Latest news with #worship
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Seattle pastor details wild scene after worship event 'swarmed' by protesters
A Seattle pastor is speaking out after violent protests engulfed a worship event earlier in May and persisted in a follow-up event on Tuesday outside City Hall. Organizers hosted a Mayday USA rally at Cal Anderson Park in Seattle on Saturday, which The Pursuit NW Pastor Russell Johnson helped lead. The event reportedly offered free haircuts, free bike giveaways and free groceries for the community as well as time for prayer and worship. The event was later "swarmed" by protesters, some of whom reportedly threw urine-filled water balloons at attendees, and more than 20 arrests were made. "[Saturday's] event has, of course, been labeled by the media as some sort of anti-LGBT-type rally, and it wasn't," Johnson said Thursday on "The Ingraham Angle." Fbi To Probe Claims Of 'Targeted Violence' Against Religious Group After Evangelicals' Protest In Seattle "We were swarmed by hundreds of Antifa militants... They were throwing water-balloons filled with urine at Christians who stood in the park and were assaulted for the high crime of worshiping Jesus in a public space," Johnson told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. Read On The Fox News App After police reported multiple arrests at Saturday's rally, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell's office released a statement defending the LGBTQ community and protesters while criticizing the "far-right rally" for provoking the violent reaction. "Seattle is proud of our reputation as a welcoming, inclusive city for LGBTQ+ communities, and we stand with our trans neighbors when they face bigotry and injustice," the statement read. "Today's far-right rally was held here for this very reason — to provoke a reaction by promoting beliefs that are inherently opposed to our city's values, in the heart of Seattle's most prominent LGBTQ+ neighborhood." Seattle Mayor Accused Of Lying After Blaming Christian Rally For Park Violence While the mayor seemed to pin blame on the Christian group, Johnson rejected the notion that the Mayday event was designed to "provoke" a reaction. While a portion of the rally provided a space for parents and individuals who had de-transitioned to share their testimony and highlight concerns with transgender ideology, Johnson said it was done in an "uplifting, hopeful, God can change anything, Jesus has the power to transform your life" way. "It wasn't this Westboro Baptist, hateful rhetoric. It was people sharing a hopeful, optimistic outlook on what it looks like when God begins to work in your life," he told Ingraham. In response to the mayor, Johnson helped organize an event at Seattle City Hall on Tuesday, which he said was met with "similar" opposition from protesters. "Antifa was out in force. They bloodied and beat up good church people who stood in line to try to get into a rally to sing hymns and worship songs and pray for the direction of the city," Johnson said. The pastor noted that after announcing Tuesday's rally, he was "inundated" with support from people beyond Christian and conservative circles who wanted to "stand with Christians at City Hall because we believe in the First Amendment." Harrell's press secretary, Callie Craighead, previously told Fox News Digital that Harrell "remains steadfast in his denouncement of rhetoric from groups whose messages promote exclusion, intolerance, and undermine the dignity and rights of any community member — particularly those that are marginalized, like our LGBTQ+ community." Craighead added at the time: "As a Christian himself, the mayor is guided by the Christian values of love and justice, and his comments have specifically addressed ideologies that are in contrast to Seattle's commitment to being a welcoming city for all. Like any faith community, Christianity is not a monolith — and many Christians throughout Seattle do not hold the beliefs expressed by the organizers of the Mayday rally." Johnson criticized Harrell's stance, arguing the Seattle mayor has "terminated his political career by releasing those statements." "It's a clown show with these leftist, agitator-supporting politicians who are so out of touch with a wide swath of their constituents," he said. Harrell's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment for this article. FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said Tuesday he had requested an investigation into allegations of "targeted violence" against religious groups after the rally at Seattle City Hall in response to the mayor purportedly blaming Christian activists for igniting a weekend demonstration that turned violent. Fox News Digital's Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report. Original article source: Seattle pastor details wild scene after worship event 'swarmed' by protesters
Fox News
3 days ago
- General
- Fox News
Seattle pastor details wild scene after worship event 'swarmed' by protesters
A Seattle pastor is speaking out after violent protests engulfed a worship event earlier in May and persisted in a follow-up event on Tuesday outside City Hall. Organizers hosted a Mayday USA rally at Cal Anderson Park in Seattle on Saturday, which The Pursuit NW Pastor Russell Johnson helped lead. The event reportedly offered free haircuts, free bike giveaways and free groceries for the community as well as time for prayer and worship. The event was later "swarmed" by protesters, some of whom reportedly threw urine-filled water balloons at attendees, and more than 20 arrests were made. "[Saturday's] event has, of course, been labeled by the media as some sort of anti-LGBT-type rally, and it wasn't," Johnson said Thursday on "The Ingraham Angle." "We were swarmed by hundreds of Antifa militants... They were throwing water-balloons filled with urine at Christians who stood in the park and were assaulted for the high crime of worshiping Jesus in a public space," Johnson told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. After police reported multiple arrests at Saturday's rally, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell's office released a statement defending the LGBTQ community and protesters while criticizing the "far-right rally" for provoking the violent reaction. "Seattle is proud of our reputation as a welcoming, inclusive city for LGBTQ+ communities, and we stand with our trans neighbors when they face bigotry and injustice," the statement read. "Today's far-right rally was held here for this very reason — to provoke a reaction by promoting beliefs that are inherently opposed to our city's values, in the heart of Seattle's most prominent LGBTQ+ neighborhood." While the mayor seemed to pin blame on the Christian group, Johnson rejected the notion that the Mayday event was designed to "provoke" a reaction. While a portion of the rally provided a space for parents and individuals who had de-transitioned to share their testimony and highlight concerns with transgender