RELIGION HEADLINES MON 7-14-25

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( SRN NEWS )  The catastrophic flooding in Texas hit Christian summer camps especially hard.  At Camp Mystic more than a score of people lost their lives.  Christian camps have long been cherished for fostering community, self-esteem and faith in Texas.  In fact, there are thousands of similar religious facilities offering summer experiences to young people all across the country.  They date back to two parallel movements in the 19th century — the revivalist religious gatherings in tents and the “fresh-air movement” after the industrial revolution.  Christian summer camps really boomed in the wake of World War Two.

(  )  A church deacon who helped thwart a mass shooting at his Michigan church last month has received a reward.  Richard Pryor used his 2018 Ford F-150 pickup truck to ram the gunman who was threatening CrossPointe Community Church in Wayne.  This gave church security staff the time to fatally shoot the assailant.  Pryor has been given a 2025 Ford F-150 pickup by Jack Demmer Ford in Wayne to replace his vehicle, which was struck with multiple gunshots during the incident.  More than 100 people were inside the church and children in vacation Bible school were leading that Sunday’s worship when the gunfire began.

(  )  The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for the Taliban’s supreme leader and the head of Afghanistan’s Supreme Court on charges of persecuting women and girls since seizing power nearly four years ago.  The ICC accuses the Taliban of having “severely deprived females of the rights to education, privacy, expression, thought, conscience and religion.”  Since returning to power in Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban have imposed harsh measures on the population, including the country’s small Christian minority.  Persecution has increased and many believers have had to flee the country.

(  )  A judge has rejected a challenge to Michigan’s longtime ban on taxpayer-funded abortions for low-income residents, saying a group that brought the lawsuit had no standing to file it.  In 2022 Michigan voters approved an amendment that enshrined abortion in the state constitution.  But the ban on most taxpayer-funded abortions has been in place for decades, no matter which political party has controlled the legislature or the governor’s office.  The lawsuit was filed on behalf of YWCA Kalamazoo, which pays for abortions sought by women in southwestern Michigan.  The judge says the Y  was the wrong party to bring a challenge.