Breaking Christian News on The Gospel Herald

6 June 2017: On 6 June, 1844, George Williams founded the YMCA, otherwise known as the Y or the Young Men's Christian Association. It has since grown to benefit more than 57 million people globally with 125 national associations. 2017 marks the YMCA's 173rd anniversary.

Rep. Joseph Kennedy III, grandson of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and other Democratic lawmakers this week introduced a new bill to amend the law to stop federal legal claims and state laws that go beyond protecting religious freedom and instead tread on others' constitutional and statutory rights. Backers of the "Do No Harm Act," say the federal "Religious Freedom Restoration Act" was born of good intentions, but went terribly wrong.

As the Syrian refugee crisis continues to worsen, one actress is using her platform to encourage Americans to take action by sharing their money, time or voice instead of sitting idly by while thousands suffer.

Despite objections from local zoning officials and Christian groups, a Cincinnati couple has constructed a zombie-themed Nativity scene on their front yard for the second year in a row.

During the first two weeks after an earthquake hit Nepal in April, Fidelity Charitable sent out 4,400 grants totaling almost $5.3 million from donors using special charitable accounts called donor-advised funds at the Boston-based nonprofit associated with Fidelity Investments. Now a few months later, the total is up to 6,000 grants totaling $7.8 million.

A possible smuggling of Bible artifacts from Iraq came to light as investigations of the alleged activity was reported by Daily Beast early this week.

An Christian humanitarian organization was used by the Pentagon as a front for a spying operation in North Korea for just under decade, placing dozens of unwitting aid volunteers at risk, reveals an in-depth report from The Intercept.

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell back to a 42-year low last week, suggesting the labor market remained strong despite an abrupt slowdown in job growth in the past two months.

Civil rights groups are outraged by a proposal for black leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to be honored alongside heroes of the pro-slavery Confederacy at Georgia's Stone Mountain Park and will raise their objections with the governor on Wednesday.

The Royal Foundation and the National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced a partnership between the Foundation's United for Wildlife and Coach Core programs and the league's NBA Cares global social responsibility program. The partnership will raise awareness about the importance of international wildlife conservation, develop the next generation of conservation leaders, and grow the game of basketball. To celebrate the partnership, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will attend their first NBA game tomorrow when the Brooklyn Nets host the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Barclays Center.

Planned Parenthood began a petition against NBC for refusing to air ads for the movie "Obvious Child" which included the word "abortion." In response,the network confessed in a statement to Planned Parenthood that “feedback was mistakenly given to remove the word ‘abortion’" and that such actions were not “company policy.”

Samaritan's Purse is seeking for large number of volunteers to go to areas affected by the catastrophic flooding in Colorado and help do the debris cleanup.

The Baptist General Convention of Texas (Texas Baptists) is organizing Loving West, a disaster recovery effort in West, Texas beginning June 15. Hundreds of volunteers have signed up for the week-long event to help with demolition efforts for many of the homes that were affected by the West Fertilizer Co. plant explosion in April.

Christian non-governmental organizations including Salvation Army, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Samaritan’s Purse, and World Vision have deployed manpower and resources to the Oklahoma disaster zone to assist in disaster relief.

Crisis-trained Billy Graham Evangelistic Association chaplains were deployed to help minister to those affected by the "year's deadliest" tornadoes that ripped through Hood County Wednesday night.

A woman who lost her leg in the Boston Marathon bombings received answers to her unexpected loss after meeting Mike Coots, a surfer who had his lower-leg amputated as a result of a shark-bite.

The Salvation Army Vancouver Harbour Light will serve Sunday over 600 residents of Vancouver’s Downtown Lower Eastside community with the annual Easter meal and service.

140 Chinese-Americans from San Francisco Bay Area filled a medical center conference room to find out how hospice care can improve the quality of care for their loved ones or themselves, who are or will be going through their last stage in life.

The Jeremy Lin Foundation held its inaugural event on Valentine's Day with the aim of helping underprivileged children. The foundation’s ''The Making a Difference'' project will benefit three Houston-based charities Workshop Houston, the Yellowstone Academy and the city’s Partnership for the Advancement and Immersion of Refugees (PAIR).

Over 55,000 people in Taiwan gathered in Kaohsiung, southern part of Taiwan, participating in a 30 consecutive hour fasting from solid food in order to physically experience the hunger that millions of children and adults face in impoverished nations around the world.

While the mainstream white communities in America have accepted and taken advantages of the services and resources provided through hospice care, Chinese American communities not only are not aware of such program, but also shun the topics related to end-of-life - a taboo in Chinese culture.

Toronto-based Project Winter Survival is expanding their outreach for the first time with the help of its sponsor Hain-Celestial Canada, the leading natural and organic food company in North America and Europe, to homeless people in the Vancouver area with their essential winter survival kits.

The Yuan-yi network (www.yuanyinet.org) held a press conference on the evening of the 28thin preparation for the "Cloud-based Love Feast - Christmas express delivery to Tai-tung" that happens on December 12-24. The press conference was broadcasted live in the northern California Bay area and in the Taiwan Tai-tung area, and invited sponsors and volunteers to share their experiences.

The Yuan-yi network (www.yuanyinet.org) is the first North American charitable network Cloud, and is also a worldwide Cloud-based charity platform. It crosses religious, political, national, and regional boundaries in hopes of gathering every bit of kindness and turning it into actions, spreading it to every corner of the world.

Rachel Liang (梁文音), a Christian Taiwanese singer and actress and the guardian angel representative of Eden Social Welfare Foundation, led seven middle school students from the Losiong Church’s School in Fangyuan Township, Changhua County, Taiwan on July 13th to Gaibom, a participating Eden guardian restaurant, to be a chefs and cooks for a day. The cooking training procedures are preparation, chopping, stewing, and seasoning, which also included a practical training on how to prepare ingredients, to cook according to the desired taste, and to explain the food and products to their customers.