home football games traditionally feature a Chick-fil-A food truck.

“Hate crimes and harassment – we’re not going to stand for that anymore and we’re going to make sure school is a safe place for everyone. We’re not going to take it anymore,” said student Susie Walters, who helped organize the protest. 

Nearby, a separate group of students held a counterprotest to support Chick-fil-A. 

A school district spokesperson told KGW that the district was examining the process that is used to select vendors. 

The protest took place on a Friday. That night, at the home football game, the Chick-fil-A vendor truck was absent. 

“I have friends that are very happy that they’re not here and don’t believe they should be here because of some of the beliefs their company supposedly has,” Emily Williams, a West Linn student, told KATU-TV. “But then I have friends that are kind of upset by it because they love Chick-fil-A, they love the food, and…

Growing up as one of 19 children and having your daily activities filmed for a television program isn’t the typical American life. 

But for Erin (Bates) Paine and Carlin (Bates) Stewart, it was a weekly reality filled with blessings, life lessons and, of course, a few trials.

UP Television’s Bringing Up Bates began broadcasting in 2014. At the time Erin had been married one year and Carlin was 16. 

The series’ eighth season premiered this year.

Although both women are married – and simultaneously pregnant – they still appear on the program. 

Bringing Up Bates differs from more mainstream reality programs that spotlight friction, fighting and backstabbing. Instead, Bringing Up Bates follows the lives of parents Gil and Kelly Jo Bates, their 19 children, their sons- and daughters-in-law and 11 grandchildren. The family is Christian. 

Carlin said she hopes viewers see the blessings of a big family on screen.

“One of the goals we all had on filming was to show how important family is,” Carlin told Christian Headlines. “We have never pretended to be a perfect family or one that has it all together. We have struggles and arguments and heartbreaks, like anyone else. But my parents tried to instill that we would get through life as a team and with God’s help. They tried to make every moment count, and I think that’s the…

JOS, Nigeria, November 15, 2019 (Morning Star News) – Muslim Fulani herdsmen in north-central Nigeria on early Thursday morning (Nov. 14) hacked an 87-year-old Christian to death by machete and killed another by gunshot, an area resident said.

A group of herdsmen attacked predominantly Christian Agom village in southern Kaduna state’s Sanga Country at 4:30 a.m., area resident Gabriel Yakubu told Morning Star News by text message. Monday Kura, 87, and Emmanuel Agom, 48, both members of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Christ (ERCC), were killed as they slept in their rooms, he said.

“The Fulani herdsmen cut Monday Kura, 87 years, with a machete until he died, while Emmanuel, 48 years, was shot dead with a gun,” Yakubu said. “Sir, we need your prayers as my village is on fire and we are not getting any protection from the government.”

It was the first herdsmen attack on the village, which is four kilometers from the town of Gwantu, he said. The ERCC church is the only church in the village, he said.

The attack could not be immediately confirmed. Agom is located along Wasa Station Road, west of Gwantu, between Kwana Nunbu and Gani Sarki villages, he said.

Sanga County was the site of a Muslim Fulani herdsmen attack on March 16 that killed 10 Christians and burned about 30 houses. That attack also occurred as residents of Nandu Gbok village were…