Africa is hosting an anti-persecution gathering

Africa is hosting an anti-persecution gathering

VERBATIM:  With Muslim terrorism spreading across the continent and Christian suffering as a result, the International Religious Freedom Summit is taking action.  This week it is hosting the first ever IRF Summit Africa in partnership with the Global Peace Foundation and Pepperdine University.  The event, which is being held in Kenya, hopes to encourage greater religious freedom throughout Africa which in the past saw Muslims and Christian live together in peace.  MH SRN NE

Your pastor might have another job

Your pastor might have another job

VERBATIM:  According to numbers from the National Survey of Religious Leaders, 35% of all clergy in the U.S. are bivocational — meaning they hold down a second job to make ends meet.  Amongst Evangelical Protestants, nearly HALF of all pastors have a second job, compared to just 14% of Catholic and 11% of Mainline Protestant clergy.  Overall, the percentage of preachers who are bivocational is going up over time.  MH SRN NEWS

Another athlete runs afoul of the LGBT agenda

Another athlete runs afoul of the LGBT agenda

VERBATIM:  The French soccer league is suspending Nemanja Matic of the Olympique Lyon club for covering up a rainbow badge on his official jersey during a recent match.  The league was celebrating the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.  But Matic, who is from Serbia, is a Christian and says his faith forbids him from promoting Gay Pride.  League officials are unmoved — suspending him for four matches.  MH SRN NEWS

The Satanic Temple is opening another abortion center

The Satanic Temple is opening another abortion center

Lawmakers in England might expand abortion this month

Lawmakers in England might expand abortion this month

VERBATIM:  Currently, British women can terminate their pregnancies up to 24 weeks — that’s six months into a pregnancy.  But several MP’s have introduced a measure that would legalize abortion right up to the moment of birth.  Polls in the United Kingdom show only one percent of the general public supports late term abortion, but about 70% of lawmakers do and they are planning to do something about it.  The vote could come next week.  MH SRN NEWS

The Pew Research Center paints a picture of faith around the globe

The Pew Research Center paints a picture of faith around the globe

VERBATIM:  Where would you find the most Muslims?  If you said the Middle East, you would be wrong.  The lion’s share of the world’s Muslims lives in the Asia-Pacific region — about three times as many as live in the MIddle East and North Africa.  And where are the most Christians?  Sub-Saharan Africa — although Latin America and Europe come in a close 2nd and 3rd.  The most people of NO religious faith are in China — more than one billion.  MH SRN NEWS

Franklin Graham is heading back to the United Kingdom

Franklin Graham is heading back to the United Kingdom

VERBATIM:  The popular evangelist is scheduled to preach the gospel at Royal Victoria Dock on Saturday, June 21st.  He will be accompanied by Christian music stars including Michael W. Smith and CeCe Winans.  It’s all part of Graham’s international God Loves You Tour which is taking him to several foreign countries this year.  He has been to the U.K. several times.  In fact his father Billy conducted the first international crusade of his career in London in 1954.  MH SRN NEWS

LGBT art is on display outside a playground in New York City

LGBT art is on display outside a playground in New York City

VERBATIM:  The photos are shocking:  Large paintings of nude men on a fence — children playing in brightly-colored monkey bars just beyond.  It’s an art exhibit called “Rooted In Pride” and it features large LGBT paintings and photos in public place around Brooklyn, including many on the fence that surrounds the J.J. Byrne Playground.  The exhibition — which will be in place until August, is sponsored by a non-profit group called Arts Gowanus.  MH SRN NEWS

Some PCUSA pastors are concerned

Some PCUSA pastors are concerned

VERBATIM:  The leadership of the Presbyterian Church USA has passed a new measure that will require seminary students to toe the line on the denomination’s approval of same-sex marriage and homosexual ordination.  Up to now, conservative clergymen have had some leeway to act in accordance with their personal beliefs when it comes to actually officiating a gay wedding.  Those conservatives are worried that the new rule is the beginning of a purge in the PCUSA.  MH SRN NEWS

A boy helps a girls softball team win

A boy helps a girls’ softball team win

VERBATIM:  Marissa Rothenberger pitched seven shut-out innings to help Champlin Park High School beat Bloomington Jefferson 6-0 to win the Minnesota girl’s state championship.  The problem is that Marissa, who overpowered the opposition on the mound, is actually a boy living as a girl.  In fact, his dominance all season long has prompted three girls to file a lawsuit challenging the right of a male to compete against females in high school sports in Minnesota.  MH SRNN NEWS

Divorce is bad for kids

Divorce is bad for kids

VERBATIM:  A new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research reveals what we’ve all known for some time — when mom and dad split up, it’s not great for the children.  The report indicates that youngsters whose parents divorce face major long-term problems, including lower income, increased mortality risk, and a higher likelihood of teenage pregnancy.  About one third of the kids in America will see their moms and dads divorce before they reach adulthood.  MH SRN NEWS

