Christian school teacher accused of sex romp with student

According to Fox News~A former teacher at a Christian school in Maine was arrested days before Christmas after she allegedly sexually assaulted a student under the age of 14-years-old, officials said.

Nancy Leigh Ann Brann, 43, was taken into custody Dec. 21 after turning herself in at a local jail, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

The alleged offenses took place during the fall of 2016 when Brann was a teacher at the Coastal Christian School in Waldoboro, located about 60 miles northeast of Portland,Or. “There is no information the school administration had any knowledge of these alleged offenses prior to being notified by investigators,” the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office said the victim was a student under the age of 14 years old at the time, but did not disclose the student’s gender. The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to a request by Fox News for further information. 

Brann was dismissed by the school shortly after the offenses for unrelated issues, the sheriff’s office said. 

The 43-year-old is being held on $10,000 bail, unsecured, with the conditions that she not have contact with the victim, not return to Coastal Christian School and have no contact with children under the age of 16.

 

Roman Catholic Priest Receives Standing Ovation After Announcing His Identification as Homosexual

MILWAUKEE, Wisc. — A Roman Catholic priest in Wisconsin received a standing ovation this past Sunday after announcing during the service that he identifies as a homosexual.

“I am Greg. I am a Roman Catholic priest. And, yes, I am gay!”

declared Gregory Greiten of St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Milwaukee, causing those present to rise to their feet, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The National Catholic Reporter also published an article on Monday in which Greiten outlined how he repressed his feelings for years, and later came to embrace them, while also keeping them hidden from others. 

 

“Over the past year, I came to the realization that I could no longer live the lie of masquerading as a straight man in the priesthood,” he wrote.

 Greiten also expressed his view that the Roman Catholic Church should allow priests to be open about their same-sex attraction, while also remaining celibate. He referred to the matter as being “authentic” to one’s true self.

“Today, I stand with these few courageous priests who have taken the risk to come out of the shadows and have chosen to live in truth and authenticity,” Greiten wrote.

“I promise to be my authentically gay self. I will embrace the person that God created me to be,” he stated. “In my priestly life and ministry, I, too, will help you, whether you are gay or straight, bisexual or transgendered, to be your authentic self—to be fully alive living in your image and likeness of God. In reflecting our God-images out into the world, our world will be a brighter, more tolerant place.”

Greiten said that he believed that announcing his homosexual feelings was among the “[f]irst steps in accepting and loving the person God created me to be.”

“I am breaking through the silence and reclaiming my voice—silent words to prophetic words, despairing words to hopeful words, angry words to forgiving words, and sad words to joy-filled words, with the passion of the words attributed to a great woman saint and doctor of the church, St. Catherine of Siena, ‘Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire,’ Greiten said.

Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki has backed Greiten’s decision to come out to his congregation.

“We support Father Greiten in his own, personal journey and telling his story of coming to understand and live with his sexual orientation,” he said in a statement. “As the Church teaches, those with same-sex attraction must be treated with understanding and compassion. As priests who have made a promise to celibacy, we know that every week there are people in our pews who struggle with the question of homosexuality.”

As previously reported, Christians believe that homosexuality, like any other inclination that is contrary to the law of God, is a part of the Adamic sin nature that men are born with, leaving them helpless to change themselves.

The late preacher A.W. Pink once wrote, “Why does the sinner choose a life of sinful indulgence? Because he prefers it. Man chooses that which is according to his nature, and therefore, before he will ever choose or prefer that which is divine or spiritual, a new nature must be imparted to him: in other words, he must be born again.”

Because of this inherent nature, Christ instructed that men must be regenerated by the second birth, outlining in John 3:5-7, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.”

2 Corinthians 5:14-17 also reads, “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead. And that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again. … Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Evangelist Arrested While Preaching Christ Outside ‘A Drag Queen Christmas: The Naughty Tour’ in Texas

EL PASO, Texas — An evangelist was arrested and jailed on Wednesday after those unhappy with his message called the police as he was preaching outside of a “holiday” event in Texas called “A Drag Queen ChristmasThe Naughty Tour.” Those watching his preaching being shut down broke out into cheers.

“A Drag Queen Christmas: The Naughty Tour is a must-see holiday spectacular with your favorite contestants from RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1),” the event description reads. “For one night only, your favorite queens #werk the stage with singing, dancing, comedy and more! The holidays were never this naughty!”

Ryan Denton of Christ in the Wild Ministries had been preaching on the sidewalk adjacent to Plaza Theatre during the event, finding the gathering a good opportunity to share the gospel. Denton told Christian News Network that he generally preached about repentance and faith in Christ, and while he did mention concepts such as drag queens a few times, it was not the focus of his message.

 

“The drag event, like any other event, was a place where the lost would be congregating, and hence the need for a gospel witness,” he said. “Christ came to seek and save those who are lost. He came for the unrighteous, not the righteous. The great Physician of souls came for the sick and spiritually dead. This is why the gospel must go beyond the church walls.”

However, those hearing Denton’s speech soon became upset and called the police. Among those who arrived on the scene was Officer Jared Lamb, who told Denton that he had to stop preaching since complaints had been received.

“Just because you get calls does not mean I have to stop,” Denton told Lamb, according to recorded video footage reviewed by Christian News Network.    “I know that,” Lamb replied.

 “Are you sure, because you keep saying that [I do],” Denton said.

Lamb also asserted during the discussion that the sidewalk Denton was standing on was private property and that he should relocate to the plaza. Denton says that he has been instructed by police in the past to stand in that exact location, and has preached there nearly a dozen times without issue. He further notes that the plaza is not near the event, so he would not be able to reach the people.

“I’m going to keep preaching right here because this is not private property,” Denton told the officer.

However, Lamb instead grabbed Denton’s stool that he had been standing on to preach and instructed Denton to follow. Those nearby broke into cheers. Lamb walked Denton into a nearby building where he told him that he didn’t want “debates” outside.

“We don’t need debates going on out there tonight,” Lamb said. “We don’t need it.”

“Sir, it’s not up to you,” Denton replied. “It’s the Constitution of the United States. It’s [my] First Amendment rights.”

“Okay. It’s up to you?” Lamb asked.

“No. The Constitution protects what I was doing, sir,” Denton stated.

Lamb then proceeded to arrest Denton. He was transported to the El Paso Jail where he was charged with Criminal Trespass under Texas Penal Code 30.05.

Denton says that Lamb told him in transport, “I’m writing the police report and I’m going to make it as colorful as [expletive].” During the “tirade,” as Denton described it, the officer repeatedly advised that he is “very active in [his] church.”

“You know who looks like the bad guy now,” he stated. “All you had to do is leave” and go to another spot.

Denton told Christian News Network that as he was later placed behind bars, Lamb said, “Man to man, you shouldn’t be preaching there [at the drag festival]. Just tell them Jesus loves them and move on.”

Denton still recalls the last remarks from Lamb: “I can’t say what we did tonight was wrong, but I can’t say arresting you was right.”

After spending seven hours in jail, Denton was released on $300 bond. Denton says that he was able to share the gospel with others during the time that he was incarcerated, and witnessed a receptivity to his message. One man, a college student, expressed remorse and thanked God for “disciplining” him.

“The gospel is good news for anyone who has ears to hear, whether it’s a drag queen or a self-righteous good citizen,” Denton said. “God saves sinners, among whom every Christian was once chief. There’s hope for the people at the drag event because God is mighty to save and ‘salvation is of the Lord.’”

Officer Lamb could not be reached for comment on the arrest. A trial date has not yet been set.