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114-year-old Catholic church burns down in Canada: 6 churches on fire in one week

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A Catholic church destroyed in a suspicious fire early Wednesday was the “heart and soul” of the town north of Edmonton, where it had stood for more than a century, according to the community’s mayor.

“What’s happened is a terrible and tragic event for our community,” Morinville Mayor Barry Turner told a morning news conference, hours after the St. Jean Baptiste Catholic Church went up in flames.

“It was really the heart and soul of a lot of what went on in our community and, as I’ve said before, we cannot replace what was lost today.”

Bystanders watched as the steeple, engulfed in flames, toppled from the skyline of the town of 10,600 people, 40 kilometres north of Edmonton.

The charred remains of the wooden structure will be levelled.

Morinville residents are reeling from the shock and grief of the loss, Turner said.

The town will look to rebuild on the site, he said.

“I’m confident that our community will respond in a way that we can all be proud of.”

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. RCMP are looking into the possibility of arson.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney visited the scene and condemned the destruction of churches as “hate-motivated arson attacks.”

At least six other Catholic churches on First Nation lands across Canada have burned down in the past week. RCMP say they are treating the other fires as suspicious.

Kenney said the province will work with police and other law-enforcement agencies to increase patrols at churches that could become potential targets.

“This historic church was in the heart of Morinville and a key part of the spiritual life of Alberta’s francophone community,” Kenney said in a statement.

“These attacks targeting Christian churches are attempts to destroy the spiritual sites that are important to people of faith across Alberta, including many Indigenous people.”

Fire crews arrived on scene at 3:20 a.m. local time to find the building fully engulfed and already threatening to collapse.

Surrounding buildings were evacuated. About 50 residents living in the former convent building were forced to leave their homes. That building was damaged by water and smoke. The flames were brought under control by 7 a.m.

The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations says he understands the rage, frustration and pain brought on by the
discovery of unmarked graves at former residential schools, but funnelling that anguish into burning down churches will not bring justice.

“To burn things down is not our way,” Perry Bellegarde said Wednesday. “Our way is to build relationships and come together.”

‘An empty feeling in our hearts’
Phil Schayes, who is Métis, said the church was at the forefront of his upbringing in Morinville.

“We used to be able to see the church steeple and we don’t see that anymore and that kind of leaves an empty feeling in our hearts but that said, I think it’s a time for reflection,” Schayes said.

If the fire was motivated by hate toward the Catholic Church over wrongs committed in residential schools, the loss of the building should be seen as a symbol of the need for reconciliation, he said.

Many of his Indigenous brothers are hurting, he said.

“I feel bad that we’re at this point but it has to come out,” Schayes said. “If we’ve wronged them, which I think that we did, then shame on us.

“Imagine if someone felt so bad inside, so much hate, that they had to burn down a church where so many people found a lot of peace. We can put up another church but a person that is hurting like that, we have to find a way.”

Paul Terrio, bishop of the Diocese of St. Paul, issued a statement urging people to resist speculating on the cause of the fire, and asking that they pray for parishioners.

Parishioner Eileen Vollmer lives a block away and often admired the church from the window of her living room.

She said she cried as she and her husband watched the wreckage burn. Vollmer said many of her family memories are connected to the church.

“My mom was baptized here, had her first communion and confirmation here, got married here and had her funeral here,” Vollmer said. “Our children were baptized there and we always went to church here.”

Vollmer has lived in Morinville since 1960 and attended the church since she was a young girl. She often helped the congregation welcome its newest members, she said.

“I made all the little baptism capes that were given to each baby that was being baptized and I just finishing making 12 little first communion veils for the little girls.”

The church is a landmark in the town and was a frequent gathering place for residents, said Vollmer, one she admired for the history it shared both with the town and her own family.

“It’s just very sad.”

About 50 firefighters were called to the scene, Morinville said in its statement.

Iain Bushell, the town’s general manager of community and infrastructure services, said flames spread quickly through the old wooden structure. The building was already threatening to cave in by the time crews arrived.

“There was already fire in the basement as they attempted to enter the building … it was already charged with smoke. And they could already hear the sounds of collapse on the inside so then they evacuated.”

The structure, completed in 1907, is a “complete loss,” Bushell said.

“The St. Jean Baptiste Church is an iconic church,” he said.

“It’s part of the landscape.”

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‘We Need a Miracle’: US Missionaries Trapped, Desperate to Get Out of Haiti amid Gang Siege

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American missionaries trapped in Haiti are begging to be rescued as criminal gangs violently wreak havoc in the nation’s capital.

For the last two weeks, attacks at police stations, prisons, and the airport have been the culmination of a catastrophic humanitarian crisis taking place in the country. Nearly 1,200 people have been killed and more than 700 injured in recent days.

