President Biden has issued a National Day of Prayer proclamation in which the word “God” does not appear once.
“I invite the citizens of our Nation to give thanks, in accordance with their own faiths and consciences, for our many freedoms and blessings, and I join all people of faith in prayers for spiritual guidance, mercy, and protection,” Biden says in the proclamation.
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Several weeks ago, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo gave a press conference on – what else? – the coronavirus.
The press conference was, like many these days, a discussion of numbers and the problems of reopening the economy, but one statement was a bit startling. Discussing the hopeful sign of plateauing numbers, Cuomo expressed caution rather than enthusiasm. Then he made the following blunt announcement:
“The number is down, because we brought the number down. God did not do that. Faith did not do that. Destiny did not do that. A lot of pain and suffering did that. And that’s why we lost five pounds, because we went out every day and we exercise and we burned more calories than we ate. That’s how it works. It’s math.”
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The Trump administration on Thursday moved to protect the rights of clinicians who object to participating in abortions with a regulation intended to safeguard those with religious and moral objections. President Donald Trump made the announcement during a speech in the White House Rose Garden to mark the National Day of Prayer. “Just today we finalized new protections of conscience rights for physicians, pharmacists, nurses, teachers, students and faith-based charities,” Trump said. “They’ve been wanting to do that for a long time.” The conscience rule was a priority for religious conservatives who are a key part of Trump’s political base, but some critics fear it will become a pretext for denying medical care to LGBT people. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the rule requires hospitals, universities, clinics and other institutions that receive funding from federal programs such as Medicare and Medicaid to certify that they comply with some 25 federal laws protecting conscience and religious rights. Most of these laws and provisions address medical procedures such as abortion, sterilization and assisted suicide. Clinicians and institutions would not have to provide, participate in, pay for, cover or make referrals for procedures they object to on moral…
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Church leaders have been giving Bibles to firefighters and police officers in Goodlettsville this week in a show of support. Some firefighters received their Bibles on Thursday – the National Day of Prayer, reports WKRN News 2. Fire Chief Kenneth Reeves told WKRN that his firefighters appreciate the support. “They get a real boost,” he said. “They get strength from being acknowledged every now and then.” Seven organizations are involved in distributing the pocket-size Bibles, which are imprinted before they are handed out. “We wanted to make sure that every policeman and every fireman gets a Bible with their name on it so it is something they can take with them,” said Pastor Joe Marlar. “We just simply want to say thank you for protecting our community.” Marlar said he also wants first responders to know that Christians are praying for their safety.
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