Opinion – 12 August 2026
2 days ago
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Philippines
Monday, October 23, 2017
A Most Uncomfortable Feast
From Patheos-There are a lot of reasons not to go to church. It is inconvenient at the very least, and often uncomfortable, being on one of only two days that you have off for yourself. Your work week, like mine, is probably relentless–from Monday to Friday just hanging on and trying to keep incompetence and exhaustion from marrying themselves together and ruining your wellbeing. To finally be able to take a breath for two days, to sleep as long as you need to and then be able to run a load of laundry and drink a whole cup of coffee without it going cold–that’s what you hang on for in the rush of Monday morning. By Friday you’ve filled both days with tasks you just can’t get to in the evenings, with the backlog of life that never gets to be lived. You might manage to sleep in on Saturday, but Sunday finds you looking at another list.
The last thing you feel like doing is getting up and going to be with a lot of people you don’t know very well and who, when you do get to know them, are guaranteed to irritate you. There are better and more interesting things to do.
Read more at
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/preventingrace/2017/10/22/a-most-uncomfortable-feast/#lFbPVFDGyGwLSXpT.99
JESUS AND POLITICS
From Jake Owensby-Some Christians are making political commitments that Jesus would hesitate to call, well, Christian. Let me explain by way of a political run-in that Jesus had with a group called the Herodians and some Pharisees.
We don’t know much about the Herodians.
Their name suggests that they were like other groups whose names derive from a person they follow in some way. Think of Marxists or Freudians or even Christians.
So, it’s reasonable to think that the Herodians may have sought to restore the Herodian family to the throne of Israel. They were a politically-motivated group. They had hitched their political, social, and economic wagon to Herod and his descendants. If Herod’s line came to power, their political muscle, social status, and personal wealth would increase.
In Matthew’s Gospel, we read that Herod the Great was not actually about making Israel great again. At least, not great in any spiritual or moral sense. He was mostly about making Herod great.
More here-
https://jakeowensby.com/2017/10/20/jesus-and-politics/
The death and life of liberation theology
From Open Democracy-This June saw the passing of two of our generation’s most fascinating and controversial Catholic priests: François Houtart and Miguel D’Escoto Brockmann. Houtart was a Jesuit priest and prolific scholar on the faculty of sociology at the University of Louvain in Belgium. His leadership in the dialogue between Marxism and Christianity, his research on religion in society from Sri Lanka to Nicaragua, and his desire to connect social movements in the global South through the Tricontinental Centre (CETRI) which he founded in 1976, matched his academic output of some 50 books.
On the theological front, he assisted in drafting the Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes or “Joy and Hope”), one of the most influential documents of the landmark Second Vatican Council. Houtart was a hero to many around the world but certainly no saint. In 2010, he terminated a global campaign to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize when he admitted to sexually abusing an eight-year-old boy in 1970.
More here-
https://www.opendemocracy.net/transformation/gregory-leffel/death-and-afterlife-of-liberation-theology
Honor the Reformation's African roots
From Commercial Appeal-This year marks the 500th year anniversary of the launching of the Protestant Reformation in Germany. Commemorations will be held from Memphis to Mombasa to Mumbai to Munich.
Yet, most events and books on the Reformation explore it without any reference to African Christians.
This silence is profound, and I would like to break it by offering possible Ethiopian connections to Martin Luther and the Protestant movement.
Luther launched the Protestant Reformation in 1517, but he had begun that year fascinated with Ethiopian Christianity.
That will come as a surprise to many of today’s Christians, even scholars, who are accustomed to discussing Luther and the Protestant Reformation as solely European subjects.
But Luther esteemed the Church of Ethiopia because he thought Ethiopia was the first nation in history to convert to Christianity.
More here-
http://www.commercialappeal.com/story/opinion/contributors/2017/10/21/honor-reformations-african-roots/783252001/
Study: Women Find Men Carrying Leather-Bound ESV More Attractive
A new study performed by LifeWay Research found that Christian women find men who are carrying a high-quality, leather-bound ESV Bible significantly more attractive than men who carry other versions of the Scriptures, or no Bible at all.
When asked to describe a picture of a man carrying a large, expensive English Standard Version, 91% of female respondents used terms like “attractive,” “manly,” and “come to mama,” while the same man without an ESV was described using phrases like “boring,” “total dork,” “completely unattractive,” and “hard pass.”
