(RNS) — Around 4:45 a.m. Sunday (Oct. 27), staffers at CrossWalk Community Church in Napa got a call, alerting them the church would need to serve as an evacuation center as the Kincade fire continued to spread in Northern California.

By 6 a.m., the church doors were open.

Members set up the gym space to host evacuees and cleared the sanctuary area after worship services to make room for additional cots. About 20 evacuees stayed that night at the church; some 45 had been assisted as of Tuesday. 

Wednesday morning, the Kincade fire in Sonoma County wine country entered its eighth day and had grown to more than 76,000 acres. As of Wednesday, the fire had destroyed 206 structures, including 94 homes, and injured two first responders. More than 90,000 structures remained under threat, including 80,435 houses. Firefighters had reached 30% containment of the blaze. A Cal Fire advisory listed six churches, such as St. Mary’s Cathedral and Calvary Chapel of Petaluma, serving as evacuations centers. Some were at capacity.

Down south, the Getty fire — which broke Monday in a canyon west of Interstate 405 and near The Getty — had grown to 745 acres and was 27% contained Wednesday morning. It had destroyed 12 homes and damaged five others. 

Pastor Peter Shaw said CrossWalk Community Church has been prepping for months for a disaster like this. 

“From my own…

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution Tuesday calling the Ottoman Empire’s World War I-era slaughter of 1.5 million Armenian Christians a “genocide” – a historic vote that marked the first time in more than three decades that either body of Congress has used the term.

Turkey, which was formed out of the fall of the Ottoman Empire, acknowledges atrocities took place but has pushed back on the use of the word “genocide,” arguing they weren’t systematic. Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire either were killed or forced to flee. 

Although the mass killings took place a century ago, leaders from both parties – including former Secretaries of State Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton – often have blocked Congress from using the term because of the historically close relationship between the U.S. and Turkey.

But that tight relationship ended when Turkey invaded Syria in recent weeks. 

It is sometimes called the “forgotten Holocaust” and was depicted in the film The Promise. 

The resolution passed, 405-11. It says the genocide involved the “killing of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923” and that the U.S. provided relief to the “Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs, Arameans, Maronites, and other Christians.” 

Further, the resolution says, Congress rejects…

In the wake of his 21-year-old son’s death, recording artist TobyMac has created the Truett Foster Foundation to help other aspiring creatives pursue their dreams.

“Truett Foster Mckeehan had an untamable grand personality and dreams to match. Since the age of 12, he knew he wanted to make music. Dreams are so important to kids growing up. Too many kids do not have the financial ability to pursue their dreams. We want to use this fund to help kids do just that. Get an education, to pursue music, to get the chance to live their dream. Truett would have loved that,” the foundation’s website explains.

Scholarship recipients will come from The Global Orphan Project with the help of TobyMac and his wife, Amanda.

Earlier this month, the Grammy-award winning artist announced the unexpected death of his son in their home. TobyMac was on tour in Canada when he heard the news and traveled back home to be with his wife and four other children. The remainder of the tour has been canceled.

Similar to his father, Mckeehan was a musician and had released songs and videos under his stage names of Shiloh, truDog, and TRU. Though not a Christian artist, he also collaborated with his dad on a few songs as well. A few days prior to his death, the aspiring artist performed his first live show at the Factory in Franklin, Tennessee.

“As I stood in the audience and watch my son bring joy to a…

Earlier this week in Texas, the Austin Independent School District unanimously agreed to introduce a new, controversial sex education curriculum that discusses gender identity and sexual orientation, according to KXAN.

Students in grades three through eight will receive the new curriculum as early as May 2020 that discusses how kids can find an adult they trust, options if they get pregnant, and healthy dating boundaries. Seventh graders will also learn how to use a condom.

“Some say that since the age of consent is 17, kids should only learn about abstinence until sex is legal,” said Susanne Kerns of Informed Parents of Austin, a group advocating for inclusive policies. “I would argue that we can warn kids about the risks of driving before the legal age while still teaching them to wear their seatbelt.”

The curriculum ran through many revisions and allowed parents to give feedback throughout the year. But the final version has still given many parents concern.

“(The curriculum) encourages minor children to engage in vaginal, oral, and anal sexual activity through the comprehensive sex ed they’re voting on,” said Carol Ayala, the director of Concerned Parents of Texas.

Parent MJ Alvarado isn’t opposed to sex education but wishes the curriculum wasn’t as specific.

“I’m concerned because the curriculum is very…