Permit Approved For “Whites Only” Church

After permit approved for whites-only church, small Minnesota town insists it isn’t racist

City leaders said if they had turned down Asatru Folk Assembly, they would have faced an expensive legal battle.

When the church doors open, only white people will be allowed inside.

That’s the message the Asatru Folk Assembly in Murdock, Minnesota, is sending after being granted a conditional use permit to open a church there and practice its pre-Christian religion that originated in northern Europe.

Despite a council vote officially approving the permit this month, residents are pushing back against the decision.

Opponents have collected about 50,000 signatures on an online petition to stop the all-white church from making its home in the farming town of 280 people.

“I think they thought they could fly under the radar in a small town like this, but we’d like to keep the pressure on them,” said Peter Kennedy, a longtime Murdock resident. “Racism is not welcome here.”

Many locals said they support the growing population of Latinos, who have moved to the area in the past decade because of job opportunities, over the church.

“Just because the council gave them a conditional permit does not mean that the town and people in the area surrounding will not be vigilant in watching and protecting our area,” Jean Lesteberg, who lives in the neighboring town of De Graff, wrote on the city’s Facebook page.

The Southern Poverty Law Center describes Asatru Folk Assembly as a “neo-Volkisch hate group” that couches “their bigotry in baseless claims of bloodlines grounding the superiority of one’s white identity.”

Many residents call them a white supremacist or white separatist group, but church members deny it.

“We’re not. It’s just simply not true,” said Allen Turnage, a folk assembly board member. “Just because we respect our own culture, that doesn’t mean we are denigrating someone else’s.”

The group, based in Brownsville, California, says teachings and membership are for those of strictly European bloodlines.

The church was looking for a new church in the eastern North Dakota region when they came across Murdock. It’s unknown how many members they have worldwide or how many people will attend the new church.

“We do not need salvation. All we need is freedom to face our destiny with courage and honor,” the group wrote on its website about their beliefs. “We honor the Gods under the names given to them by our Germanic/Norse ancestors.”

Their forefathers, according to the website, were “Angels and Saxons, Lombards and Heruli, Goths and Vikings, and, as sons and daughters of these people, they are united by ties of blood and culture undimmed by centuries.”

“We respect the ways our ancestors viewed the world and approached the universe a thousand years ago,” Turnage said.

A small contingent of church supporters in Murdock said the community should be open-minded and respectful to all.

“I find it hypocritical, for lack of a better term, of my community to show much hate towards something they don’t understand. I for one don’t see a problem with it,” Jesse James, who said he has lived in Murdock for 26 years, wrote on Facebook.

“I do not wish to follow in this pagan religion, however, I feel it’s important to recognize and support each other’s beliefs,” he said.

Murdock council members said they do not support the church but were legally obligated to approve the permit, which they did in a 3-1 decision.

“We were highly advised by our attorney to pass this permit for legal reasons to protect the First Amendment rights,” Mayor Craig Kavanagh said. “We knew that if this was going to be denied, we were going to have a legal battle on our hands that could be pretty expensive.”

Former Tenn. Pastor, Ronnie Gorton Found Guilty in a 24-Count Indictment

Ex Pastor Ronnie Gorton sat unexpressive from behind the counsel table during the first part of his sentencing hearing.

 

Two men – now close to 30 – took the stand and detailed the years of abuse they say they endured at Gorton’s hands.

The first man to testify, who is now 28, said Gorton began abusing him when he was just 12 years old.

He began attending what was then Munford Assembly of God Church, now called River of Life, in 2002 when Gorton was the children’s pastor. The victim was in the fifth grade.

“It went on for awhile,” the 28-year-old said, “it happened more times than I could count.”

A 27-year-old man also testified the same things happened to him for several years.

Both gave detailed accounts which mirrored those of the 18-year-old victim at the center of this case.

‘I was planning on going to my grave with that’

Neither of the men who took the stand was aware there were other victims until the allegations against the pastor became public in February 2018. And neither planned to ever tell anyone.

A National Crime Victimization Survey published by the Department of Justice in 2017 reports only 230 of every 1,000 sexual assaults is reported.

“I told myself really the only way I could live with it was I was the only one,” the 28-year-old said, choking up. “And this is something I’m going to have to live with, to know that I didn’t say anything.”

As the news broke last year, his mother called to let him know what had happened. She asked him if anything had happened.

“I just kind of brushed it off,” he said, testifying he told his wife later that night and then his mother the next day.

He didn’t report the abuse when it was happening because he felt guilty and disgusted with himself for “allowing it to happen.”