It has forced the US to evacuate non-essential personnel. But for some Americans, there is no way out.

Missionary Jill Dolan, who helps run Love A Neighbor, a children’s home in Haiti, and her family are trapped there, sheltering in a make-shift motel in the capital of Port-au-Prince, the New York Post reports.

According to a Facebook update from Love A Neighbor, Dolan, her husband, Ryan, and their adopted teenage children were on their way to a wedding in Florida when armed gangs took over the airport.

All flights were canceled and travel back to their home in a mountain village was impossible.

Dolan said she is in contact with the US Embassy, but little help has been offered.

“We’ve contacted agencies to extract us out, they have just said it’s way too dangerous where you are, you have to stay put,” she told CBS News.

“My fear is that we will be caught in the middle of something really dangerous. We’re already on the front lines of it, we’re in a bad area,” she told the New York Post. “It’s kind of depressing. The gunfire never stops.”

Port-au-Prince is the center of political tension as Prime Minister Ariel Henry fights to stay in power while gangs demand his resignation.

Many Haitians are angry that general elections have not been held in nearly a decade. They claim that Henry was never elected and does not represent the people.

As CBN News reported, armed gangs have launched large-scale coordinated assaults against multiple government buildings and the presidential palace, after attacking prisons last week and freeing close to 5,000 inmates.

Street battles between the gangs and police have crippled Haiti’s fragile economy with United Nations officials saying half of the country’s more than 11 million inhabitants don’t have enough to eat, and 1.5 million are starving.

Reports also describe decaying bodies piling in the streets as there is no one to pick up the corpses.

Gang leader Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier has claimed responsibility for the attacks and says he aims to force Henry from office.

He has promised that chaos will continue if the citizens are left out of the process.

“We Haitians have to decide who is going to lead the country and what model of government we want,” he said.

Dr. David Vanderpool, who heads a ministry to Haiti called LiveBeyond, said, “This is sort of the culmination of gangs running the country for the last three or four years. The government has collapsed. The president was assassinated in ’21. The judiciary was also terminated as well as parliament. So there’s not been an effective government in place since 2021 and the gangs have had full run of the country.”

Meanwhile, people are locked down in homes and hotels, unable to leave the country by any means.

Miriam Cinotti and Lynn, who asked to only be identified by her first name, work with Dolan and say the country is paralyzed by the mayhem.

Although stranded in a different part of the country, they also see no way out as international airports are shut down.

“Nobody’s reached out to us or anything. And then of course, when we saw the non-essential workers get picked up, we were thinking well, maybe they’re going to come back and start evacuating Port-au-Prince and then have a plane for everyone else,” Cinotti told the New York Post.

“We’re worried because we’re in a country where we don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s unpredictable what’s going on, we don’t know,” Lynn said.

A spokesperson for Love A Neighbor recently posted to Facebook requesting prayer for Dolan and the country of Haiti.

“We need a miracle. Will you please join us in our prayers for a miracle? Not just for our family, but also for innocent people caught in the gangs’ crossfire. Haiti has been in a steep decline,” they wrote.

An online fundraising campaign was started to help Dolan’s organization and their family as “funds are running low due to the unexpected dire situation.”
Sources:BREAKING CHRISTIAN NEWS

http://theendtimeradio.com

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ലോസ് ഏഞ്ചല്‍സില്‍ മണ്ണിടിച്ചിലില്‍ നിരവധി വീടുകള്‍ തകര്‍ന്നു

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ലോസ് ഏഞ്ചല്‍സ്: യുഎസിലെ ലോസ് ഏഞ്ചല്‍സിനു സമീപം ഷെര്‍മാന്‍ ഓക്സില്‍ ഉണ്ടായ മണ്ണിടിച്ചിലില്‍ നിരവധി വീടുകള്‍ തകര്‍ന്നു. ബുധനാഴ്ച പുലര്‍ച്ചെ ഉണ്ടായ മണ്ണിടിച്ചിലില്‍ വന്‍ നാശനഷ്ടമാണ് ഉണ്ടായിരിക്കുന്നത്.

