Latest news with #ministry
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Climate
- Irish Times
South Korea death toll rises to 14 after landslide and flooding
Two people have died and a further two are missing in the South Korean resort town of Gapyeong on Sunday, after a landslide engulfed houses and flooding swept away vehicles during a period of heavy rainfall. This brings the nationwide death toll to 14 with 12 people missing since the rain began on Wednesday. The ministry said eight people were discovered dead and six others were reported missing in the southern town of Sancheong on Saturday after heavy downpours caused landslides, house collapses and flash floods. A ministry report said six people remain missing in Gapyeong and the southern city of Gwangju. READ MORE Earlier last week, three people were found dead in a submerged car, and a person was also killed when their car was buried by soil and concrete after a retaining wall of an overpass collapsed in Osan, just south of Seoul, during heavy rain. As of 9am local time on Sunday, about 3,840 people remain evacuated from their homes, the ministry report said. But the rain has stopped in most of South Korea and heavy rain alerts have subsequently been lifted throughout the country, ministry officials said. Since Wednesday, southern regions have received 24in-31in of rain, according to the ministry report. The rainfall is likely to be followed by a heatwave, the government weather forecaster said on Sunday. The heavy rainfall, which had earlier lashed southern parts of South Korea, moved north overnight, it said. – Agencies
CBS News
6 days ago
- General
- CBS News
East Bay man devotes life to ministering, serving unhoused
An East Bay man who's run a homeless ministry for years gives away his own bed and the roof over his head to serve the unhoused. For Vincent Pannizzo, ministering to the unhoused is his life's mission. But there was a time when they weren't even on his radar. "I was a graduate student at UC Berkeley studying ancient history. I really didn't care much for the homeless," Pannizzo told CBS News Bay Area. Then one day, his outlook changed. "I started reading the Bible to get some information and I start to read the words of Jesus. I was really surprised at what I found in there about caring for people, which I never really did before," Pannizzo said. He found faith and what he described as a calling from God. Pannizzo dropped out of his PhD program to seek out the unsheltered. "God does love them, and I want to bring the light and love of Christ to them," Pannizzo explained. In 2012, he started the nonprofit, Mission for the Homeless. He begins this day loading up donated groceries from the Emeryville Citizens Assistance Program. Bobby Miller, the program's volunteer director, credits Pannizzo with finding folks who are too ill or physically unable to pick up the free food themselves. "At the end of the day, he has some solace knowing that he has reached some of those people who probably wouldn't have had anything to eat today," Miller said. Pannizzo drives his van from Fremont to El Cerrito every day and tends to more than 100 unhoused people on his regular route. He supplies more than food, clothes, blankets and tents. "I have to check, I have to triage, see if they have an infection, if they need to go to the hospital. Do they need to be taken off the streets immediately?" he said. At one Oakland sidewalk encampment, Gwen, who declined to give her last name, said Pannizzo makes her feel like she is not forgotten. Someone cares. "If he doesn't see us here, he'll drive around and look for us," she said. "Somebody paying attention to me. That matters." Pannizzo's nonprofit, Mission for the Homeless, also rents several homes to house 10 people whom he's taken off the streets. They eat together like family. One of the residents, Eric, says he was ready to give up on life when Pannizzo found him, gave him a tent, and offered hope. "He saved me the night I was in the rain, very depressed," Eric said. "He's way turned my life around. He made me happy." And Eric's still baffled about how Pannizzo himself could choose to live in a tent outside the house so that he and others can sleep in a warm bed. "Put himself out to put me in. It's crazy," Eric marveled. "We have limited space. And I'm perfectly comfortable in a tent," Pannizzo said. In fact, when he first decided to serve the unsheltered, Pannizzo invited folks off the streets to live with his family in their apartment, and they kept getting kicked out. It was not an easy way to live, and his wife left, and took their infant son with her to the East Coast. Pannizzo said he was heartbroken, but he remained dedicated to his mission to those living with homelessness. Some of his other volunteers also choose to be unhoused. Looking forward, Pannizzo hopes to secure corporate sponsorships so that he can purchase homes and get more people housed. For his Mission for the East Bay's Homeless, this week's CBS News Bay Area Icon Award goes to Vincent Pannizzo.
