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Worshipers gather in Allegheny Commons Park West for Easter Sunday sunrise service

Worshipers gather in Allegheny Commons Park West for Easter Sunday sunrise service

CBS News20-04-2025
Here in Pittsburgh for Eater Sunday, morning mass was held at Saint Alexis Church in Wexford, and on Sunday afternoon, Bishop David Zubik of the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese concluded the holy weekend with a family blessing at Saint Paul Cathedral.
Meanwhile, people gathered to watch the sun rise to celebrate Christ's resurrection in Allegheny Commons Park West.
It was part of the Northside Easter sunrise service by Lake Elizabeth in the park for what is a significant day for Christians here and around the world.
They celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion.
Today's service was fitting as those gathered to celebrate the resurrection, as the sun came up at the park on Easter Sunday.
Of course, many will also head to church today to celebrate the holiday with family and loved ones.
The Easter blessing of families with Bishop Zubik will take place at St. Paul Cathedral, the mother church of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, this afternoon from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m.
Also, on this Easter Sunday, Pope Francis gave the traditional blessing from the Vatican.
It's the highest-profile appearance since he was discharged from the hospital weeks ago.
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Pastor: Homeland Security's use of Bible verse in video is blasphemy
Pastor: Homeland Security's use of Bible verse in video is blasphemy

Miami Herald

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  • Miami Herald

Pastor: Homeland Security's use of Bible verse in video is blasphemy

My social media channels were flooded with the words of the prophet Isaiah last week. That's hardly unusual. I am a pastor and the algorithms feed me a steady stream of sermons, articles and even memes based on scripture. The verse I kept seeing, Isaiah 6:8, also happens to be one of my favorites. The prophet is telling the story of his commissioning or call to ministry. He has an ecstatic vision of God seated on the heavenly throne, surrounded by flying seraphim singing 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord.' Isaiah is filled with dread and confesses, 'Woe is me! I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips.' The Lord cleanses the prophet's mouth with a live coal and then he hears God say, 'Whom shall I send, who will go for us?' and Isaiah replies, 'Here I am, Lord. Send me.' Like a lot of Christians, this passage resonates deeply with me. I've never had a vision like Isaiah's, but I have heard the Lord 'calling in the night,' as the old hymn goes. I have, with fear and trembling, prayed those words, 'Here I am, Lord. Send me.' Whenever I hear them, I remember my decision to follow Jesus, who quoted Isaiah at the beginning of his public ministry, saying, 'He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor, he has sent me to proclaim freedom to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to set the prisoners free and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.' Usually I love to hear Isaiah 6:8. It speaks to what is most sacred in my life. But I was disgusted when I heard those words last week in the Department of Homeland Security's new recruitment video. The ad opens with marine helicopters traveling down a runway at dusk, preparing for take off on a mission. A genial male voice with a slight southern accent says, 'There's a Bible verse I think about sometimes, many times.' Now the camera cuts to the inside of a helicopter, the light grows dimmer but we can make out DHS secretary Kristy Noam surrounded by agents in body armor. The narrator intones Isaiah 6:8, 'Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Who shall I send? And who will go for us?' Ominous music swells up, but the voices aren't singing 'Holy, holy, holy,' they chant again and again, 'You can run on for a long time, sooner or later God's gonna cut you down.' Then a rapid montage of shots: agents chasing people in boats, a Customs and Border Patrol patch on a uniform, armored vehicles, rugged terrain surveilled through night vision goggles and the brightest light–the gleam of plastic zip tie handcuffs in an agent's belt. In choosing to use Isaiah 6:8, the video suggests that the Trump administration's mission to capture a daily quota of undocumented immigrants, deny them due process and imprison them in 'Gator Gulags' is God's mission. God didn't send the prophet Isaiah to hunt down the poor and vulnerable. In fact, in chapter 16, God puts these words in the mouth of the prophet; 'Hide the fugitives, do not betray the refugees, let the fugitives stay with you; be their shelter from the destroyer.' God sends the prophet Isaiah on a dangerous mission to speak judgement against the powerful, announcing 'Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field til there is no space left and you live alone in the land. Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks, who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent.' Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Patrol agents are sent by the federal government, not the sovereign Lord. To suggest otherwise is the textbook definition of blasphemy. Kate Murphy is pastor at The Grove Presbyterian Church in Charlotte.

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