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Two Mass Shootings in Less than 24-Hours Leave 29 Dead, 53 Injured
The nation was struck by grief this weekend after two mass shootings occurred in less than 24-hours.
Saturday morning at around 10:30 a.m., shots rang out in an El Paso, Texas Walmart leaving 20 people dead and 26 people injured.
Reportedly, 21-year-old Patrick Crusius walked into a retail center and began to shoot at customers, many of whom were back to school shopping. According to NBC News, the shooter reportedly posted a white nationalist manifesto online less than a half an hour before taking the lives of 20 people. CNN reports that authorities are treating the El Paso shooting as a domestic terrorist attack.
El Paso Police Sargent Robert Gomez shared in a news conference Sunday evening that the suspected shooter has been arrested and is being charged with capital murder. The 21-year-old is being held without bond.
According to CNN, Crusius appeared to have turned himself in. Arrested in the Walmart parking lot, CNN reports that as law enforcement units arrived at his parked car, he got out of the vehicle unarmed and walked over to law enforcement officers. He was arrested without incident.
1,600 miles away and several hours later, another round of shots rang out, this time, in Dayton, Ohio. Outside of the Ned Peppers Bar in Dayton, Ohio, 24-year-old Connor Betts is believed to have opened fire using a .223-caliber rifle killing 9 people and injuring…
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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.
NHS row: prayers encouraged for decision makers
As the row over NHS spending gathers speed, Christians are being encouraged to pray for those working in the health service.
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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.
Church member guilty of murdering 20 year old student
Shohfah-El Israel, whose birth name is Ajibola Shogbamimu, was convicted by a jury at Reading Crown Court of killing Joy Morgan after spending time alone with her – against strict church rules – in December.
The 20-year-old midwifery student’s body has never been recovered, despite extensive police searches of hundreds of acres of land in Hertfordshire.
Israel was convicted by a jury of eight women and four men on a single count of murder.
He lied to the police when he was arrested, saying he had dropped Ms Morgan off at her student accommodation in Hatfield after a celebratory dinner at the American-founded Israel United in Christ Church they attended in Ilford, east London, on December 26.
He later admitted he had in fact spent two nights alone with the University of Hertfordshire student in his Cricklewood flat, but claimed his lies were due to concerns about having broken church rules banning women from being alone with men other than their husbands.
After killing Ms Morgan he attempted to cover his tracks by removing her number from a church Telegram group chat, the court heard, and even kept up the pretence by going to her student house share under the guise of checking on her in the days after she apparently went missing.
A signal from Ms Morgan’s phone, which has never been found, was detected in Israel’s car in the Stevenage area on December 28, at which…
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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.
The Ten Most Challenging Counseling Issues Pastors Face
Among the many responsibilities of pastors is counseling church members. Some pastors spend a lot of time counseling members. Others do limited counseling before referring the member to someone they view to be more qualified.
But all pastors are counselors.
We took the opportunity to ask pastors on social media about the most challenging issues they face when they do counseling. While there were some definite outliers, these ten were among the most frequent responses.
- Marital infidelity. Many pastors lamented the horrendous damage done to marriages and families when one or more of the spouses are not faithful.
- Divorce. Obviously, the first two are related. A number of pastors said that those who come to them with divorce on their minds usually have their minds made up. Counseling is either a formality or an appeasement toward a favorable divorce settlement.
- Sexual and physical abuse. Some pastors said this issue was the fastest-growing topic in counseling. They don’t think sexual and physical abuse is new; more victims are now willing to come forward.
- Mental health issues. Depression and anxiety were mentioned frequently, but others were noted such as schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder.
- Teen sexual issues. More teens are seeking help with issues of sexual identity, sexual pressure, and sexually transmitted diseases.
- Addiction. Though alcoholism is still very much an issue, a number of pastors spoke of other addictions such as heroin and other opioids.
- Church conflict. Church…
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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Thom Rainer.
Christian seafarers’ charity raises concern for crew as third tanker seized in the Gulf
Iranian state media reported that their forces seized a third foreign oil tanker in the Gulf that they alleged was smuggling fuel. The seven crew members on board have been detained.
The vessel was taken on Wednesday, reportedly carrying 700,000 litres of oil bound for Arab states. The tanker is reported to be an Iraqi vessel and was seized in a northern part of the Strait of Hormuz.
Global Catholic seafarers’ charity, Apostleship of the Sea, is calling for seafarers’ rights to be respected as tensions escalate between Tehran and Washington.
John Green, Director of Development for the charity said: “We are hugely concerned for the welfare of the crew of this ship and also the crew of the Stena Impero who are still detained. The effects of this latest seizure will not only be on this crew but also on their wives and children.”
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important waterways, on which a combustible standoff has played out since early July, when a British warship intercepted an Iranian tanker off the coast of Gibraltar.
According to Iranian state media, upon capture, the vessel was taken to Bushehr Port in south-west Iran and its fuel handed over to the authorities.
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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.
Last ever Soul Survivor season gets underway
Soul Survivor has been going since 1993, growing out of the increasing teenage attendance at the family festival New Wine.
It was started by Mike Pilivachi, who is now the senior pastor at Soul Survivor Watford church, and is aimed at around 12-18 year olds.
Last summer, Pilivachi announced that Soul Survivor was going to end, saying in a video: “We know this may come as a surprise to some but we believe that God has spoken and that this is the right time for us to step aside and make space for others to rise up.
“This is not a decision we have taken lightly but one we make after much prayer and consideration. We continue to care passionately about young people and will look to support them in any way we can in the future, as well as longing to encourage and equip the whole church to move in the power of the Holy Spirit.
“There is a sense of sadness in making this announcement as we have seen God do some wonderful things at our events since we began in 1993 but we know that God is calling us into a new season and we look forward to seeing all that he will do as we make room for others to grow.”
The first week of the 2019 season, in Stafford, started on Saturday with the next two weeks being held in Peterborough.
The festival involves preaching from Mike Pilivachi and Andy Croft, worship music in the Big Top tent and various stalls in the exhibition hall for…
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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.