“I’m fairly confident I’m probably one of the first guys this happened to and that I let this happened to other guys. I did not know that it happened to anybody else, but if I would have came forward, then this probably wouldn’t have happened to anybody else.”

The 27-year-old victim’s mother also called him when the accusations came to light.

“… There was a long silence on the other end of that phone,” he said. “When my mother told me what the allegations were I was kind of speechless. I remember losing my words during that conversation.”

She came right out and asked her son. He confirmed he, too, was a victim.

“That’s when I felt like a weight was literally being lifted off of my shoulders. I was planning on going to my grave with that. I didn’t want to talk about that.”

Over the years he wanted to know if he were the only one.

“There was always a lot of kids around. I’d wondered, but nobody ever talked about it … Nobody asked questions, nobody ever said anything.”

When Pastor Ronnie Gorton was arrested in March 2018

The 27-year-old victim said Gorton apologized to him and the incidents stopped. He was 14 or 15 then.

“He just said he wanted to apologize. And, I mean, I was still processing what it was, good or evil, whatever … but he apologized to me and I didn’t know what to say. I said, ‘It’s okay …’ Obviously, looking back, I wish I would not have just said ‘it’s okay,’ because it wasn’t okay and now I feel guilty because I said ‘it’s okay,’ it’s not okay.”

He testified Gorton was the one who encouraged him to pursue music – like the others, he helped fund the purchase of instruments – and credited Gorton for helping to shape the person he is today.

This victim continued to have a friendship with Gorton, but never addressed the abuse again.

The 28-year-old victim said he’s still living with the guilt.

“This is something that, no matter what sentence comes out of this, I’m going to have to live with for the rest of my life. Regrets and pain that I’ll live with for the rest of my life. Memories that will never go away, no matter how hard I try to shove them down … as everybody else goes home to their lives, I have to live with these memories and live with the regret that I didn’t come forward a lot sooner and prevent this from happening to anyone else.”

Gorton, who was the pastor of The Awakening Church at the time of his arrest, cannot be prosecuted for some accusations against him because the applicable statute of limitations has run out.

A verdict was reached in the rape case against former Mid-South pastor Ronnie Gorton and he was found guilty in a 24-count indictment including sexual exploitation of a minor, contributing to delinquency of a minor, furnishing alcohol to minors, sexual battery and statutory rape by an authority figure.

Jurors heard from the former Atoka pastor accused of molesting the teen who lived at his home. Ronnie Gorton’s first words on the witness stand adamantly denying he ever had any inappropriate sexual contact with his teen accuser. Gorton told the jury his only wrongdoings were providing minors with alcohol and smoking marijuana with youth from his church.

Gorton was charged in another 44-count indictment in July 2018. He has yet to stand trial on those charges.

Nigerian Police Rescue People Chained in Prayer House

Nigerian police say they have rescued 15 people kept chained in an illegal so-called prayer house in the country’s biggest city, Lagos. The victims were men and women between 19 and 50 years old with some said they had spent five years in the facility.

They were brought there by relatives who believed spiritual treatment could help cure their mental illnesses, drug addictions and other conditions.

“Police are working closely with other agencies of government to provide adequate medical attention and shelter to the victims,” police spokesman Bala Elkana said.

The police raided the house in the area of Ijegun after receiving a tip. The man who ran the facility, and called himself a prophet, was arrested.

The 58 year old told police he had been running what he described as a healing ministry since 1986 and that the people had been chained to prevent them from escaping. This is the latest raid on such privately run facilities, where people are often kept in deplorable conditions, the BBC’s Mayeni Jones in Lagos reports.

A South Korean Cult Leader who Held 400 Followers Captive Is Sentenced To 6 Years In Jail

Cult Leader Shin Ok-ju aka Reverend Esther

(CNN)A South Korean cult leader has been sentenced to six years in jail for holding some 400 followers captive in Fiji and subjecting them to violence and abuse.

Shin Ok-ju, the founder of Grace Road Church, warned of impending war, famine and natural disaster and convinced her followers to move to the South Pacific island to survive. Once in Fiji, her followers had their passports taken away from them and some were subjected to violent beatings.

Shin was arrested after flying into Seoul on July 24 2018 on charges of forced confinement and physical assault, South Korean police said at the time. Three of her followers were also detained.

Authorities then had to grapple with how to repatriate church members from Fiji, where they said many had been stranded without documents.  A South Korean court found Shin guilty of 9 charges including assault, imprisonment, fraud, child abuse and ordering child neglect on Monday.

