CHICAGO — The Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church has commissioned as deacon a woman who identifies as “non-binary,” only uses the letter M for a first name, and prefers the pronoun “they.” Sally Dyck, the bishop of the conference, commissioned M. Barclay on Sunday, along with three other women approved to serve as provisional deacons. […]
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — McDonald’s fast food restaurants in California’s Bay Area will utilize rainbow french fry boxes throughout the month of June in recognition of “Gay Pride Month.” “McDonald’s has always been a company that has supported diversity and inclusion of its employees and extended McDonald’s family,” McDonald’s spokesperson Kim Knapp said in a […]
India (Mission Network News) — Sumani, a 16-year-old girl in India, is being pressured by her mother to become a devadasi—essentially a religious prostitute who is dedicated in “marriage” to a Hindu deity. Once dedicated, devadasis are not allowed to marry any man and are taken advantage of in the temples. Sumani participates in a Children’s […]
ONTARIO — Concerns are mounting over a recently passed bill in Canada that has been interpreted as empowering the government to seize children from homes where their parents or caregivers “abusively” refuse to allow the child to “transition” into the opposite sex. Ontario’s Bill 89, also known as “The Supporting Children, Youth and Families Act […]
WENZHOU, Zhejiang (ChinaAid)— Disputes over government surveillance devices in house churches continue in China’s coastal Zhejiang as officials cut power and water supplies to several area churches and the homes of church leadership at the beginning of June. Members of Tuanqian Village Church in Rui’an, a county-level city in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, spoke with reporters on […]
MANHATTAN, N.Y. — Parents at a school district in New York say that they are horrified after witnessing a man deliver a risque’ drag performance during their children’s talent show. According to reports, Public School 96 PTA President Frankie Quinones gave the final performance at the Manhattan Learning Expo, held on May 25 for District 4 students, […]
DOVER, Del. — Lawmakers in Delaware have passed a bill that would ensure that abortion remains legal in the state should the U.S. Supreme Court ever overturn Roe v. Wade. The House passed Senate Bill 5 on Tuesday, which amended current law that made it illegal for abortions to be performed except in the cases of […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson released a statement on Wednesday recognizing “LGBT Pride Month,” an act that some have noted President Donald Trump has not done, unlike predecessor Barack Obama, who released such a statement each year. “In recognition of LGBTI Month, the Department of State affirms its solidarity with the human […]
(Christian Concern) — More sex education is linked to higher rates of teenage pregnancy, a new study has shown. It found that teenage pregnancy rates have declined in areas where the government has cut spending on sex education and birth control. The decline was steepest in areas where councils slashed their teenage pregnancy budgets most […]
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — A federal judge has dismissed an international lawsuit filed by an African homosexual activist group, which accused an American pastor of committing “crimes against humanity” for speaking out against homosexual behavior in the country. U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor, appointed to the bench by then-President Bill Clinton, issued an order on Monday declaring […]