Churchgoers to launch new charity to help those drowning in debt

A group of 15 Christians from a variety of churches in Fareham will launch ‘CMA Connect, Fareham’ on Monday.

They will offer face-to-face help to people to direct them on how to access free, confidential debt advice.

 

The centre will be based at St John’s Church Hall, Fareham.

Rev Bruce Deans, vicar of the church, said: “Initially, the idea came from me thinking and praying about the community we live in, and I asked God what new way we, as Christians, could share his love with them.
“I was very aware of the hardship that debt can bring to people’s lives and began to do some research.

“I discovered that 32 per cent of Britain’s workers have less than £500 in savings, and that 19 per cent of children who are part of families with problem debt also face bullying at school.”

The need also became apparent when Rev Deans found that parts of Fareham are among the 20 per cent most deprived category in England.

“Problem debt is often a hidden burden with many detrimental implications for people’s lives. It can cause great worry and even despair, and it exists here in Fareham.

“We are here to support those worried about debt, whatever their circumstances, background or faith.

“At the end of the day, we’ve done this because we’re a group of Christians who believe that, even in the most difficult times, there is hope for the future. We really believe that.” Rev Deans added.

The…

… Read More

—

Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

قالب وردپرس

Ten Fears for the American Church

By Chuck Lawless

I spend a lot of time on the mission field working with missionaries. I LOVE the local church wherever it is, but I fear more for the American church every time I go overseas. Here are some of my fears:

  1. I fear we go through the motions without really experiencing God’s presence. Seldom have I experienced in America what I’ve seen in some places around the world.
  2. I fear we get way too hung up on things that don’t matter nearly as much as we think. That’s the way I feel about things like service times, worship styles, and building colors.
  3. I fear we think too lightly about persecution. We think we’re being persecuted when we can’t erect the church sign we want, but believers around the world are facing much more than that.
  4. I fear we think we’re the most important church people in the world. No question that the American church is influential, but most of the world has never heard of most of us – including those among us who are the best known.
  5. I fear we think too little about Bible study and scripture memorization. I wonder how our ministries would change if the only Bible we had was what we’ve already stored in our head and heart. Some believers live under that restriction.
  6. I fear we have little idea what power there is in prayer. Our “prayer meetings” hardly compare to some of the long, gut-wrenching, heart-rending prayer times I’ve spent with missionaries and nationals.
  7. I fear we tolerate sin far too much. I’ve been with international believers who go…

… Read More

—

Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Thom Rainer.

قالب وردپرس

Southwark Cathedral defends hosting fashion show with scantily clad models

The London church was used as a venue for a fashion show by designer Julien McDonald on Monday and featured models both male and female, some with little clothes on.

 

The aisle of the cathedral was used as the catwalk with hundreds watching on.

Former chaplain to the Queen Rev Dr Gavin Ashenden said the show went against the message of the faith.

Speaking to the Telegraph he said: “The cathedral should ask itself to see if the complaints about the fashion industry – as promoting a narcissistic self-referential display for the very rich – is indeed conducive with the values of the Christian gospel.

“I think the fashion industry is the antithesis of the Christian gospel. It’s about the exposure of the poverty of our souls and that’s about hiding the state of the soul in an excess of glamour.

“A cathedral ought to think twice before it provides a platform to a cultural venture like this.”

PA

 

Simon Ward is a Christian who ran London Fashion Week for 35 years.

He says the hosting of a show isn’t the problem.

“In principle, I think it’s a great idea,” he said. “It’s a question of what’s shown in the cathedral and how it’s shown.

“If I was the person booking a show into my cathedral I’d have been quite clear in the terms and conditions, there are lines beyond which you will not be allowed to go and if that doesn’t work for what you…

… Read More

—

Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

قالب وردپرس

The Israeli election: A day can change the world

Torn campaign poster for Benjamin Netanyahu, Sept. 17, 2019.

Yesterday, Israel held what is being called “one of the strangest and potentially most significant elections in the country’s modern history.” This morning, with over 90 percent of the vote tallied, both main parties are locked in a dead heat. The official results are expected later today.