Shin Ok-ju slapping her followers 

“The defendant not only committed assault and imprisonment but committed fraud, child abuse and ordering of child neglect,” the judge said in the sentencing paper, obtained by CNN. “The victims, on top of the sufferings listed in the indictment, had lost their family or suffered mental trauma. “

    Below is a video of CULT LEADER Shin OK-ju teaching her followers about God

Child victims “had been rid of education and caring from the early age and had suffered greatly in proper growth and personal development,” the ruling said.

The judge noted that Shin indoctrinated her followers and ordered them to give up their savings to move to Fiji, describing it as “the only paradise land written in the Bible” where they could avoid “the Great Tribulation”. In sermons, she showed them videos of earthquakes and famines, saying repeatedly that she had found a “kingdom of 1000 years where we can live in eternity.”

Shin also told followers they must pay for visas costing 30 million South Korean won (USD $25000) per person, the ruling detailed.  Followers who had escaped from the cult told journalists about ritual beatings and abuse.

Last year, former church members told CNN that followers were subjected to public beatings, known as “threshing”, a ritual involving being slapped and hit as a supposed form of repentance in accordance with Shin’s interpretation of the Bible.

Presbyterian Church Exchanges Pastors for Drag Queens and reads Gay Stories instead of Scriptures

CINCINNATI, Ohio — An apostate assembly that identifies itself as “a loving and progressive faith community” held a drag queen story time last Sunday as the building caretaker dressed in drag  to read a book in scheduled children’s time during the Sunday, June 16 worship service.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports Dan Davidson dressed up as “Sparke Leigh” complete with a purple dress, makeup, high heels, and “a glitter beard” and stood at the Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church door greeting members and visitors and read to the congregation a story about homosexual politician Harvey Milk and the creation of the rainbow flag.

 Harvey Milk

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Dan Davidson had previously performed as a drag queen in Seattle, Washington before moving to Ohio and joining Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church, led by Stacey Midge. Davidson is a caretaker for the facility.

Last Sunday, Davidson donned a purple dress and high heels and applied a glitter beard as he presented himself as “Sparkle Leigh.” Following the song “God Welcomes All” by the church choir,  Davidson took the stage to read the book “Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag” to children and adults alike. Milk is considered the first openly homosexual elected politician in California and worked as a homosexual rights activist. Acquaintance Gilbert Baker designed the rainbow flag known today as the symbol for homosexual, bisexual and transgender pride.

“Harvey dreamed that everyone — even gay people — would have equality,” Davidson read. “He dreamed that one day, people would be able to live and love as they pleased.”

“Harvey and his friends planned marches to protest inequality and unfair laws. And just days before one of the marches, Harvey had an idea. … We need a symbol that shows who we are and how we feel. … Harvey knew an artist who could help — Gilbert Baker.”

Some in attendance held up their cell phones to reenact the San Francisco candlelight vigil for Milk, as mentioned in the book.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the Mount Auburn Presbyterian is in the midst of celebrating Pride Month, and is decorated with pride flags and rainbow candles. One man told his “coming out” story during the service.

Davidson stood near the entrance at the end of the gathering and spoke to the people as they left.

Pro-Gay Church Plans to Build Worship Space/Brewery & Donate Profits to Planned Parenthood

The U.S. Episcopal Church Amends the Terms “Husband and Wife” To Find Favor With the LGBT Community

 

An Angry Spirit Emerges From Kenneth Copeland When Interviewed By Inside Edition Video

Televangelist Kenneth Copeland snapped at an Inside Edition reporter in a recent interview about his lavish lifestyle and private-jet use, saying he makes no apologies for the fact that his hypnotized blind followers ministry has made him “a very wealthy man.”

Mr. Copeland, owner of the Texas-based Kenneth Copeland Ministries, was confronted by Inside Edition’s Lisa Guerrero about using his private jets to travel to and from his vacation homes. Ms. Guerrero specifically asked him about a comment he made in 2015 in defending his private-jet use, when he argued that commercial planes are full of “a bunch of demons” who would bog down his busy schedule with prayer requests.

“Do you really believe that human beings are demons?” the reporter asked.

“No I did not,” Mr. Copeland responded, angrily. “And don’t you ever say I did.”

He said that he was talking about the demons inside of people, such as alcohol abuse, not the people themselves.

Kenneth Copeland Acquires New Gulf-stream V Jet, Paid For By “Donations” From His Followers/Church and Seeks $19.5M for Upgrades and Maintenance

Louisiana Catholic School Principal Arrested at DC Strip Club While on Field Trip With Students

Michael Comeau, the principal at Holy Family Catholic School in Port Allen, Louisiana, was accused of not paying his bill at Archibald’s Gentlemen’s Club

A Catholic school principal in Louisiana resigned after being arrested early Friday morning at a strip club during a field trip to Washington, D.C., media outlets report.

