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The Church of England will debate blessings for same-sex couples after a motion was passed by one diocese, with the support of the local bishop, calling for a formal liturgy. The Bishop of Hereford, who spoke in favour of the change and voted for the motion, said he thinks clergy should be helped to carry out a more formal service with recently married gay couples. Hereford's diocesan synod has voted to support a motion calling on the House of Bishops to "commend an Order of Prayer and Dedication after the registration of a civil partnership or a same sex marriage"....

The very room once used to end lives through abortion in Elkton, Md., is now the setting where countless women will meet their children for the first time via ultrasound through the building’s new occupant, a life-affirming pregnancy center. Once dubbed the, “Little Shop of Horrors,” the former abortion clinic was operating secretively until a 2010 raid found the remains of 35 frozen late-term aborted babies, including one that was 33 weeks gestation. It’s sat vacant since that time, while its former tenant Steven Brigham and his associate withstood a combined six charges of first-degree murder, plus six more second-degree...

It has been 500 years since what is seen as the “start” of the Reformation, when the German monk Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of a church in Wittenberg, challenging practices in the late medieval Catholic Church and ushering in a schism that led to the rise of Protestantism across Europe.For the Lutheran and Catholic churches, the anniversary has been an occasion for attempts to bridge some of the divides of the Reformation, including a joint service between Pope Francis and the Lutheran Church in Sweden, and Pope Francis’s acknowledgement of the positive elements of Luther’s...

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of American was founded in 1988 with 5,288,230 members. By 2016, less than twenty years later, the ELCA had shrunk to 3,563,842 members. With that kind of "growth," the ELCA has less than forty years before the final member throws her hands up and quits. Christ the King Lutheran Church in Cary, N.C., believes that they've found the answer to stopping the mass exodus of tithing members. They've stopped preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and have embraced progressive theology and social justice.Writing for Religion News Service, Yonat Shimron tells the story of Christ the King Lutheran...

Since 1990, the fraction of Americans with no religious affiliation has nearly tripled, from about 8 percent to 22 percent. Over the next 20 years, this trend will accelerate: by 2020, there will be more of these "Nones" than Catholics, and by 2035, they will outnumber Protestants. The following figure shows changes since 1972 and these predictions, based on data from the General Social Survey (GSS):

Pope Francis praises John Wesley for leading people to ‘knowledge of Jesus Christ’ by Staff Reporter posted Thursday, 19 Oct 2017 Pope Francis blesses a picture on a mobile phone (Getty Images) He was celebrating 50 years of dialogue with the World Methodist CouncilMethodism 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...

2017-10-19 Vatican Radio(Vatican Radio) Methodist and Catholic theologians are meeting just outside Rome this week, marking the 50th anniversary of the first ecumenical dialogue group following the Second Vatican Council. That first session of the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission was held in the hill town of Ariccia in October 1967.Pope Francis met with members of the current Commission on Thursday, together with leaders of the World Methodist Council, saying that half a century of dialogue has set us free from estrangement and suspicion and helped us to recognize each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.South African Bishop Ivan Abrahams...

Dunamis Power is yours my children just speak what you need or declare what it is My Spirit is to manifest before you and it shall be for as you have overcome the world it now sits at your feet as it does for me for we are one and I walk hand in hand with you as you do my will alone . Let My Spirit of Holiness lead your days now for the body and Bride of Christ are coming together now in a redeeming way in that all that is being done now in this hour is...

Ecumenism has gone wrong one more time in Germany and has escalated into denial of the truth about the Eucharist: in the German Diocese, Stuttgart-Rottenburg, an initiative by a Catholic theologian has invited Protestants to receive Communion on a large scale.“Here on sight, we begin with a hospitable Church by inviting each other openly and cordially to Communion and the Celebration of the Last Supper [Abendmahl]” reads the “Ravensburger Manifesto” signed on October 8.

My children be not dismayed with the array of things that beset the worldly for you ARE My Kingdom Come and now you shall walk in My attributes as never before. As Enoch now you shall be with Me, as Elisha when you call I shall come for you dressing you fresh in the Mantle of My Resurrection Power to take back the land from the evil one for I AM coming soon for you and NOW is your time to ( (( SHINE )) ) 2 Kings 2:14 Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from...

The brilliant German monk never intended to start his own Church A few years ago, a Lutheran friend sent me a link to her favourite website: Lutheran Satire. The brainchild of a US Lutheran pastor, it focuses on Church humour from a Lutheran angle. The goal is catechesis through comedy, and no issue or religious leader is too sacred to poke. One of the site’s most popular videos is a cartoon called “The Reformation Piggybackers”. The plot is simple: Luther nails his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg church...