More here-
http://babylonbee.com/news/study-women-find-men-carrying-leather-bound-esv-attractive/
Sunday, October 22, 2017
Hello, Cathedral of St. Mary and St. John in Quezon City
Priest who supports same-sex marriage suspended from Anglican Church for 'tones of blasphemy
From Australia-Anglican Priest Father Chris Bedding is known for his stand-up comedy and social activism on issues such as same-sex marriage and asylum seeker rights.
On the weekend, Father Chris did not perform his regular duties as Rector of the Darlington-Bellevue congregation at St Cuthbert’s church.
Instead the church’s administrator, Bishop Kate Wilmot, addressed the congregation and informed them of his suspension, Father Chris told ABC Perth radio.
Bishop Wilmot stressed the matter was due to "clergy discipline".
The reverend is still listed as holding the rector position on the Anglican Church Diocese of Perth website.
Father Chris said some members of the church reacted to the news angrily and walked out.
“I think the sense was that in the age of poverty, abuse and injustice the Anglican Diocese of Perth is using its substantial resources to silence a comedy priest,” he told Geoff Hutchison’s morning programme.
More here-
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/10/02/priest-who-supports-same-sex-marriage-suspended-anglican-church-tones-blasphemy
Executive Council ponders, debates next triennial General Convention budget
The Episcopal Church’s Executive Council came face to face with the realities of the 2019-21 triennial budget during its fall meeting and pledged to share the burden of eventually bringing a balanced budget to 2018 meeting of General Convention.
There is an $8 million deficit in the current “working draft” of a budget which will eventually need the approval of the 2018 meeting of General Convention, the Rev. Mally Lloyd, a member of council’s Joint Standing Committee on Finances for Mission told the council. The gap between anticipated revenue and the spending asked for by the churchwide staff and council’s joint standing committees stood at just more than $12 million when FFM began its work at this meeting.
The gap comes even as anticipated income is nearly $3.7 million higher than that expected the 2016-18 triennial budget. Major sources of income include dioceses, an investment income draw, income from renting out space in the Church Center in Manhattan and a planned “annual appeal” beginning in 2018.
More here-
http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2017/10/21/executive-council-ponders-debates-next-triennial-general-convention-budget/
Saturday, October 21, 2017
Bishop Waynick elected to lead Eastern Michigan
From The Cafe-The Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Michigan elected the Rt. Rev. Catherine Waynick to serve as Bishop Provisional of the diocese during their annual convention on October 20, 2017.
In a letter to the diocese, the Standing Committee celebrates the election saying, “It is with great joy that we announce that the Rt. Rev. Catherine Waynick has been elected Bishop Provisional of the Diocese of Eastern Michigan. We are excited to be taking this next step in our diocesan transition and are thrilled to be working with Bishop Waynick as our companion and pastor along the way.”
The election comes after nearly six months without a sitting bishop, following the Rt. Rev. Todd Ousley’s resignation to become Bishop for Pastoral Development of The Episcopal Church, a position on the Presiding Bishop’s staff.
More here-
https://www.episcopalcafe.com/bishop-waynick-elected-to-lead-eastern-michigan/
Sydney Anglicans Silenced In $1 Million "No" Campaign Donation Debate
From Australia-Anglican clergy were stopped from debating the Diocese of Sydney's $1 million donation to the same-sex marriage "no" campaign this week, when motions to discuss the controversial use of funds were shut down at a meeting of the church assembly.
Archbishop of Sydney Glenn Davies announced the donation – made to leading "no" group the Coalition for Marriage – earlier this month, telling the diocese's 51st Synod it was a "bold step" in the high stakes arena of Australia's same-sex marriage survey.
The decision to hand over $1 million was made by the diocese Standing Committee, a representative body with decision-making power, and the money was taken from the Diocesan Endowment, a fund usually reserved for church administration.
Several Anglican leaders spoke out against the donation after it was revealed by BuzzFeed News, labelling it "regrettable" and "a poor use of church finances".
More here-
https://www.buzzfeed.com/lanesainty/no-debate-over-million-dollar-donation?utm_term=.ac0elY6xx#.ex9O14Jnn
In Boston, some churches are providing sanctuary to undocumented immigrants
From Boston-First-time visitors to Sunday morning services at Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Boston are met with smiles, handshakes, and even hugs. To call it a warm welcome would be an understatement.