Michael Comeau, the principal at Holy Family Catholic School in Port Allen, Louisiana, was accused of not paying his bill at Archibald’s Gentlemen’s Club, according to the Monroe News Star.

The police were called and, when they arrived, found Comeau standing in the road and refusing to move, according to The Advocate. He was arrested and charged with public intoxication and “possession of an open container of alcohol,” The Advocate reported.

All this happened while Comeau was on a school trip with 7th and 8th grade students, according to WMBF.

The students were in the hotel with other chaperones while Comeau was at the strip club, The Advocate reported.

“The Diocese of Baton Rouge confirmed [Friday] that Michael Comeau, principal at Holy Family School in Port Allen, was arrested on May 30 while on a school sponsored trip to Washington, DC. …,” the diocese said in a statement published by WMBF and the News Star. “Mr. Comeau has submitted his resignation as principal and an interim principal will be appointed.”

Comeau also worked as an officer for the Brusly Police Department, according to WMBF.
He resigned from his position with the department as well, WMBF reported. Comeau was principal at the school for five years, and the school will appoint an interim principal following his resignation, the Monroe News Star reported.

Trinity Christian Academy Teacher/Coach Fired For Inappropriate Relationship with Student

Students, parents and staff at the Trinity Christian Academy in Jacksonville, Florida, are in shock after school officials announced Thursday that a popular Bible teacher and soccer coach was fired for having an “inappropriate relationship” with a student.

“On Tuesday, in keeping with legal and our own internal reporting guidelines, TCA reported an inappropriate relationship between a high school teacher and high school student to our local law enforcement,” the school confirmed in a statement to The Christian Post on Friday morning.

“In addition to the reporting, we have terminated the employment of the teacher. We are deeply saddened by this situation, because it is so far removed from the standards and values to which we hold our faculty and embrace as a school. We are committed to offering care and support for the student and all families impacted,” it ended.

While the school did not reveal any further details on the teacher, James Baltz, a former student who now works at the school told News4Jax that the fired teacher was a Bible teacher and soccer coach who was popular among students.

“When I heard about it, I was in complete, like, all in shock,” Baltz said. “It’s just completely awful that it happened in this environment, especially a Christian environment.”

Students like Baemnet Abetew, a 12th-grader, revealed that news of the teacher’s firing had rippled through the entire school community.

“It did shock me. I didn’t think anything like this would happen here,” Abetew said. “It is scary because it’s something that could have happened to me.” 

Zarek Jones, a soccer player who was coached by the fired teacher, told First Coast News that: “We thought he was cool. We’d go to his classroom and eat lunch there.”

He said he knows the female student who was involved with his coach but his teammates thought they were “just friends.”

“We thought they were just friends,” Jones said.

“I know he shouldn’t have done this,” he added. “I don’t know whether to be mad or sad, but he taught us not to do stuff like this.”

Auna Nix, a parent whose son attends the school, called the situation heartbreaking.

“It just scares me as a parent,” she said. “But I trust the school that they’re going to make the right decision.” 

When contacted for comment on the case Friday, the Jacksonville Police Department could not immediately provide any details on whether a report was made.

Trinity Christian Academy was founded in 1967 under the sponsorship of Trinity Baptist Church of Jacksonville “as an educational program that would provide not only the academic, social, physical, and values training, but also the spiritual training necessary for a well-rounded education,” according to their website.

Priest Admits Urinating in Sacrificial Wine During Child Porn Sentencing

A retired Catholic priest who was caught with thousands of pornographic images and videos of children and boasted about urinating in the wine he blessed for parishioners described himself as a “sick puppy” in court on Thursday before an Idaho judge sentenced him to 25 years in prison.

 The Reverend W. Thomas Faucher

Rev. W. Thomas Faucher, 73, pleaded guilty in September to five felony counts, and must register as a sex offender upon his release. He will serve the full 25 years, as the judge denied him the possibility of parole.

The sentencing “brings to a close one of the most difficult cases the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit has ever investigated,” said Attorney General Lawrence Wasden in a statement. “The nature of the evidence uncovered was extremely disturbing.”

 Rev. W. Thomas on trial 

Investigators first began looking into Faucher late last year, after receiving an anonymous online tip about two sexual images involving children that had been sent from the priest’s email account.

According to evidence presented in court Thursday, police waded through hundreds of emails and online chats Faucher had with someone named “Bruno.” In them, the priest, who retired in 2015 after serving for decades at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Boise, was “actively seeking interests with gay men, satanic interests” and the rape and killing of minors.

