Michael Gryboski

Latest

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  Nov 27, 2022

  Advent: 4 interesting facts about the season of waiting

  Here are four interesting facts about Advent, which is considered the season of waiting until the miracle of the Christmas holiday. They include its shrouded origins, how it is sometimes observed as a season of fasting, and the symbolism often associated with it.

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  Nov 25, 2022

  'God forgive me ... I was led by Satan': Police release Walmart mass shooter's manifesto    

  The manifesto of a man who committed a mass shooting at a Walmart in Virginia shortly before Thanksgiving has been released by authorities, with the killer asking God to forgive him.

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  Nov 24, 2022

  Thanksgiving: 6 facts to know about how the modern-day holiday came to be

  While hundreds of millions of Americans have always known Thanksgiving as a federal holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November, this was not always the case for the autumn observance. The following pages highlight six key developments that led to Thanksgiving becoming the modern-day observance that Americans know it to be.  

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  Nov 23, 2022

  UMC conference rejects 3 Arkansas churches’ disaffiliation requests: 'Uncharted territory'

  A regional body of The United Methodist Church has voted down the disaffiliation requests of three congregations in Arkansas that want to leave the mainline Protestant denomination due to its divisive debate over homosexuality.

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  Nov 23, 2022

  Leon Fontaine, Canadian megachurch pastor, dies at 59

  Canadian megachurch Pastor Leon Fontaine, who garnered recent attention for his refusal to adhere to ongoing and restrictive COVID-19 lockdown orders banning churches from holding in-person or drive-in worship gatherings, has died at age 59.

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  Nov 23, 2022

  5 places that celebrated Thanksgiving before Plymouth colony

  Here are five places in the United States and Canada that held Thanksgiving events before the famous observance at colonial Massachusetts took place.

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  Nov 22, 2022

  249 North Carolina churches leave UMC amid homosexuality schism

  At a special session held last weekend, The United Methodist Church's North Carolina Conference approved the disaffiliation votes of 249 congregations, representing 32% of the regional body's member churches and about 22% of its membership. The vote comes amid a schism over the Protestant denomination's official stance on homosexuality.

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  Nov 21, 2022

  ICE arrests 138 sex offenders who entered the US illegally

  The U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement agency has announced that they have apprehended 138 sex offenders who had entered the country illegally as part of a recent operation.

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  Nov 21, 2022

  UMC pastor files complaint against election of openly gay leader to bishop hierarchy

  A United Methodist Church pastor has filed a complaint against a regional body’s leadership over a recent decision to elect an openly gay bishop, which is in defiance of denominational rules.

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  Nov 20, 2022

  This week in Christian history: CS Lewis dies, Geneva embraces Calvinism

  Events that occurred this week in Christian history include the death of C.S. Lewis, John Donne becoming dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral and Geneva embracing John Calvin’s theocratic model.