Church of England: ‘God’s Blessing For Gay Marriage’ (Worthy News In-Depth)
After agreeing to make God, “gender neutral,” the Church of England confirmed Thursday it wants to “bless” same-sex marriage and civil partnerships.
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Church anti-abortion organization to pay Planned Parenthood $960,000 in settlement of suit
An organization called The Church at Planned Parenthood has agreed to pay a settlement of $960,00 in legal fees and damages for conducting what it described as “worship services at the gates of Hell” at a local Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Washington state, the Christian Post (CP) reports.
A third of UK adults more interested in Jesus after talking with a Christian, survey shows
A new report shows that while just 6% of adults in the United Kingdom identify as practicing Christians, a third of Britons were interested in learning more about Jesus after talking to a Christian, Evangelical Focus (EF) reported. Titled “Talking Jesus,” the report was released by the UK Evangelical Alliance (EAUK), Alpha, HOPE Together, Luis Palau Association, and Kingsgate Community Church.
Transgender Church of England vicar wants to “normalize” gender fluidity for children
A Church of England transgender vicar has stated they go into UK schools to help “normalize” queerness and gender fluidity among children. Rev. Bingo Allison, a Church of England vicar in the Diocese of Liverpool who identifies as gender-queer, made their statement during an interview with the Liverpool Echo news outlet.
European Parliament event highlights Christian persecution worldwide
The ongoing crisis of Christian persecution worldwide was highlighted at the European Parliament last week, at a special presentation of the Open Doors 2023 World Watch List (WWL) of the top 50 countries where believers are most persecuted, European Times reports. Open Doors is an international NGO that monitors persecution levels and helps persecuted Christians around the world.
US Hispanic Protestant church is young, growing, effective in evangelism, study shows
A new study shows that the Hispanic protestant community in the US is flourishing, with a rapidly increasing number of churches, a strong base of young congregants and first-generation American citizens, and a strong record in effective evangelistic outreach, Lifeway Research reports. The study was sponsored by Lifeway Recursos, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, and Samaritan’s Purse, and surveyed 692 pastors of congregations that are at least 50 percent Hispanic.
United Methodist Church loses more than 1,800 congregations over LGBTQ debate, “not a real schism”
America’s United Methodist Church has now lost over 1,800 congregations as conservative churches have disaffiliated with the denomination over UMC acceptance of same-sex marriage and the ordination of LGBTQ clergy, Christianity Today (CT) reports. Nevertheless, analysts have said the rate of disaffiliation does not represent a major schism and the denomination is expected to survive.
Church of England publishes draft prayer of blessing for same-sex marriages
The Church of England has published draft prayers for God’s blessing for same-sex couples, the denomination said in a press release last week. The move follows the Church of England’s recently announced plans to continue the prohibition of marriage ceremonies in church but to allow clergy to bless homosexual civil partnerships in church on a voluntary basis.
Church of England: homosexual couples cannot marry in church but clergy can hold blessings for same-sex civil partnerships
The Church of England has announced it cannot change its doctrine to allow same-sex couples to be married in the church but proposes that clergy may voluntarily choose to hold blessing ceremonies for homosexual couples in civil marriages, the Guardian UK reports. The “historic plans” announced on Wednesday represent a form of compromise after decades of anguished debate within the Church of England over the acceptance of homosexuality.
Report: ‘360 Million Christians Persecuted For Faith; North Korea Most Hostile’ (Worthy News In-Depth)
One Christian out of seven in the world suffers high levels of persecution and discrimination for his or her faith, and North Korea appears again as the most dangerous place for devoted believers, an annual report showed Wednesday.
Post-pandemic attendance at worship services has significantly declined, report shows
A new report shows that, while religious identity among US adults has remained “mostly stable” since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of Americans who regularly attend worship services has declined significantly, the Washington Times reports. The report was published by the American Enterprise Institute on Thursday.
NY Christian ministry shelters over 150 people during historic blizzard
A Christian couple leading an urban church ministry in Buffalo, New York, gave shelter to 154 people during the historic deadly blizzard which tore into the area over the 2022 Christmas weekend, the Roys Report said.
Kirk Cameron’s Christian story hour draws overflow crowd after disagreement with host library
Christian actor Kirk Cameron’s debut story hour for his Christian story book drew an overflow crowd to the Indianapolis Public Library.
China Frees Church Elder, But Online Gathering Interrupted
A Christian leader has been released after spending four years in a Chinese prison for his involvement in a banned church, but concerns remain about other jailed church members, Worthy News learned Thursday.
World largely silent as thousands of African Christians were butchered this year
The world and the Church were largely silent as almost 6,000 Christians around the globe were murdered by Islamic jihadists in 2022, most of them in Africa, Israeli journalist Hananya Naftali reports for the Christian Post.
Gallup: 31% of Americans Go to Church Every Week or Almost Every Week
A new survey shows that 31% of Americans go to church, synagogue, or mosque every week or almost every week. However, the same poll shows that 58% seldom or never go to church.
UK government admits prosecutor was wrong to say parts of the Bible are “no longer appropriate” in society
A high-ranking UK government lawyer admitted last week that it was wrong of Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service to have argued that sections of the Bible are ‘no longer appropriate in modern society’ when it charged a Christian street preacher with committing a ‘hate crime,’ Christian Concern (CC) reports.
Millions of Gospel tracts to be handed out during King Charles’ coronation
Thousands of Christians are preparing to distribute millions of Gospel tracts to people gathering for the coronation of Britain’s King Charles III next year, Christian Headlines (CH) reports.
Over 400 hostile acts committed against US churches since 2018, increased incidents since 2021
A new study by the conservative Christian Family Research Council (FRC) shows there have been over 400 hostile acts committed against US churches since 2018, with the rate of hostile incidents increasing significantly from last year, the Christian Post reports.
Jerusalem: Archaeologists find rare 2,000 coin which appears to corroborate Biblical account in Exodus
Archaeologists excavating south of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem have uncovered a rare 2,000-year-old silver “half-shekel” coin, which appears to corroborate the Biblical account in Exodus that every Jewish man must pay an annual tribute of half a shekel to the Holy Temple, Israel 365 reports.