Twenty-nine parties participated in the election. As expected, none won a majority in the Knesset, the country’s 120-seat parliament. According to the Jerusalem Post, the party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is seeking an unprecedented fifth term, presently has thirty-three seats, as does the main opposition party. 

Next Sunday, all party leaders who achieved representation in the parliament will begin consultations with Israel’s president, who will ask one of them to begin talks with other parties aimed at forming a coalition government. 

Duke University bars Young Life 

A day can seem to change the world. 

The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that Christian calligraphers and painters Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski do not have to create “custom artwork to celebrate and promote messages they disagree with” such as same-sex wedding invitations. 

Juxtaposed with this good news is the bad news: Duke University’s student government has denied Young Life official status as a student group on campus because of the ministry’s commitment to biblical sexual morality for its staff and volunteers. Duke was begun by Methodist and Quaker families and was called Trinity College for many years; I wonder what its founders would think of this announcement. 

The news sometimes changes over the same news story. 

Opponents of Justice Brett Kavanaugh were encouraged over the weekend by a New York Times article detailing a previously unreported allegation of sexual misconduct against him. Supporters of Justice Kavanaugh were encouraged by the subsequent disclosure that…

… Read More

—

Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Denison Forum.

قالب وردپرس

Brad Pitt says he’s given up on atheism and ‘clings to religion’

In an interview about his new feature film role in the space drama ‘Ad Astra’, he said that he clings to religion. However, it’s unclear if he practices a faith.

 

The 55-year-old actor said: “I grew up with Christianity. Always questioned it, but it worked at times. And then when I got on my own, I completely left it and I called myself agnostic.

“Tried a few spiritual things but didn’t feel right. Then I called myself an atheist for a while, just kind of being rebellious. I wasn’t really. But I kinda labelled myself that for a while. It felt punk rock enough.

“And then I found myself coming back around to just belief in- I hate to use the word spirituality, but just a belief in that we’re all connected.”

In 2017, Pitt revealed details about his Christian upbringing to GQ.

He explained that he grew up in a family that attended a Baptist church and described it as the “cleaner, stricter, by-the-book Christianity”.

He then said when he was in high school his parents joined a “more charismatic movement which got into speaking in tongues and raising your hands”.

While he gave a negative approach to his parent’s faith, Pitt gave some sort validation to speaking in tongues saying: “I know they believe it. I know they’re releasing something. God, we’re complicated.”

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily…

… Read More

—

Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

قالب وردپرس

Inquiry urged amid rumours paedophile priest was police informer

KRW Law is making a formal submission to the Government to probe Malachy Finegan’s relationship with the police.

The priest is alleged to have committed a litany of abuse against children over decades, both as his time as a teacher and president of St Colman’s College in Newry and later as parish priest at nearby Clonduff.

Kevin Winters of KRW Law told the PA news agency that his call for an inquiry under the 2005 Inquiries Act comes after the Crown Solicitors’ Office, responding on behalf of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said it could neither “confirm or deny” that Finegan had been an informant.

 

Mr Winters said rumour and speculation that Finegan, who died in 2002, may have avoided prosecution by giving information.

“Malachy Finegan was involved in the abuse of boys on an industrial scale,” he said.

“Many, many complaints were filed with the police over a 25-year period, there were investigations and they all came back to nought.

“So for many years people were asking why that was allowed to happen, why were there no directions to prosecute.”

He added: “Anecdotally there was word that Malachy Finegan may have been an informant and we wrote to the PSNI asking them to confirm or deny that and they came back and said they would reply the policy of NCND (neither confirm or deny), so it is against that background that we wrote the secretary of state demanding an…

… Read More

—

Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

قالب وردپرس

Church sets up safe houses for gang members wanting to leave life of crime

Pastors from Spac Nation Church have spearheaded the new project.

There have been 63 fatal stabbings in the capital this year.

 

Senior pastor Tobi Adegboyega told Sky News many of the youngsters he sees are missing out on a real childhood.

“In our community now, teenage years are drugs and knives.  Most times it’s [the project] their first chance. These guys haven’t seen the other part of life. Then they can make a decision if they want to live right or not.”

So far more than 100 young people have taken part in the scheme. They are also helped with education and employment while they’re there.

Those under 18 require permission from their local authority in order to be allowed to live in a safe house.

