The 3 - August 3, 2025

Federal employees can take faith to work

New federal guidelines will allow employees to express their faith in their government work spaces, according to a report by The Washington Times on new guidelines from the federal Office of Personnel Management, or OPM. The website reported:

In a memo titled “Protecting Religious Expression in the Federal Workforce,” OPM Director Scott Kupor said public employees have the right to express their religion in the workplace under civil rights laws and the First Amendment. That includes the right to discuss religion, engage in “communal religious expressions” and display items such as Bibles, crucifixes and Jewish mezuzahs on their desks.

“Allowing religious discrimination in the Federal workplace violates the law,” Mr. Kupor wrote in the memo. “It also threatens to adversely impact recruitment and retention of highly qualified employees of faith.”

The Times goes on to say:

The five-page memo details examples of religious expression that shouldn’t result in punishment for federal employees. Included are inviting co-workers who belong to other religions to their church, placing invitations to services on communal bulletin boards and displaying religious posters. Workers can “persuade others to the correctness of their own religious views provided that such efforts are not harassing in nature.”

Veterans Affairs doctors can pray over their patients. Rangers for the National Park Service can join their tour groups in prayer.

Oregon mother barred from adopting children over gender pronouns can start process of adoption

Thanks to a federal appeals court, an Oregon woman who had desired to adopt children but was not allowed to do so because she would not use gender pronouns, will possibly be allowed to adopt. CBN.com reported recently:

Jessica Bates filed a lawsuit in April 2023 challenging an Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) rule that excluded her from adopting any child—no matter their age or beliefs—because she would not lie to them and tell them that "girls can be boys and vice versa."

"State officials demanded that I agree to use a child's preferred pronouns, possibly take a child to Pride parades, and even potentially take an adolescent child to receive dangerous pharmaceutical interventions like hormone shots," Bates wrote in an opinion piece for Fox News.

Bates told ODHS officials that she would happily love and accept any child placed with her, but officials rejected her application, making her ineligible to adopt any child—even infants or children who share her religious beliefs.

The U.S Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit "has ordered ODHS to reconsider Bates' application because she will likely succeed in showing that Oregon's exclusion violates the First Amendment. " CBN reported that she "is now free to begin the process of adopting." Alliance Defending Freedom represents Bates, and "argued that ODHS's policy 'needlessly penalizes Bates and many other people of faith for their religious views, compels parents to speak words that violate their conscience, and deprives children in need of the opportunity to find loving homes.'"

Shooting occurs at Seattle church which had been at odds with city

Pursuit NW is a church is located in Seattle, and its pastor, Russell Johnson, had taken the mayor to task after his response to a incident that occured at a Christian rally, at which LGBT activists challenged those in attendance. The Christian Post reported following the incident in May:

The May 24 rally at Cal Anderson Park, organized by pro-life group Mayday USA for its "DontMessWithOurKids" national tour, drew hundreds of supporters holding signs supporting the sanctity of life, biological gender, the nuclear family and religious freedom.

A short time later, pro-LGBT counter-protesters confronted the group. Waving transgender flags, they reportedly clashed with police in riot gear and threw water bottles and other objects.

After the incident, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, according to the article, "released a statement in apparent support of the LGBT protesters and called the Christian worship gather a 'far-right rally' that sought to 'provoke a reaction by promoting beliefs that are inherently opposed to our city's values, in the heart of Seattle's most prominent [LGBT] neighborhood.'" Pastor Johnson demanded that the mayor apologize.

Pursuit NW was the site of a deadly shooting recently, perhaps unrelated to previous harassment of Christians in the city. According to KING 5 television:

Lebron Givaun was shot and killed Thursday outside The Pursuit NW’s Seattle campus. Surveillance video shared with KING 5 appears to show a gunman exiting a white vehicle and opening fire before returning to the car. The vehicle was later found abandoned and engulfed in flames.

Pastor Johnson described the day as "the worst day in public ministry I've ever had." The article at the TV station's website noted:

Johnson described Givaun as a new member of the church who had recently turned his life around.

"He got born again. His life was changing. He decided to get married. He changed the music he was making and wanted to sing songs that highlighted his testimony," Johnson said. “It’s gut-wrenching. It’s horrendous. It’s evil. It’s wicked.”

The shooting took place in front of other church members who were gathering for a young adult worship event. Johnson said the incident should “shock the conscience” of the city.

The mayor's office did issue a statement that said, in part, “This senseless act of gun violence near a place of worship is tragic and heartbreaking for our city, and our deepest sympathies are with the family and loved ones of the victim..." The church offered a $50,000 reward "for information leading to an arrest in the case."