The Lutheran Bishop-to-be, Rev. Katherine Finegan, made fancy invites for her "festive installation service", which will be held at St. Peter's Catholic Cathedral in Michigan... What's wrong with this picture? REMNANT COMMENT: This event is also announced in the "Tidings of Peace" October 2017 newsletter, in which something called "Pastor Andrea Fluegel" rather breathlessly reveals that Martin Lurther just barely "survived" being burnt at the stake by the Catholic Church, thank God, and then went on to save the world or some such nonsense.  (It's a fun read, Pastor Andrea. Feel free to use our cathedral, and then maybe call us when the shuttle lands.)In the meantime, hey, whom are we to judge first--the apparent...

Tennessee Episcopal Priest Kira Schlesinger believes so strongly in legalized abortion that she wrote a book to reconcile her Christian beliefs with the killing of unborn babies. In her new book “Pro-Choice and Christian: Reconciling Faith, Politics, and Justice,” Schlesinger criticizes churches that “shame” and stigmatize women who abort their unborn babies. She said church congregations should have more open conversations about abortion, and support women who have them. “The shame and stigma surrounding abortion and unwanted pregnancies, particularly in religious circles, are a huge impediment to having honest and forthright discussions about something nearly a third of women have...

No, I did not make that quote up. It flowed from the lips of the Reverend Laura Young, explaining to thinkprogress.org why she and others from the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice are blessing Preterm, a local abortion clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. And, no, I did not make up “blessing” either. Who is the Rev. Young? I did a quick check in the Columbus Dispatch. From one story I learned This year, Young, a United Methodist minister in the West Ohio Conference, was assigned by Bishop Gregory Palmer to serve as executive director of the Ohio Religious Coalition for Reproductive...

Few people have punctuated history like Martin Luther, the man who spawned the Protestant Reformation 500 years ago, says author Eric Metaxas, whose latest book chronicles his life and legacy. "I never wanted to write another biography," Metaxas said in an interview with The Christian Post in early September, noting that his previous biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, was a huge undertaking. But two friends — to whom he dedicates his new work, Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed World —convinced him that he was the man for the job given that this...

In an interview with GQ earlier this week, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby dodged the question of whether gay sex is sinful. He admitted to acting like a politician and to "copping out" on the answer, despite the fact that most Anglicans in the global church agree that gay sex is wrong, as it has been consistently condemned by the Bible and church tradition. GQ's Alastair Campbell asked Welby point-blank: "Is gay sex sinful?" After balking at the question, the archbishop gave a very telling answer. "You know very well that is a question I can't give a straight answer...

Judicial registration is when you come into my courts announcing who you are in Me for truly it is the Overcomers that get all the attention with justice and purity for they knowingly walk in My virtue day and night and are more than familiar with the authority they walk in as a child of God . So come into My courts singing who you are for as you announce Me I shall announce you as My Word declares before The Father ! Matthew 10:32 32 “Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father...

If you see a Methodist church get hit by lightning, this may explain why: United Methodist Church bishop Dr. Karen Oliveto is not only a lesbian, she also believes (and publicly teaches) that Jesus was a bigot filled with prejudices. She does say that Jesus grew and changed, and that’s her point. Bishop Oliveto admonishes, “If Jesus can change, if he can give up his bigotries and prejudices, if he can realize that he had made his life too small, and if, in this realization, he grew closer to others and closer to God, than so can we.” The United...

Justin Welby has said he struggles with the question of whether gay sex is a sin and acknowledged that the gulf between conservative and liberal Anglicans on the issue is “irreconcilable”...Welby, who came under fire at the weekend by survivors of sexual abuse for his suggestion that the Church of England had acted with integrity, is likely to disappoint LGBTI campaigners within the church over his “cop-out” on gay sex. Asked by Campbell if gay sex was sinful, Welby said: “You know very well that is a question I can’t give a straight answer to. Sorry, badly phrased there. I...

More British women than men are starting training as priests for the first time in 16 years, the Church of England said. Of the 544 people in this autumn’s intake – which is the biggest since 2007 – some 274 ordinands are women while 270 are men, according to data from the Church of England’s Ministry Division. It is the first time men have been outnumbered since 2001, when 238 entered training for ordained ministry compared to 243 women. The figure also represents the highest number of women beginning their journey to priesthood in a decade.