More than 2,500 illegal files containing violent child pornography were recovered from Faucher’s computer, cell phone, and Dropbox account. In some videos, the child victims wept as they were abused.

The Idaho Statesmen reports police presented evidence Thursday from online interactions that showed Faucher had expressed a desire to have sex with boys, had “satanic desires,” and that “the thought of killing someone” was exciting to him.

Authorities also revealed the priest shared his fantasies with other pedophiles online. He spoke of wanting to sexually abuse altar boys and babies. In one exchange, he recalled enjoying a video of a boy being beaten to death.

“I was one really sick puppy,” Faucher said during his sentencing, according to the Statesmen. “I screwed up big time … I feel so much remorse and anger.”

Other evidence showed Faucher also used racist language in his chats, and once bragged about urinating into the sacrificial wine. Police also recovered images of Faucher urinating on a cross and a canon law book. Before being sentenced, Faucher argued he would be more useful as a free man.

“There are many people who will benefit if I am no longer in jail,” Faucher said, noting he wants to help survivors of childhood sexual abuse. “There are no people who will benefit if I am in jail or in prison.”

But Judge Jason Scott said he disagreed, citing the conclusion of analysts: that Faucher would likely re-offend if freed.

“This is the crime that has the potential for both immediate and long-lasting consequences,” Scott said, according to the Statesmen. “I think there is a legitimate risk to the community.”

The priest was initially charged with 21 counts of felony sexual exploitation of a child, one count of felony possession of a controlled substance for having LSD and two counts of misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance for having marijuana and ecstasy. He pleaded guilty to two counts of distribution of sexually exploitative material, two counts of possession of sexually exploitative materials and one count of drug possession.

“I am deeply sorry that I was and have been connected to that in any way,” Faucher told the judge.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise is moving to defrock Faucher, and allegedly had the man’s former residence exorcised before putting it on the market.

“The volumes of shocking information that the law enforcement investigation uncovered reveal the heinous nature of child pornography and the tragic impact upon its victims,” a statement from the diocese reads. “While we cannot begin to fathom what brought Faucher to the point that he was able to enter into this evil and dark world, we are thankful for the efforts of the law enforcement community in doing what it can to protect our children from these crimes.”

 Reverend Father Faucher being escorted to court 

Catholic Church Guilty Of Covering Up Sexual Abuse of Over 1000 Children in Pennsylvania

Priest Jumps From Skyscraper After Accused of Having a Relationship With a Minor

Detroit Pastor Murders Transgender Woman

A Detroit pastor was charged this week in the shooting death of a 36-year-old transgender woman found dead on the street Friday.

Albert Weathers, 46, was charged with open murder and use of a firearm after an investigation into the death of Kelly Stough, who was found by a police officer in the Palmer Park neighborhood, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office said.

No motive was given, though prosecutors said they have evidence to be presented in court that Stough’s status as a transgender woman played a role in Weathers’ alleged actions.

Weathers is a pastor of the Logo’s Church, and until this week, was an employee at the Great Lakes Water Authority.

A spokesperson for the company confirmed to the Daily News that Weathers’ employment has since been terminated, and that he was off-duty at the time of the alleged shooting.

Weathers, who is reportedly married with children, allegedly left the scene of the crime, clocked in at work, and called police an hour later claiming he’d been the victim of an attempted robbery and had shot someone, according to local ABC affiliate WXYZ.

His bond is set at $1 million, though his lawyer David Cripps told the outlet that he will petition for a lower bond on the argument that his client has strong ties to his community.

Stough, meanwhile, was remembered by mother Jessica Chantae Stough as a beloved member of the community who was very loved, and hoped to one day work in the fashion industry as a designer and buyer.

“She has a family who cared about her, who loved her, and I want them to know that transgender ladies – expressly those of color – they’re not just throwaways,” she told NBC News. “People care about them.”

A GoFundMe page launched in memory of Stough has raised more than $4,500.

As noted by NBC, Stough once weighed in on the police’s inadequate treatment of transgender people in Detroit in the wake of a 2015 murder of a local transgender woman.

 Kelly Stough (center) with friends

“The police are unaware with our struggle, so they have no sympathy for us,” she told the Guardian, using her stage name Keanna Mattel. “Nobody ever asks, what happened to the person to get here? Unelss you’re just in the middle of the street, dead bleeding, you can flag down a police officer, and they’ll just ride past you like you never flagged them down.”

Fair Michigan Foundation President and Michigan Attorney General-elect Dana Nessel said in a statement that Stough’s murder “reflected the excessive brutality that members of Detroit’s transgender community constantly face.”