Christians prepare to celebrate Pentecost

Christians prepare to celebrate Pentecost

VERBATIM:  Believers around the globe will gather this Sunday to commemorate the coming of the Holy Spirit on the apostles as described in the Book of Acts.  The Bible also indicates that commemorations of the event began shortly after it first occurred.  Many churches will have special services or special events on Sunday.  Some hold an all-night prayer vigil heading into Sunday.  Eastern Orthodox congregations will hold a three-day feast to mark Pentecost.  MH SRN NEWS

Transgenderism is pushing high school sports into the spotlight

Transgenderism is pushing high school sports into the spotlight

VERBATIM:  ESPN does NOT cover the nation’s preps as a rule — but when a boy won two gold medals at the California state track championships this past weekend in girl’s events — amidst protests from parents — the story appears on ESPN.  At the Oregon State finals two girls walked off the podium rather than appear with a boy who had taken the gold medal from them, and suddenly local high school sports is a flashpoint in the debate over the future of female athletics.  MH SRN NEWS

The Southern Baptist Convention considers gambling

The Southern Baptist Convention considers gambling

VERBATIM:  The denomination’s annual summer meeting is just around the corner and amongst several resolutions the delegates will consider is one that condemns sports betting.  The proposed resolution states that “The rapid expansion of legalized sports betting presents significant spiritual, moral, ethical, and societal concerns.”  SBC leaders hope delegates will vote to approve the document, which includes a call for all Christians to reject gambling.  MH SRNNNEWS

A new look at gay marriage around the world

A new look at gay marriage around the world

VERBATIM:  According to a study from the Pew Research Center, the practice is primarily an affectation of the West.  So far 40 countries have legalized homosexual unions and almost NONE of them are in Africa or Asia.  Gay marriage has been embraced in Western Europe, all of North America and in some countries in South America.  It’s also a relatively recent phenomenon.  The first nation to legalize same-sex marriage was the Netherlands in 2001.  MH SRN NEWS

America’s pastors are staying put

America’s pastors are staying put

VERBATIM:  LifeWay Research has been looking at the data and concludes that only about one-in-100 of the country’s Protestant clergymen leave the ministry in any given year.  Just 1.2% of pastors left their job last year — not counting those who retired or passed away.  That’s about the same as 2015 when 1.3 of them quit.  Clergymen are under more pressure these days and have to fill more roles than ever before, but that doesn’t seem to be driving them away.  MH SRNN NEWS

Atheist groups are preparing a lawsuit

Atheist groups are preparing a lawsuit

VERBATIM:  The Freedom From Religion Foundation, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and several other groups say they will sue the state of Texas over its new statute requiring the posting of the 10 Commandments in public schools.  Several other states have similar laws and atheists have succeeded in tying them up in court.  The Texas legislation would require that a copy of the Commandments be posed in every classroom.  MH SRNN NEWS

Abortion pills may be coming to your local convenience store

Abortion pills may be coming to your local convenience store

A potential Democratic hopeful is confused

A potential Democratic hopeful is confused

A victory for religious freedom in New York

A victory for religious freedom in New York

VERBATIM:  A U.S. District Court has ruled that the state can NOT force a Christian photographer to shoot a gay wedding against her deeply held religious beliefs.  Emilee Carpenter is represented by Alliance Defending Freedom and spokesman Brian Neihart says “As the Supreme Court reaffirmed, the government can’t force Americans to say things they don’t believe. The U.S. Constitution protects Emilee’s freedom to express her own views.  MH SRN NRWS

Parents are fighting back in Colorado

Parents are fighting back in Colorado

VERBATIM:  The legislature has passed a law that essentially says that the courts can take your child from you if you refuse to allow them to live as the opposite sex.  Now a lawsuit has been filed to strike down the measure.  It’s being lodged by a coalition of parental rights groups including Protect Kids Colorado and the Colorado Parent Advocacy Network.  The Trump administration’s Justice Department might also get involved in the legal battle.  MH SRN NEWS

A group of Canadian doctors takes a stand

A group of Canadian doctors takes a stand

VERBATIM:  The government and virtually all of the country’s medical establishment support transgenderism but a group of 21 are saying no.  The doctors are calling for a reconsideration of the policy to grant puberty-blocking drugs and sex change operations to Canadian children.  They point out that the surgeries are irreversible and come with a host of unpleasant side effects that remain with the patients for life.  Doctors in the United Kingdom have taken a similar stand.  MH SRN NEWS

Americans weigh-in on discrimination

Americans weigh-in on discrimination

VERBATIM:  A new poll from the Pew Research Center finds that illegal immigrants are the group most respondents believe suffers discrimination — 82% believe that.  Second place on the list goes to transgender people — 77% of adults think they are discriminated against.  African Americans, Muslims, Hispanics and Jews are next.  The Pew poll also reveals that 43% of Americans think Evangelical Christians are the victims of discrimination.  MH SRN NEWS

A new count of how many abortions are taking place in this country

A new count of how many abortions are taking place in this country

VERBATIM:  The Charlotte Lozier Institute has crunched all the available numbers and its best estimate is that from June of 2023 to June of 2024, 1.1 million abortions were carried out within the U.S. healthcare system.  What nobody knows is how many abortion happened OUTSIDE the system, via mail-order abortion drugs which are becoming increasingly popular.  The U.S. has averaged about one million abortions per year since 1973.  MH SRN NEWS