ലോസ് ഏഞ്ചല്‍സില്‍ നിന്നും 19 കിലോമീറ്റര്‍ അകലെ സമ്പന്നര്‍ കൂടുതലായി താമസിക്കുന്ന ഷെര്‍മാന്‍ ഓക്സില്‍ ബുധനാഴ്ച്ച പുലര്‍ച്ചെ മൂന്നോടെയാണ് അതിശക്തമായ മണ്ണിടിച്ചില്‍ ഉണ്ടായത്.
ഗോള്‍ഡ് കോസ്റ്റ് എന്ന് വിളിക്കപ്പെടുന്ന ഈ പ്രദേശം അംബരചുംബികളായ വീടുകളാല്‍ പ്രശസ്തമാണ്. കാലാവസ്ഥാ വിഭാഗം അപകടസൂചന നല്കിയിരുന്നതിനാല്‍ ഈ മേലയില്‍ നിന്നും ആളുകളെ ഒഴിപ്പിച്ചിരുന്നു. ഇതിനാല്‍ ആളപായം ഉണ്ടായില്ല. അഗ്നിശമന സേന സുരക്ഷാ പ്രവര്‍ത്തനങ്ങള്‍ നടത്തുന്നുണ്ട്.
Sources:nerkazhcha

http://theendtimeradio.com

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അമേരിക്കയിലെ വിവിധ പട്ടണങ്ങളില്‍ മലയാളി പെന്തക്കോസ്ത് കോണ്‍ഫറന്‍സിന്റെ പ്രമോഷണല്‍ മീറ്റിംഗുകള്‍

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ഹൂസ്റ്റണ്‍: ജൂലൈ 4 മുതല്‍ 7 വരെ നടക്കുന്ന മലയാളി പെന്തക്കോസ്ത് കോണ്‍ഫറന്‍സിന്റെ പ്രമോഷണല് മീറ്റിംഗുകള്‍ അമേരിക്കയിലെ വിവിധ പട്ടണങ്ങളില്‍ വച്ച് നടക്കുന്നു.

മാര്‍ച്ച് 16-ന് ന്യൂജേഴ്‌സിയിലെ ഇന്ത്യാ ക്രിസ്ത്യന്‍ അസംബ്ലിയില്‍ വച്ചും, 17-ന് ഫിലാഡല്‍ഫിയയിലുള്ള എബനേസര്‍ ചര്‍ച്ച് ഓഫ് ഗോഡില്‍ വച്ചും, 22-ന് ഒക്കലഹോമയിലും, 23-ന് തുള്‍സാ ഒക്കലഹോമയിലും, 30-ന് ഹൂസ്റ്റണിലുള്ള ഐപിസി ഹെബ്രോണില്‍ വച്ചും, 31-ന് ഡാലസ് അഗാപ്പേ ചര്‍ച്ചില്‍ വച്ചും ഈ മീറ്റിംഗുകള്‍ നടക്കുന്നതായിരിക്കും.

ദേശീയ നേതാക്കളോടൊപ്പം വിവിധ സഭകളിലെ പാസ്റ്റര്‍മാരും, പ്രതിനിധികളും സംബന്ധിക്കും. നാഷണല്‍ കണ്‍വീനറായി പാസ്റ്റര്‍ ഫിന്നി ആലുംമൂട്ടില്‍, നാഷണല്‍ സെക്രട്ടറി രാജു പൊന്നോലില്‍, നാഷണല്‍ ട്രഷര്‍ ബിജു തോമസ്, യൂത്ത് കോര്‍ഡിനേറ്റര്‍ റോബിന്‍ രാജു, ലേഡീസ് കോര്‍ഡിനേറ്റര്‍ ആന്‍സി സന്തോഷും പ്രവര്‍ത്തിക്കുന്നു.

ലോകോത്തര സൗകര്യങ്ങളുള്ള ഹൂസ്റ്റണിലെ ജോര്‍ജ് ആര്‍ ബ്രൗണ്‍ കണ്‍വന്‍ഷന്‍ സെന്ററാണ് വേദിയായി തെരഞ്ഞെടുത്തിട്ടുള്ളത്. ലോക പ്രസിദ്ധരായ നിരവധി കണ്‍വന്‍ഷന്‍ പ്രഭാഷകര്‍ കടന്നുവരുന്നു. യുവജനങ്ങള്‍ക്കും കുട്ടികള്‍ക്കും സഹോദരിമാര്‍ക്കുമുള്ള മീറ്റിംഗുകളോടൊപ്പം ഇംഗ്ലീഷിലും മലയാളത്തിലും മീറ്റിംഗുകള്‍ ക്രമീകരിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു.

ഈമാസം വിവിധ പട്ടണങ്ങളില്‍ നടക്കുന്ന പ്രമോഷണല്‍ മീറ്റിംഗുകളെ സംഗീതസാന്ദ്രമാക്കുന്നതിനായി പ്രമുഖ ക്രൈസ്തവ ഗായകനായ ഇമ്മാനുവേല്‍ ഹെന്റി കടന്നുവരുന്നു. ഈ സംഗീത സായാഹ്നം തികച്ചും സൗജന്യമായിരിക്കും.
Sources:nerkazhcha

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