 

Shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott has backed the initiative.

The representative for Hackney North and Stoke Newington said the safe houses seem to be working and would be part of a solution.

The church has been known for focusing on tackling violent crime.

It has encouraged people to turn in drugs and knives at the altar.

According to Sky…

… Read More

—

Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

قالب وردپرس

Social Media Backlash Reflects New Era of Hostility in Nepal

Social Media Backlash Reflects New Era of Hostility in Nepal



HYDERABAD, India, September 16, 2019 (Morning Star News) – Hindu extremist threats have driven a pastor in Nepal into hiding following a leak onto social media of a restricted audience-interview he gave on his journey to Christ, sources said.


Pastor Sukdev Giri of Trinity Fellowship church in Chitwan District has received death threats, he said. He has changed his phone number, but his family and friends are also receiving threatening calls, he told Morning Star News.


In a sign of how the Himalayan country has become increasingly radicalized, Pastor Giri, 59, has been unable to return home from ministry travels since a video of his comments hit YouTube in mid-August.


“It is the first time a Christian [in Nepal] has been targeted for sharing [on social and other media] about his past religion and introduction into Christianity,” legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom’s allied attorney in Nepal, Ganesh Sreshta, told Morning Star News. “It is turning out to be a high-profile issue, with Hindu fundamentalist groups linked to prominent political leaders taking interest in this video.”


The video shot in March at the International Christian Media Workers Summit in Kathmandu, where Pastor Giri was one of the speakers on a panel, was available only to Christian audiences until a Nepalese Christian woman abroad posted it on YouTube. During the panel presentation on…

… Read More

Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.

قالب وردپرس

‘God Won’: Georgia School OKs Prayer at Football Games, Despite Atheist Complaints

‘God Won’: Georgia School OKs Prayer at Football Games, Despite Atheist Complaints



A Georgia county’s board of education says it has found a legal way to allow prayer before high school football games following complaints from an atheist organization.


Under the old policy, football games at Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Ga., began with student-led prayer. That changed last week, when the high school omitted the prayer due to a complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which wrote in a letter that the district “must take immediate action to end the practice of scheduling prayer at school-sponsored events and end the use of district equipment to project prayers to the public.” 


Under the new policy, football games will begin with a student presenting whatever he or she desires, from a song to a poem to a prayer, WCTV-TV reported.


The Lowndes County Schools Board of Education adopted the policy on its first reading Monday night in a crowded meeting. Parents and boosters cheered as the new policy was passed, WCTV reported. 


It still must be approved in a second reading next month, although the board said it could go into effect immediately.


“We knew coming in after our meeting last week that we had to put some work on it because our constituents were not going to let us say no way,” said Dave Clark, board chairman.


One of those constituents, Joe Copeland, applauded the board for not backing down.


“God…

… Read More

Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.

قالب وردپرس

California Senate Passes Resolution Calling All Californians to Embrace LGBTQ Lifestyles

California Senate Passes Resolution Calling All Californians to Embrace LGBTQ Lifestyles



Earlier this week, the California Senate passed a resolution calling upon all Californians—despite religious beliefs—to embrace LGBTQ lifestyles.


Assembly Concurrent Resolution 99 (ACR99), introduced by Evan Low (D-San Jose), first made its rounds in the Assembly, where it also passed. According to the Blade, the resolution does not require the state’s Governor’s signature but does not have the force of a law.


The resolution calls upon “all Californians to embrace the individual and social benefits of family and community acceptance, upon religious leaders to counsel on LGBTQ matters from a place of love, compassion, and knowledge of the psychological and other harms of conversion therapy…”


The bill also called out “therapists and religious groups” for creating “disproportionately high rates of suicide, attempted suicide, depression, rejection, and isolation amongst LGBTQ and questioning individuals.”


Though the bill intended to target “conversion therapy,” many religious leaders fear that the language in the resolution could infringe on their freedom of religion.


As previously reported by Christian Headlines, Russell Willingham, executive director of New Creation Ministries, said, “I believe ACR99 sets the stage for future laws that will criminalize pastor caregivers like me who provide such a resource—resources…

… Read More

Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.

قالب وردپرس