Vice President Mike Pence says he supports a Virginia church in its legal battle against the governor for restrictions against houses of worship.

Lighthouse Fellowship Church of Chincoteague sued the state in federal court after its pastor was issued a criminal citation for holding a 16-person church service on Palm Sunday inside a 225-seat sanctuary, Christian Headlines previously reported. Each attendee reportedly sat at least six feet apart and followed health guidelines.

Orders by Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam restrict mass gatherings to 10 people during the coronavirus pandemic.

Pence said he backs a Department of Justice Statement of Interest urging the court to issue an injunction favoring the church. He and the Department “strongly agree” that “even in the midst of a national emergency, every American enjoys our cherished liberties, including the freedom of religion.”

“And the very idea that the Commonwealth of Virginia would sanction a church for having 16 people come to a Psalm Sunday service when … the church actually seats about 250 was just beyond the pale,” Pence told The Brian Kilmeade Show. “And I’m truly grateful for Attorney General [William] Barr standing by religious liberty.”

The Trump administration, Pence said, will “stand by men and women of faith of every religion in this country and … even in this challenging time, [will] protect…

Rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Richard Wayne Penniman known famously as Little Richard has passed away at 87-years-old.

A statement from his lawyer, Bill Sobel, noted that the Rockstar succumbed to bone cancer. Penniman’s son, Danny Jones Penniman confirmed his father’s death to Rolling Stone.

Having multiple hits such as “Tutti Frutti,” “Long Tall Sally” and “Good Golly Miss Molly,” Little Richard would impact generations of musicians, including the Beatles who recorded a cover of his “Long Tall Sally” in 1964.

Penniman’s songs would be also covered by the likes of the Everly Brothers, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Elvis Costello, among others.

Widely known for his larger than life persona, Little Richard was also a prominent influence for fellow rock ‘n roll icon, Prince.

He was also inducted into the inaugural Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, along with Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Sam Cooke and others.

According to AP News, throughout the course of his career, Little Richard sold more than 30 million records worldwide. He, along with Chuck Berry and Fats Domino also played a prominent role in breaking through the racial injustices in the music industry by bringing what was called “race music” into the mainstream.

Despite his musical success, the singer’s personal life was not without controversy.

Little Richard, who was born on December 5th, 1932, in…

(RNS) — Religious belief has long impacted who Americans choose to support on Election Day, but if a growing group of Missouri Jewish leaders and other clergy have their way, religion may change how millions in the state cast their ballots this November — ideally in ways that limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.

“I think it’s hard to overstate both how important the preservation of life is to Jews — and how important our democracy is,” Maharat Rori Picker Neiss, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council in St. Louis, told Religion News Service.

The controversy in the Show-Me State revolves around local absentee voting laws that have come under scrutiny in the midst of the ongoing pandemic, with many voters expressing a desire to vote from home to avoid encountering disease.

Five states, including Washington, Oregon and Utah, already conduct elections entirely using a vote-by-mail system, and many others distribute mail-in absentee ballots to anyone who requests them. But Missouri is one of several states that also requires an excuse to receive an absentee ballot, and Gov. Mike Parson suggested in a recent press conference that officials may not recognize, as a valid reason, the fear of contracting the novel coronavirus.

“The absentee ballot is more of a political issue than it is anything,” he said. “This is a Democrat-Republican issue and that’s…

The daughter of apologist and author Ravi Zacharias says her father’s cancer has worsened and he has returned home in Atlanta “where our family can be together for whatever time the Lord gives us.” 

Sarah Davis, CEO of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries and the daughter of Zacharias, posted the update Thursday on social media and on the ministry’s website. 

Zacharias was diagnosed this year with a rare form of malignant cancer on his sacrum, the triangular bone at the base of the spine. The cancer was discovered during back surgery.

“We have just learned that while the tumor in my dad’s sacrum has been responding to the chemotherapy, the area where the cancer metastasized has actually worsened,” Davis wrote. “His oncologist informed us that this cancer is very rare in its aggression and that no options for further treatment remain. Medically speaking, they have done all they are able.”

Zacharias, his wife Margie and his daughter Naomi are “returning from Houston and will remain at home in Atlanta, where our family can be together for whatever time the Lord gives us,” Davis wrote. Zacharias is 74.

“We know that God has purposed and numbered each of our days, and only He knows how many more Ravi will experience on this earth. One day, likely sooner than later, we will be serving without our beloved founder, though I know his love and legacy will…

Televangelist Jim Bakker is at home recovering after a recent stroke.

“We are thankful that Jim is okay, and that he is now at home with our family,” Bakker’s wife, Lori Bakker, wrote in a Facebook post, CBN News reports.

She also added that Bakker’s workload may have led to the stroke.

“For many years now, Jim has been working non-stop, working hard to bring incredible prophets and guests to our show, discovering and developing new products to share, building at Morningside, and bringing forth the message for the days that we are living in,” she said. “All of these projects, and the vigorous warfare that we have experienced in the last several weeks, have taken a huge toll on Jim’s health.”

Morningside is Bakker’s ministry in Blue Eye, Missouri. Bakker, 80, also broadcasts The Jim Bakker Show with his wife.

“In the meantime, the show will continue,” Lori wrote in her post. “Jim is a Watchman on the Wall, and we as a family are committed to carrying his mantle by bringing more prophets, news, updates, and more in the coming weeks on The Jim Bakker Show.

“We ask that you continue to pray for Jim, and pray for our ministry, during these challenging times,” she said. “As Jim always says, God loves you, He really does! And so do we!”

In the late 1970s to late 1980s, Bakker and his then-wife Tammy Faye hosted The PTL Club, a talk show featuring guest appearances. The Bakkers also opened…

(RNS) — Darrin Patrick, a megachurch pastor, author and speaker, has died.

Patrick was a teaching pastor at Seacoast Church, a multi-site megachurch based in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, and the founding pastor of the Journey Church in St. Louis, where he lived. 

He died of what appears to be a “self-inflicted gunshot wound,” according to a statement from the church. No official cause of death has been released, according to the church.

Patrick’s unexpected death came as a shock to friends and colleagues. Robby Gallaty, pastor of Long Hollow Baptist, in Hendersonville, Tennessee, said that Patrick was scheduled to speak at his church next weekend.

“I just talked to him Tuesday and Wednesday,” said Gallaty. “This is the second close friend I have lost in a year.”

Gallaty first met Patrick in 2015 and had invited him to speak the following year at a men’s ministry event at Long Hollow. Just before the event, he said, Patrick called and said he was leaving the ministry.

At the time, Patrick had been a rising star among Reformed evangelical circles and was serving as vice-president of the Acts 29 church planting network. He was fired from Journey for what church elders called misconduct including “inappropriate meetings, conversations, and phone calls with two women” and an abuse of power.

Despite Patrick’s fall from ministry, the two stayed friends. Patrick…