Bethel AME is no stranger to political activism. But the mostly African-American congregation has taken up a new mission. In late September, the parish decided to give shelter to a man from El Salvador facing deportation. Church officials turned down a request for a face-to-face interview with the man, a father of five, who's now living at Bethel AME. But Rev. Ray Hammond explained the church's thinking behind becoming a sanctuary church.
"This is not a political issue. Ultimately it's a human issue," says Hammond, who co-founded Bethel AME with his wife, Gloria White-Hammond, a fellow physician and pastor herself. The couple started the church in 1989. It has done work on various social justice issues, including with youth, prisoners, and the impoverished.
More here-
http://theweek.com/articles/730308/boston-some-churches-are-providing-sanctuary-undocumented-immigrants
Why God Doesn’t Heal People We Love? [Brutally] Honest Psalms #3
From Ann Voskamp-Why, in the name of all things holy, do You cherry pick one person to heal and another person to die?
Why in the world does one baby get to recover and go home to laugh loud and inhale life and another baby gets covered with 6 feet a dirt and hunk of granite gravestone?
You tell us—- Why does this cancer patient get to tout that You heard their prayers and that cancer patient gets a morphine pump for the devouring pain and an unwanted visit from hospice?
When The Picked and The Healed audaciously celebrate: “God heard our prayers!” — are the unpicked and the unhealed really supposed to assume that You plugged Your ears and flat-out refused to hear their wildly begging prayers?
More here-
http://annvoskamp.com/2017/10/why-god-doesnt-heal-people-we-love-brutally-honest-psalms-3/
Three Malawians to receive Province of Central Africa’s highest lay honour
From ACNS-Three women from the Diocese of the Upper Shire in Malawi are to receive the Order of the Epiphany – the highest lay honour of the Anglican Church of Central Africa. The awards will be presented tomorrow (Saturday) at a large service at the Cathedral of SS Peter and Paul in Mangochi. Bishop Brighton Malasa has invited everybody associated with the diocese – including clergy, members of the Mothers’ Union and youth organisations, as well as school students – to attend the service, which will be presided over by Archbishop Albert Chama, the Primate of Central Africa.
The Order of the Epiphany will be conferred upon Esther Khancha from Magomero Parish, Agnes Chinkhata of Mwanza Parish, and Rose Nasoro from the Cathedral. A fourth proposed-recipient, Chief Chilombo, died last month.
“These are people who have contributed to the wellbeing of the Church for quite a long time,” Bishop Brighton said. “They have advanced the mission of the Church including church planting to those areas [where] the Anglican Church was non-existent.”
More here-
http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2017/10/three-malawians-to-receive-province-of-central-africas-highest-lay-honour.aspx
Friday, October 20, 2017
Churches merge, close: 'We no longer live in Christendom. We really have to accept that it's a thing of the past'
From Baltimore-Memorial Woodbrook Presbyterian Church have labored in the manner of many Mainline Protestant congregations: Working ever harder to provide spiritual resources for dwindling number of congregants.
Govans, on Greenmount Avenue in North Baltimore, has been hosting its Sunday night dinners for the poor and helping lead GEDCO, the social service organization it co-founded in 1984.
Brown Memorial Woodbrook, about two miles from Govans on North Charles Street, has been running its busy Sunday school and community garden and working on LGBT equality and other social justice issues.
But with attendance stagnating, maintenance costs rising and the population of Christians from which to draw shrinking, the two have decided to join forces. If the Baltimore Presbytery gives its approval next month, they’ll become one congregation before the end of the year, bringing more than 280 worshippers and 230 years of history together under one roof.
More here-
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-religious-consolidations-20171010-htmlstory.html
Pope Francis praises John Wesley for leading people to ‘knowledge of Jesus Christ’
From Catholic Herald-Methodism founder John Wesley brought many people to Christ through prayer and Bible reading, Pope Francis has said.
Speaking with leaders of the World Methodist Council, Pope Francis praised 50 years of dialogue between the Catholic and Methodist churches, Vatican Radio reports.
“We are no longer strangers,” he said, but rather, through our shared Baptism, “members of the household of God”.
Speaking about John Wesley, the 18th-century Anglican clergyman who founded the Methodist movement, Pope Francis said his example converted many people to God.
“We cannot fail to rejoice” when the Holy Spirit works through other Christian denominations, the Pope added, as they “also help us grow closer to the Lord.”