CBS News
15-07-2025
- General
- CBS News
John MacArthur, influential evangelical preacher, dies at 86
The Rev. John MacArthur, an influential and exacting evangelical preacher, died Monday at the age of 86. He led Grace Community Church in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Sun Valley for more than five decades. The church announced his death on its website, praising his "56 years of faithful ministry." On Sunday, Tom Patton, one of the church's pastors, told the congregation MacArthur had been hospitalized with pneumonia. MacArthur made news during the coronavirus pandemic for flouting Los Angeles County's health orders by holding indoor services for hundreds of congregants and refusing to enforce masking and physical-distancing requirements. Well before then, his influence had spread far beyond Southern California, where he grew up and took the helm of his nondenominational congregation at age 29. His Grace to You broadcast ministry circulated his theologically conservative teachings while his many books, including the popular MacArthur Study Bible, were translated into dozens of languages. "His legacy as a pastor and teacher in the faith will continue to inspire many generations to come," said Jonathan Falwell, chancellor of Liberty University, where MacArthur had given the convocation address. Dressed in a suit and tie, he eschewed pop culture references and emotional appeals from the pulpit, even as they became mainstays of modern evangelicalism. His followers lauded him for his expository preaching, in which he walked them through Scripture line by line. He wanted his sermons to be timeless explanations of the Bible as he interpreted it. "He could get more out of a Bible verse than anyone I've ever known," evangelical leader Franklin Graham wrote on social media. He called MacArthur one of "America's great Bible teachers." He was "a lion of the pulpit," wrote the Rev. Al Mohler, a Southern Baptist leader, for the evangelical World magazine. "He was a preacher God used to make other preachers better preachers." MacArthur was unafraid to stir controversy for the sake of his beliefs, even deriding fellow evangelicals for what he saw as incorrect teachings and theology, including the growing charismatic wing of Christianity. He was an outspoken proponent of complementarianism – the belief that men and women have different roles and women should not be pastors. He publicly rebuked two influential evangelical women: the popular Bible teacher Beth Moore and the Rev. Paula White-Cain, a spiritual advisor to President Donald Trump. During a packed, indoor Sunday morning service at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, MacArthur told applauding congregants that they were not meeting to be rebellious, but because "our Lord has commanded us to come together and worship him." The county and the church traded lawsuits, with the latter arguing the COVID-19 mandates violated their constitutional right to religious freedom. In August 2021, the county's board of supervisors voted to pay Grace Community Church to settle the lawsuit — an outcome MacArthur hailed as a "monumental victory." The church has also weathered allegations related to its handling of abuse allegations and its treatment of women leaving abusive marriages. MacArthur hailed from a long line of pastors, including his father. As part of his ministry, he helped train future church leaders through the Master's University and the Master's Seminary, both in Southern California. He is survived by his wife, Patricia, and his four adult children, Matt, Marcy, Mark and Melinda, along with 15 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. The church statement described him as a "beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather" and asked for prayers on his family's behalf. MacArthur had suffered from health problems in recent years, including heart and lung procedures. "Even in recent years, though beset with health challenges, he persisted in teaching, leading, and investing in the ministries the Lord had entrusted to him," the church statement said. MacArthur spoke about his ill health in a video message to a church leadership conference earlier this year. "I realize I'm on the last lap," he said. "That takes on a new meaning when you know you're on the short end of the candle. I am all thanks and praise to God for everything he's allowed me to be a part of and everything he's accomplished by his Word in these years of ministry."
Washington Post
15-07-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
Influential evangelical preacher John MacArthur dies at 86
The Rev. John MacArthur, an influential and exacting evangelical preacher, died Monday at the age of 86. He led Grace Community Church in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Sun Valley for more than five decades. His ministry announced his death on social media. On Sunday, Tom Patton, one of the church's pastors, told the congregation MacArthur had been hospitalized with pneumonia.
Associated Press
15-07-2025
- General
- Associated Press
Influential evangelical preacher John MacArthur dies at 86
The Rev. John MacArthur, an influential and exacting evangelical preacher, died Monday at the age of 86. He led Grace Community Church in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Sun Valley for more than five decades. His ministry announced his death on social media. On Sunday, Tom Patton, one of the church's pastors, told the congregation MacArthur had been hospitalized with pneumonia. MacArthur made news during the coronavirus pandemic for flouting Los Angeles County's health orders by holding indoor services for hundreds of congregants and refusing to enforce masking and physical-distancing requirements. Well before then, his influence had spread far beyond Southern California, where he grew up and took the helm of his nondenominational congregation at age 29. His Grace to You broadcast ministry circulated his theologically conservative teachings while his many books, including the popular MacArthur Study Bible, were translated into dozens of languages. Dressed in a suit and tie, he eschewed pop culture references and emotional appeals from the pulpit, even as they became mainstays of modern evangelicalism. His followers lauded him for his expository preaching, in which he walked them through Scripture line by line. He wanted his sermons to be timeless explanations of the Bible as he interpreted it. 'He could get more out of a Bible verse than anyone I've ever known,' evangelical leader Franklin Graham wrote on social media. He called MacArthur one of 'America's great Bible teachers.' He was 'a lion in the pulpit,' wrote the Rev. Al Mohler, a Southern Baptist leader, for the evangelical World magazine. 'He was a preacher God used to make other preachers better preachers.' MacArthur was unafraid to stir controversy for the sake of his beliefs, even deriding fellow evangelicals for what he saw as incorrect teachings and theology, including the growing charismatic wing of Christianity. He was an outspoken proponent of complementarianism – the belief that men and women have different roles and women should not be pastors. He publicly rebuked two influential evangelical women: the popular Bible teacher Beth Moore and the Rev. Paula White-Cain, a spiritual advisor to President Donald Trump. During a packed, indoor Sunday morning service at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, MacArthur told applauding congregants that they were not meeting to be rebellious, but because 'our Lord has commanded us to come together and worship him.' The county and the church traded lawsuits, with the latter arguing the COVID-19 mandates violated their constitutional right to religious freedom. In August 2021, the county's board of supervisors voted to pay $800,000 to Grace Community Church to settle the lawsuit — an outcome MacArthur hailed as a 'monumental victory.' The church has also weathered allegations related to its handling of abuse allegations and its treatment of women leaving abusive marriages. MacArthur hailed from a long line of pastors, including his father. As part of his ministry, he helped train future church leaders through the Master's University and the Master's Seminary, both in Southern California. He is survived by his wife, Patricia, and his four adult children, Matt, Marcy, Mark and Melinda, along with 15 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. MacArthur had suffered from health problems in recent years, including heart and lung procedures. He spoke about his ill health in a video message to a church leadership conference earlier this year. 'I realize I'm on the last lap,' he said. 'That takes on a new meaning when you know you're on the short end of the candle. I am all thanks and praise to God for everything he's allowed me to be a part of and everything he's accomplished by his Word in these years of ministry.' ___ Associated Press writer Deepa Bharath in Los Angeles contributed. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
