In the US, Missouri Governor denies clemency to death row inmate
AP Missouri Governor Mike Parson on Monday declined to grant clemency to death row inmate Ernest Johnson, despite requests for mercy from the Pope, two federal lawmakers and thousands of petition signers. Johnson, 61, was convicted of killing three convenience store workers during a closing-time robbery in 1994. He is scheduled to die by injection […]
In the US state of Missouri, church leaders implore congregants: Get vaccinated
O’Fallon, Missouri, US AP As lead pastor of one of Missouri’s largest churches, Jeremy Johnson has heard all the reasons congregants don’t want to get the COVID-19 vaccination. He wants them to know it’s not only OK to do so but also is what the Bible urges. Across Missouri, hundreds of pastors, priests and other […]
Jim Bakker, his church settle lawsuit over COVID-19 claims
O’Fallon, Missouri, USAP Jim Bakker and his south-western Missouri church will pay restitution of $US156,000 to settle a lawsuit that accuses the TV pastor of falsely claiming a health supplement could cure COVID-19. Missouri court records show that a settlement agreement was filed Tuesday. It calls for refunds to people who paid money or gave […]
In the US, General Baptist pastor who criticised wives’ weight “deeply sorry” for sermon
RNS The pastor of a General Baptist congregation has apologized to his church for a sermon in which he preached that “weight control” by wives could solve marital problems. “In the sermon, I made insensitive remarks about women and made statements deemed unbiblical,” said Pastor Stewart-Allen Clark in a statement posted on the website of […]
The Long Read: Pandemic, loss unite two rural Missouri pastors around faith
LUIS ANDRES HENAO, DAVID CRARY and JESSIE WARDARSKI, of The Associated Press, look at, in something of a microcosm of what’s happening across the US, how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted two Missouri churches…
Jim Bakker seeks suit dismissal; ex-governor is his lawyer
O’Fallon, MissouriAP Missouri-based TV pastor Jim Bakker is asking a judge to dismiss a state lawsuit accusing him of falsely claiming that a health supplement could cure the coronavirus, and the lawyer representing Bakker is former Governor Jay Nixon. Republican Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt sued Bakker and Morningside Church Productions Inc in early March. […]
In US state of Missouri, clergy reject bill on concealed guns in churches
RNS A group of religious leaders is condemning a Missouri bill to permit people to carry concealed firearms in church without permission from clergy, with St Louis’ Catholic archbishop threatening to sue if the bill is signed into law. The bill would “broaden Second Amendment rights at the expense of the First Amendment right of […]
US Supreme Court rules for Missouri church in ‘playground’ case
RNS The US Supreme Court has ruled for a Missouri church that claimed religious discrimination after it was refused state funds to improve its playground. Ruling 7-2, the court on Monday determined that the state had unfairly treated Trinity Lutheran Church in Columbia under the First Amendment’s free exercise clause. The state wrongly denied the […]