Samaritan's Purse phasing out field hospital in NYC
The Samaritan's Purse field hospital in Central Park is no longer accepting new COVID-19 patients, according to NBC 4 News in New York. The station reports that a spokesperson for Mt. Sinai Hospital, which had partnered with Samaritan's Purse, said: "In March, with the survey in critically ill COVID patients growing, NY hospitals were tasked with growing their capacity 50%. Now that the surge in hospital admissions is reaching manageable levels, we will stop admitting new patients to the Central Park field hospital as of May 4."
However, the reporter who filed the story, in a Tweet posted in the story, indicated that an unnamed source told her that Samaritan's Purse would be leaving over concerns over their views on LGBTQ individuals. Samaritan's Purse is a Christian organization but does not deny treatment to anyone. The article says that, "Local officials, including City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, had called on Mount Sinai Hospital to close the field hospital over Samaritan's Purse's practice of requiring staff to sign a pledge against same-sex marriage."
Todd Starnes, writing at ToddStarnes.com, quoted the City Council speaker:
“It is time for Samaritan’s Purse to leave NYC,” said New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson. “This group, led by the notoriously bigoted, hate-spewing Franklin Graham, came at a time when our city couldn’t in good conscience turn away any offer of help. That time has passed.”
Johnson, a notorious anti-Christian bigot, said the ministry’s continued presence in New York City “is an affront to our values of inclusion, and is painful for all New Yorkers who care deeply about the LGBTQ community.”
State Senator Brad Hoylman is quoted by Starnes, as well, saying: “It was bad enough that Donald Trump’s failure to prepare the nation for this pandemic forced New York to accept charity from a bigot like Franklin Graham,” adding, “Inviting Graham to stay on longer is an insult to LGBTQ New Yorkers and sends the dangerous message that homophobia and transphobia are acceptable.”
Apparently, those who worked with Samaritan's Purse in New York City, as well as others in the health care field, will be required to pay state income tax, according to FoxNews.com,
which reported:
Church reopening provides model for future
Across the nation, churches are beginning to plan for their reopening - a number of states have relaxed restrictions on in-person church gatherings, but that does not necessarily mean that churches are moving forward with opening up their worship centers to congregants, taking a prudent approach: just because the government says you can doesn't mean you should - just yet.
But, a Texas church has provided what could be considered a template for church reopening. Ed Young is the senior pastor of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and the son of longtime Second Baptist Church of Houston pastor Ed Young. The Christian Post reported on what things were like on the first Sunday of May:
Former sportswriter George Schroeder, who now serves in leadership for and writes for Baptist Press, covered the re-opening, stating:
which reported:
The issue first arose when Samaritan’s Purse was setting up its emergency field hospital, according to New York City-based PIX11 News. The charity’s comptroller noticed that a New York state law requires anyone working in the state for more than 14 days to pay income tax.Governor Andrew Cuomo responded, saying: “We're not in a position to provide any subsidies right now because we have a $13 billion deficit,” adding, “So there's a lot of good things I'd like to do, and if we get federal funding, we can do, but it would be irresponsible for me to sit here looking at a $13 billion deficit and say I'm gonna spend more money, when I can't even pay the essential services.”
Church reopening provides model for future
Across the nation, churches are beginning to plan for their reopening - a number of states have relaxed restrictions on in-person church gatherings, but that does not necessarily mean that churches are moving forward with opening up their worship centers to congregants, taking a prudent approach: just because the government says you can doesn't mean you should - just yet.
But, a Texas church has provided what could be considered a template for church reopening. Ed Young is the senior pastor of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and the son of longtime Second Baptist Church of Houston pastor Ed Young. The Christian Post reported on what things were like on the first Sunday of May:
The church has the capacity to hold roughly 4,000 people, but it planned to limit the attendance at the sanctuary to 25 percent to voluntarily follow the restaurant guidelines. And for that, the megachurch had asked congregation members to make reservations. Those who attended also were asked to wear face masks, in accordance with CDC guidelines.The church also had planned to disinfect the church and park vehicles in every other space. Young's sermon was on "the new normal," according to the Post, which stated: "Young preached about essential lessons that God is teaching Christians during this time of social distancing, helping them change the way they view change."
Former sportswriter George Schroeder, who now serves in leadership for and writes for Baptist Press, covered the re-opening, stating:
"People desire this," Young said. "It's the physicality of the church. We love online church. We've been online for a long time. The numbers are ridiculously big, and that's great. But there's nothing like the physicality (of gathering)."
And the depth of emotion of those who gathered was surprising, according to John Cross, president of C3 Global and C3 Conferences, a ministry of Fellowship Church designed to equip and encourage pastors to grow the local church.
"There were people weeping with joy because, 'We get to worship in person,'" Cross said. "Albeit with social distancing and (adhering to) CDC guidelines, there's still something so special and exciting about being together as God's people. That totally was amazing to me."
Opponents of Jacksonville human rights ordinance win court victory
A Florida appeals court has ruled in favor of challengers to a Human Rights Ordinance in Jacksonville, one of these local pieces of legislation granting special status to individuals based on "sexual ordination" or "gender identity (SOGI)." Liberty Counsel represented, according to its website, "Jacksonville residents and businesses in their challenge to invalidate an amendment to the HRO, because its authors and sponsors illegally hid the effects of the ordinance through intentionally deceptive drafting and messaging."
After defeats twice at the trial court level, the case was appealed, and the unanimous ruling was rendered. Roger Gannam of Liberty Counsel said: “This decision exposes the deception of the HRO authors and sponsors and rejects the city’s attempt to cover it up with its own deception in the form of clever procedural maneuvers in the city council. A city ordinance that cannot be passed openly and honestly is good for no one. The fair and honest people of Jacksonville should not be forced to participate in others’ celebrations of same-sex relationships under threat of fines or loss of their businesses, and Jacksonville’s women and young girls should feel safe from predatory men in their own restrooms and facilities..."
A Florida appeals court has ruled in favor of challengers to a Human Rights Ordinance in Jacksonville, one of these local pieces of legislation granting special status to individuals based on "sexual ordination" or "gender identity (SOGI)." Liberty Counsel represented, according to its website, "Jacksonville residents and businesses in their challenge to invalidate an amendment to the HRO, because its authors and sponsors illegally hid the effects of the ordinance through intentionally deceptive drafting and messaging."
After defeats twice at the trial court level, the case was appealed, and the unanimous ruling was rendered. Roger Gannam of Liberty Counsel said: “This decision exposes the deception of the HRO authors and sponsors and rejects the city’s attempt to cover it up with its own deception in the form of clever procedural maneuvers in the city council. A city ordinance that cannot be passed openly and honestly is good for no one. The fair and honest people of Jacksonville should not be forced to participate in others’ celebrations of same-sex relationships under threat of fines or loss of their businesses, and Jacksonville’s women and young girls should feel safe from predatory men in their own restrooms and facilities..."
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