Religion

The Christian Post reports: The United Methodist Church General Conference voted to drop a ban on funding LGBT advocacy groups and removed a required punishment for pastors who officiate gay weddings after thousands of theologically conservative congregations left the mainline Protestant denomination in the last two years. The change was among the bulk of legislation approved by a vote of …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: Driving marked police cruisers and dressed in business attire, Louisiana State Police agents arrived at the headquarters of the Archdiocese of New Orleans to serve an unprecedented search warrant that demands officials turn over all records related to a decades-long clergy sex abuse crisis. Three investigators from the agency’s Special Victims Unit entered the Walmsley …

The Christian Post reports: Televangelist and prosperity gospel preacher Jesse Duplantis, who has an estimated net worth of around $20 million, has called poverty a “curse” and says his wealth — which includes a private jet and a 40,000-square-foot mansion in Louisiana — comes from being “blessed” by God. “Let me give you a prime example why I don’t care …

The Holland Sentinel reports: The Satanic Temple of West Michigan announced in March they’d been scheduled to give the meeting’s prayer April 23. The meeting drew one of the largest crowds the board has seen since Ottawa Impact commissioners took office in January 2023. Hundreds gathered in the lobby and in front of the Fillmore Complex. Many stood in small …

The Christian Post reports: Pastor Gene Jacobs of Real Life Ministries Silver Valley, who was found dead in a mountainous area south of Pinehurst, Idaho, on Tuesday evening, died from an apparent “self-inflicted gunshot wound,” local police said as his church continues to mourn their loss. While the church noted that an investigation into the pastor’s passing was ongoing, a …

The Christian Post reports: The Satanic Temple has challenged Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to a debate on religious freedom in America after the governor said this week that Satanists can’t be part of a recently approved chaplains program for public schools. DeSantis signed House Bill 931 into law on Thursday, allowing school districts and charter schools to “adopt a policy …

The Carteret County News-Times reports: Jerry Allan Box, a local minister at the Russell Creek Original Free Will Baptist Church in Beaufort, turned himself in to the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office on April 12 after being charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor Cruelty to Animals for killing a cat. Officials have video evidence in addition to Box initially lying to …

The Tallahassee Democrat reports: Satanic Temple members are planning on taking advantage of a bill Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Thursday that allows volunteer chaplains to provide support services for public K-12 students. But DeSantis says that’s not going to happen. “Some have said that if you do a school chaplain program, that somehow you’re going to have Satanists running around …

The Christian Post reports: Jerry Savelle, a popular televangelist and proponent of the prosperity gospel, which claims that believers will see improvements in wealth and well-being in this life, has died at 76. Jerry Savelle Ministries International announced on Facebook that the preacher died on Monday, identifying him as “a beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, pastor, mentor, and resolute friend.” …

The Christian Post reports: Panganai Java, the flamboyant Zimbabwe-born but Maryland-based preacher better known as Prophet Passion Java, finances his lavish lifestyle by preaching the prosperity gospel and charging his followers $555 for phone calls. Passion Java is well known for wearing expensive designer clothing and driving high-performance sports cars while attracting scrutiny from Prophets and Watches. His Instagram account …

Via press release from the Florida Highway Patrol: Today, Florida Highway Patrol Troopers responded to a report of an active shooter in Holmes County. The suspect was reportedly a female who had recently checked out of a local hotel and told the staff she was going on a shooting spree, directed by “God” in relation to the solar eclipse. The …

“Throughout the Bible we see solar and lunar eclipses connected to events that surround major turning points on the timeline of mankind with most having to do with the end of time. So why do I believe it’s a warning? “Not only does the Bible connect eclipses to judgment and End Times events but just take a look at what …

CBS News reports: The Diocese of Sacramento announced that they had officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It comes months after the diocese announced its intentions to file for bankruptcy in the wake of more than 250 lawsuits claiming sexual abuse by clergy and other staff. In a statement, Bishop of Sacramento Jaime Soto said the filing was the …

Miami’s ABC affiliate reports: A South Florida pastor accused of sexually battering a 15-year-old girl in his church became a wanted man Monday after skipping out on scheduled court hearings. He’s believed to be on the run. Monte Chitty, the 62-year-old pastor of First Baptist Marathon, had been released on a $75,000 bond soon after his March arrest. Prosecutors say …

NBC News reports: Pope Francis found an ally in his predecessor Benedict XVI when he spoke in favor of civil partnerships for same-sex couples, the pontiff said in a new book due out in Spain. Francis has confirmed the Catholic Church’s opposition to LGBTQ marriages, but has repeatedly said same-sex couples have a right to be protected by civil union …

Reuters reports: Uganda’s constitutional court on Wednesday refused to annul or suspend an anti-LGBTQ law that includes the death penalty for certain same-sex acts, but found some of its provisions inconsistent with certain fundamental human rights. In particular the court said the section of the legislation requiring the mandatory reporting to authorities of people suspected of having committed homosexual offences …

Reuters reports: Pope Francis called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all Israeli hostages in an Easter Sunday address that marked the most important day on the Christian calendar by deploring the suffering caused by wars. The pontiff presided over Mass in a packed and flower-bedecked St Peter’s Square, and then delivered his “Urbi et Orbi” …

“With the current state of the world being one that embraces darkness and rejects the righteousness and design of God, could the mass casualty event in Baltimore have been a sign of the times and a warning to America? It is a attack on our Star Spangled Banner. It’s an attack on everything, and it is dropping so to speak …

The Christian Post reports: “You know when I get concerned? It’s when the enemy leaves me alone.” That was the reaction from an Evangelical pastor in Hawaii after what he described as an “evil spirit” manifested itself during a study on Bible prophecy. The bizarre incident happened at Calvary Chapel Kaneohe on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, as Pastor …

Gallup Polling reports: As Americans observe Ramadan and prepare to celebrate Easter and Passover, the percentage of adults who report regularly attending religious services remains low. Three in 10 Americans say they attend religious services every week (21%) or almost every week (9%), while 11% report attending about once a month and 56% seldom (25%) or never (31%) attend. Two …