US
An estimated 300,000 people marched on the streets of New York City in what was called “The People’s Climate March” on Sunday, to make a call to politicians and international leaders to take steps toward reversing the climate change that has been happening worldwide. Several well-known public figures joined the march, such as U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon; Leonard DiCaprio, who recently was appointed as the U.N. Messenger for Peace with a focus on climate change; and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.READ MORE
US
President Obama launched a new initiative to combat sexual assaults on college campuses on Friday. The initiative, called “It’s on Us,” is a nationwide campaign to spread awareness and to encourage people to do their part to prevent sexual assaults. “As far as we’ve come, the fact is that from sports leagues to pop culture to politics, our society still does not sufficiently value women,” President Obama said during his remarks with the launch of the initiative.READ MORE
World
At least eight people who were in Guinea to educate the people and spread awareness about Ebola were killed and their bodies were found in a latrine in a school of a remote village. Of those killed included health workers, local officials, a preacher, and journalists, and some were found to have had their throats slit, according to Reuters. The villagers had attacked them with machetes and clubs, and a large crowd threw stones at them.READ MORE
US
The U.S. Senate voted on Thursday approving President Obama’s plans to support Syrian rebels in the fight against the Islamic State militants. The vote came to 78 in favor while 22 were against, approving the plan as part of a governmental spending measure. Votes in favor came from 45 Democrats and 33 Republicans, and votes against came from 10 Democrats and 12 Republicans.READ MORE
US
U.S. Air Force soldiers now have the option to omit ‘so help me God’ from their enlistment oaths or oaths to take officer appointments, according to an Air Force statement. The decision came when an airman from the Creech Air Force Base in Nevada was refused reenlistment because he “struck out” the words ‘so help me God’ in his paperwork, violating an Air Force policy at the time. This led to a legal case, which went to the Department of Defense General Counsel, which decided on Wednesday that the statement will now be optional.READ MORE
World
Pastor Saeed Abedini, 34, has been imprisoned for almost two years in Iran for his Christian faith. September 26 marks the 2nd year mark, and his family and supporters are planning to hold prayer vigils all over the world on that day in hopes that it will influence his return. “The kids and I are longing to see Saeed returned home safely to us,” said Naghmeh Abedini, Pastor Saeed’s wife.READ MORE
Ministries
“There is hope for our generation – we just need to keep learning, growing, and developing our identity to understand how we can use it for the kingdom,” said William Tseng, the executive director of INHERTIANCE Media. INHERITANCE Media, in partnership with Access Bible Convention, hosted INFUSE Conference on Saturday, September 14, to allow Asian American Christians to understand how their ethnic identity comes into play in their walk with God, and what the role of Asian Americans might be in the body of Christ. The one day conference featured 20 different workshop sessions and two main plenary sessions.READ MORE
World
Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese woman who was imprisoned in Khartoum and sentenced to a death penalty for refusing to give up her Christian faith, was released from prison and safely arrived in New Hampshire last month with her husband, Daniel Wani, and her two children. In a recent interview with Fox News, she shared her experiences from prison for the first time.READ MORE
Ministries
Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary recently signed a purchase agreement in August to relocate from its current Mills Valley location near San Francisco to a location near the Ontario International Airport in southern California. The seminary is planning to fully complete its move in 2016. The new location features a six-story building that takes up about 153,000 square feet, and another future building to be built adjacently will encompass about 75,000 square feet. READ MORE
US
The Islamic State, also known by ISIS or ISIL, released a video on Tuesday night as a challenge to the U.S., allegedly in response to President Obama’s recent remarks to “degrade and destroy” ISIL. The 52-second-long video was released to the public through Al-Hayat Media Centre, the same media source through which the militant group had been releasing their videos of the beheading of their foreign hostages. It shows U.S. troops being attacked and put on fire, and U.S. troops carrying wounded fellow soldiers into an armed vehicles.READ MORE
US
A pastor from Columbia, South Carolina, was brought to a three-day trial and was sentenced to jail on Thursday, on the basis that his church had been violating the city’s noise limits. “I am sorry we don’t worship the Lord quietly, and that is everyone’s preference how you worship the Lord,” said Pastor Johnnie Clark from Rehoboth United Assemblies Church. “We just happen to be a Pentecostal Apostolic church and our praise is very vocal to the Lord.”READ MORE
Church
A church located in Texas has reached a settlement of $7.8 million with the Presbyterian Church of USA (PCUSA) for the church to leave the denomination while still possessing all of the church’s property, which once had been owned by the Grace Presbytery, the regional governing body of PCUSA. Highland Park Presbyterian Church’s leadership decided to leave the denomination after its liberal changes in 2011, including allowing people in same-sex relationships to be ordained as pastors and deaconsREAD MORE
Ministries
Hyepin Im is the president, CEO, and founder of Korean Churches for Community Development (KCCD), a non-profit organization whose aim is to help churches by connecting them to resources and partners that could help them to create a bigger impact and positive influence in their communities. Im is passionate about creating a platform for Asian Americans, and the Korean American church in particular, on which the good works they do for the community are able to shine, so that churches’ influence and contribution to their respective communities are recognized, appreciated, and thus, churches can become active stakeholders and decision makers in communities.READ MORE
US
A video released by TMZ on Monday showing Ray Rice physically abusing his fiancée at the time has been bringing about heated discussions on social media and the press about domestic violence. The video shows a man, who has been confirmed to be Ray Rice, and a woman in an elevator at an Atlantic City casino heated in an argument. Rice strikes his now-wife, Janay Palmer, and his hits eventually cause her to hit her head on the wall and fall to the ground. Rice then drags her unconscious body out of the elevator.READ MORE
US
The California State University system recently banned InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, one of the most well-known campus ministries in universities nationwide, on the basis of failing to adhere to a non-discrimination policy enforced by the California State Universities. The issue arose as a result of the fact that InterVarsity requires its student leaders to adhere to Christian doctrines.READ MORE
The Sunday Assembly, also known as the “Atheist Church”, based in the United Kingdom is scheduled to have its first global assembly. The “church” is also known to have a branch and ...
World May 06, 2014 02:34 AM EDTThe leaders of the DPRK have been making very strong statements regarding human rights. A representative from the North Korean government has stated in a speech that the U.S. is a ‘living ...
World May 08, 2014 03:08 AM EDT