More here-
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2017/10/19/pope-francis-praises-john-wesley-for-leading-people-to-knowledge-of-jesus-christ/
Anglican church to pay ‘gay’ priests Ksh.6 million
From Kenya-The Anglican Church of Kenya has been ordered to compensate three priests it accused of being gay Sh6.8 million by a Nyeri court.
Pastors Paul Warui, John Gachau and James Maigua were awarded Sh6.8 million for defamation and ordered to be reinstated to their pastoral duties following suspension by the church over homosexuality allegations.
The three clergy that they suffered humorous loss of reputation and integrity eroding their dignity among the congregants and public.
Labour court Justice Byram Ongaya also dismissed an application by the church to have the judgment, that was delivered on September 9, 2016, reviewed saying it would be an abuse of court process since the church has already moved to the Court of Appeal to challenge it.
Justice Ongaya further declined to have the Mt. Kenya West Diocese Bishop, Rev. Joseph Kagunda, and the Church Commissioners for Kenya (CCK) enjoined in the suit as respondents.
More here-
https://citizentv.co.ke/news/anglican-church-to-pay-gay-priests-after-nyeri-court-upholds-judgement-179198/
After the prayer - Faith leaders press for solutions to violence
From Indianapolis-As authorities continue to investigate the deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas, leaders from various faiths are speaking out.
Of course, they have offered prayers of comfort and peace for everyone impacted by the tragedy, which claimed the lives of 58 people and led to hundreds of others being wounded after a gunman fired into a crowd at a concert.
However, many of these same faith leaders are joining forces to call for solutions to prevent future acts of mass violence.
“Prayer can be a powerful healing force in a divided country, but action is also needed to solve the epidemic of violence,” said Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, dean of the National Cathedral in Washington, in a statement released to news media.
More here-
http://www.indianapolisrecorder.com/religion/article_5acef562-b4db-11e7-89df-63793c0240b3.html
Methodists Host Dialogue
From The Living Church-A portion of the Episcopal Church-United Methodist Dialogue Communiqué, issued after the dialogue’s meeting of Oct. 2-4 at the United Methodist Building in Washington:
The principal tasks of the dialogue group for this meeting were to review responses from members of both churches to the January 2017 document A Gift to the World: Co-Laborers for the Healing of Brokenness: A Proposal for Full Communion [PDF] and to plan for the future consideration of this proposal by each church’s legislative body. The committee is working to design a series of regional conversations between United Methodists and Episcopalians related to this proposal. They will also seek to develop a series of communications celebrating the close relationship between our denominations, highlighting the practical and missional opportunities that a full communion agreement would foster.
More here-
http://livingchurch.org/2017/10/19/methodists-host-dialogue/
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Body of Fr. Daniel Westberg recovered from Upper Nashotah Lake
From Fox-Officials announced on Thursday afternoon, October 19th that they had recovered the body of 68-year-old Fr. Daniel Westberg from Upper Nashotah Lake in Summit.
Fr. Westberg was a professor at the Nashotah House Theological Seminary -- and had been out sailing on the lake on Wednesday afternoon when his boat capsized. Police said high winds may have contributed to this accident.
"Witnesses observed a sailboat with one occupant in the northern portion of the lake at about 11:30. One witness stated that it appeared as if the occupant was having difficulty controlling the boat due to windy weather," Summit Police Chief Michael Hartert said.
Hartert said winds on the lake were registering between 13 and 23 miles-per-hour, but something on the boat may have malfunctioned.
"He was actually a very experienced sailor, however, we have to finish conducting our investigation, but there may have been a problem with the boat. There may have been a medical issue. We don't know those answers yet," Hartert said.
More here-
http://fox6now.com/2017/10/19/recovery-effort-will-resume-after-capsized-boat-found-on-upper-nashotah-lake/
Nashotah Professor Dies on Lake
From The Living Church-The Rev. Daniel A. Westberg, professor of ethics and moral theology at Nashotah House since 2000, died Oct. 18 in a boating accident on Upper Nashotah Lake. He was 68.
“The Rev. Dr. Daniel Westberg was a faithful priest of the Diocese of Milwaukee whose gifts as a teacher were a blessing to us all,” said the Rt. Rev. Steven A. Miller, Bishop of Milwaukee. “Our hearts and prayers go out to his wife, Lisa, their family, and the community of Nashotah House at this sad time. We pray that Dan will go from strength to strength in God’s perfect kingdom.”