ideology, Johnson said it was done in an "uplifting, hopeful, God can change anything, Jesus has the power to transform your life" way. "It wasn't this Westboro Baptist, hateful rhetoric. It was people sharing a hopeful, optimistic outlook on what it looks like when God begins to work in your life," he told Ingraham. In response to the mayor, Johnson helped organize an event at Seattle City Hall on Tuesday, which he said was met with "similar" opposition from protesters. "Antifa was out in force. They bloodied and beat up good church people who stood in line to try to get into a rally to sing hymns and worship songs and pray for the direction of the city," Johnson said. The pastor noted that after announcing Tuesday's rally, he was "inundated" with support from people beyond Christian and conservative circles who wanted to "stand with Christians at City Hall because we believe in the First Amendment." Harrell's press secretary, Callie Craighead, previously told Fox News Digital that Harrell "remains steadfast in his denouncement of rhetoric from groups whose messages promote exclusion, intolerance, and undermine the dignity and rights of any community member — particularly those that are marginalized, like our LGBTQ+ community." Craighead added at the time: "As a Christian himself, the mayor is guided by the Christian values of love and justice, and his comments have specifically addressed ideologies that are in contrast to Seattle's commitment to being a welcoming city for all. Like any faith community, Christianity is not a monolith — and many Christians throughout Seattle do not hold the beliefs expressed by the organizers of the Mayday rally." Johnson criticized Harrell's stance, arguing the Seattle mayor has "terminated his political career by releasing those statements." "It's a clown show with these leftist, agitator-supporting politicians who are so out of touch with a wide swath of their constituents," he said. Harrell's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment for this article. FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said Tuesday he had requested an investigation into allegations of "targeted violence" against religious groups after the rally at Seattle City Hall in response to the mayor purportedly blaming Christian activists for igniting a weekend demonstration that turned violent.
The National
27-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Netanyahu appears in tunnel under revered Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem
Israeli Prime Minister sparks criticism by visiting tunnels controversially dug under the place of worship, as he spoke of attempts to free hostages
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Winterfield United Methodist Church celebrates 150 years in Longview
LONGVIEW, Texas (KETK) – The Winterfield United Methodist Church celebrated 150 years of worship in Longview on Saturday. Longview church emphasizes forgiveness after AC unit's stolen The 150th anniversary celebration brought back old church members and former pastors to sing hymns, have lunch and to open up their time capsule that was buried in 1975. 'It's God, the love that is shared in East Texas brought people to this hilltop a long time ago from multiple counties, they had camp meetings and then they started getting organized and eventually a church would be formed,' Winterfield United Methodist Church pastor Brant Graham said. The celebration continued when the church gathered for even more worship at 9 a.m. on Sunday morning. To learn more, visit Winterfield United Methodist Church online. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
America the Beautiful: Remembering the heritage of freedom of faith, conscience and belief for all
May 10 (UPI) -- May 9th, my children and I brought our balls and bikes to the neighborhood park on the perfect spring afternoon. Cotton candy clouds dotted the clear blue sky, the sun shined warmly and a small breeze gracefully shook birch leaves. The park has an amphitheater. In the summer, it hosts open concerts in the evenings, sometimes families gather for big picnics. I've seen weddings held there, as the park is right behind the town courthouse. Today, a sea of people covered the amphitheater lawn in concentric semicircles: grandmothers, mothers, grandfathers, fathers, teenagers, little toddlers and babies. They were dressed in translucent, pure white, cotton shawls. It was as if the clouds had come down to earth. Looking closer, we saw colorful variations under their traditional white shawl. Some wore full white wrap-around dresses and white button down shirts decorated with crosses. Some women wore bright orange, green and yellow dresses under their pure white shawls. Some of the younger boys wore sweatshirts and khakis, an ensemble they completed with their white shawl wrapped around their shoulders. Together, they raised their voices in prayer and song -- openly carrying out a worship service in the local park. Later, my son played a pick up basketball game with a few of the boys. They explained that it was "Mother Mary's Birthday." May 9th, Ethiopian Orthodox Christians celebrate the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, Lideta Maryam. I was moved to witness this sight. What a beautiful nation I live in. Here, in this nation families can openly and safely carry on the traditions, garments, and faith from their home country, and pass them down to their children. This nation is built on layers and layers of immigrants from around the world, people seeking to raise their families in peace, to pursue opportunity, to live with dignity with their fundamental freedoms and rights safeguarded and honored. I come from Flushing Queens. Nestled next to the Margret Carmen Green in downtown Flushing is the Bowne House. The unassuming house is the historical site where the Flushing Remonstrance was signed in 1657. The Remonstrance was a citizen declaration standing up for the freedom of worship and assembly for all, "Jews, Turks, Egyptians," "Presbyterian, Independent, Baptist or Quaker." Today, the neighborhoods around Parsons Boulevard would make the signers proud. A Catholic Church, the Free Synagogue of Flushing, the Hindu Temple Society, a Russian Orthodox Church, the Sheik Center of New York and the Muslim Center are just a few of the notable houses of worship that operate side by side. This is the beauty of the nation. America the Beautiful -- from the white clad Ethiopian Orthodox Christians carrying on the traditions that they carried with them from their home country when they came here to pursue freedom and opportunity, to the Americanized versions of the faiths from the old country, the Free Synagogue and the Baptists, to those who embrace an indigenous faith, and those who choose no faith, this nation is beautiful. From sea to shining sea, this nation protects the conscience of all people, and allows them to shine and sparkle in their unique color, and seek to live and build a nation befitting the call of our conscience to the best of our ability.