Born in Chicago to parents who were missionaries with the Evangelical Covenant Church, Westberg grew up in Japan. He became an Anglican during graduate medieval studies at the University of Toronto and served as a priest of the Anglican Church of Canada for 10 years. He was received into the priesthood of the Episcopal Church in 2001.
More here-
http://livingchurch.org/2017/10/19/nashotah-professor-dies-on-lake/
Martin Luther, Pacifist?
From Plough-The idea that you could associate the name “Martin Luther” with “pacifism” will come as a shock to most people, including most Lutherans. So let’s be up front about it: Luther would not qualify as a pacifist, plain and simple, by today’s definition. He strongly believed that God called certain people to certain public offices for the protection of the weak and innocent from harm, and those offices might well involve some violence in order to prevent even more violence. He called this “temporal authority” and not only theorized about it but at times also invoked it – and being that he was Martin Luther, the princes listened.
Unfortunately, when people today hear anything of Luther’s political philosophy at all, it’s only his views on temporal authority. And the exact nature of temporal authority à la Luther is explicated by his “two kingdoms doctrine”: God reigns in the right-hand kingdom through the church, in the left-hand kingdom through the state, and ne’er the twain shall meet – or so it’s said.
More here-
https://www.plough.com/en/topics/justice/nonviolence/martin-luther-pacifist
Church Seeks Bishop for ACC
Nominations are open through Nov. 20 for a bishop to serve on the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) to fill a slot left by the expired term of the Rt. Rev. Ian Douglas, Bishop of Connecticut.
The ACC is one of the four Instruments of Communion in the Anglican Communion. The role of the ACC is to enable cooperative work among the churches of the Anglican Communion.
The term is for three meetings of the ACC, which is generally nine years. The triennial meetings require a two-week commitment. The next ACC meeting is scheduled for 2019, at a location to be determined.
Among the requirements, the bishop must be a member of the Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops. A thorough knowledge of the Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church is required, as well as familiarity with their governance structures.
More here-
http://livingchurch.org/2017/10/18/church-seeks-bishop-for-acc/
Removal of Robert E. Lee from church’s name was just start of healing for Virginia congregation
From ENS-Grace Episcopal Church in Lexington, Virginia, has begun growing into its new name. Its website homepage is updated. The stationery is new. And perhaps more consequentially, the annual stewardship appeal has been sent to members under the new church name.
A month ago, the vestry voted to remove Robert E. Lee from the name of the church he once attended, changing it from R.E. Memorial Church back to its previous Grace. That move ended two years of sometimes tense debate over the Confederate general’s legacy, both as a prominent member of the congregation’s past and a symbol of racial hatred in contemporary America.
At least one couple has formally left the congregation in protest of the name change. At the same time, the congregation faces a change in leadership: The Rev. Tom Crittenden announced this month he plans to step down as rector after Nov. 5.
Despite the recent upheaval, some parish leaders who had disagreed over whether to remain as R.E. Lee Memorial now express a mutual desire to move forward together as Grace Episcopal.
More here-
http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2017/10/18/removal-of-robert-e-lee-from-churchs-name-was-just-start-of-healing-for-virginia-congregation/
Amid decline, one Lutheran church strives to live up to its namesake’s spirit
From Religion News-At a Bible study on a weekday evening, Lutheran minister Daniel Pugh paced before a group of 50 church members in cargo shorts and a plaid button-down shirt talking about Adam and Eve.
Clutching a hand-held remote he clicked through a PowerPoint presentation, telling members of Christ the King Lutheran Church that one way to interpret the story of Adam and Eve is as a coming-of-age allegory about a pair of carefree teens caught red-handed having sex.
In this, alternative reading of The Fall, the “forbidden fruit” offered to Eve in Chapter 3 may be a metaphor for sex, he said, and the “serpent” may be a metaphor for a penis.
Lutherans have certainly come a long way since their namesake, Martin Luther, nailed his 95 theses to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Germany, 500 years ago this month, sparking the Protestant Reformation.
More here-
http://religionnews.com/2017/10/16/amid-decline-one-lutheran-church-strives-to-live-up-to-its-namesakes-spirit/
Nigeria slams stage managed primates meeting
From Anglican INK-Author:
Nicholas Okoh
To the Faithful of the Gafcon movement and friends from Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria and Chairman, the Gafcon Primates Council.
My dear people of God,
On the 31st October, it will be 500 years since Martin Luther’s 95 Theses triggered the Reformation. He was fired by holy indignation because of the way ordinary Christians were being abused by a church which was turning the need for divine forgiveness into a money making machine through the sale of indulgences, but that led him on to see the root of the problem.
The message of God’s free grace in the gospel had been buried under layers of superstition and human tradition, which Luther and the Reformers then exposed to the light of God’s Word. The recovery of the Bible as the first and foremost source of authority in the Church was the basic principle of the Reformation. Everything else depended on this and still does.
More here-
http://anglican.ink/article/nigeria-slams-stage-managed-primates-meeting
What would happen if Episcopalians and their church put Jesus at the center – really?
From ENS-It would seem obvious that Episcopalians have Jesus at the center of their lives and that the Episcopal Church centers on Jesus. Yet, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry challenged the church’s Executive Council Oct. 18 to deeply reflect on whether the church and its members are truly answering the call of Christ during these times of challenges from outside and inside the church.
Curry’s remarks came during the opening session of council’s Oct. 18-21 meeting. The Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, president of the House of Deputies and Executive Council vice chair, joined him in that challenge. Council spent nearly 90 minutes listening to and discussing Curry’s challenge. The members and staff will continue that work Oct. 19, albeit from a different angle, in a session Jennings will lead on council committee reorganization.
Curry acknowledged that recently released data from the 2016 parochial reports from each congregation and diocese show that membership in the Episcopal Church continues to decline. The pace has slowed some, he said, but the trajectory remains downward. There were 6,473 domestic parishes and missions in 2016 compared with 6,510 in 2015. The number of baptized members who were active in 2016 was 1,745,156, compared with 1,779,335 in 2015.
More here-
http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2017/10/18/what-would-happen-if-episcopalians-and-their-church-put-jesus-at-the-center-really/
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Pittsburgh Diocese Settles Suit Over Birth Control Mandate
From Pittsburgh-The Pittsburgh and Erie Roman Catholic dioceses have settled lawsuits seeking to overturn an Affordable Care Act mandate that would have forced them to provide contraceptive and abortion-inducing drugs or services as part of their employee health care plans.
President Donald Trump's administration announced Oct. 6 that it was rescinding the mandate that was part of the health reform laws known as "Obamacare." The new rules also broadened "conscience protections" to include nonprofits and certain other businesses that claim a moral objection to contraception or abortion, even if it's not religious-based.
But lawsuits filed in 2012 challenging the mandate still remained after the U.S. Supreme Court last year ordered the religious entities and the government to settle the dispute.
More here-
http://wesa.fm/post/pittsburgh-diocese-settles-suit-over-birth-control-mandate#stream/0
Church of England anti-slavery initiative wins government backing
From Anglican Journal-The U.K.’s Prime Minister Theresa May has given her backing to the Church of England’s new anti-slavery program. The Clewer Initiative was launched today at Lambeth Palace, the London home and headquarters of the Archbishop of Canterbury. “Modern slavery is a barbaric crime which destroys the lives of some of the most vulnerable in our society,” Prime Minister May said. “I value the work that the Clewer Initiative will be doing to enable the Church of England dioceses and wider church networks to develop strategies to tackle modem slavery.”
She continued: “In particular, I welcome the focus on engaging with local communities to help them to spot the signs of modem slavery. We need to shine a light on this hidden crime and to encourage more victims to come forward so that we can provide them with the support they need.”
More here-
http://www.anglicanjournal.com/articles/church-england-anti-slavery-initiative-wins-government-backing/
Christian Author Comes Unglued on Evangelical Trump Supporters: “You don’t like that I’ve “gotten political,” huh?”
From Blue Dot-Rachel Held Evans is a progressive Christian blogger and author of the books Faith Unraveled, A Year of Biblical Womanhood and Searching for Sunday. Evans is also a prolific Facebook and Twitter poster who often stirs fiery debates in the comments sections with her posts.
In her most recent post that has people talking, Evans, who considers herself a former evangelical, calls out evangelical support for Trump as hypocritical and antithetical to the Christian life. “You don’t like that I’ve gotten political?” she asks in the post, answering herself with a strong defense of anti-Trump Christianity, and concluding with “Damn right, I’ve gotten political.”
More here-
http://www.bluedotdaily.com/christian-author-comes-unglued-on-evangelical-trump-supporters-you-dont-like-that-ive-gotten-political-huh/
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