Pastor Jim and Lori Bakker and family host a special Christmas episode with special music from Dino Kartsonakis and the PTL singers.
Tag Archives: Christmas
Indonesian police warn Islamists against raids in search of Santa hats
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesian police appealed on Thursday for tolerance and respect for other people’s religious celebrations after an Islamist group threatened to raid businesses to check for Muslims being forced to wear Santa Claus hats or other Christmas garb.
The hardline Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) said this week it would conduct “sweeping operations” in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country, and that forcing Muslims to wear Christmas attire was a violation of their human rights.
Indonesia is home to several religious minorities, including Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and people who follow traditional beliefs.
The constitution guarantees freedom of religion in an officially secular state though tension between followers of different faiths can flare.
“There can be no sweeping operations … members of the public should respect other religions that are carrying out celebrations,” national police chief Tito Karnavian told police during a security exercise in the capital, Jakarta.
The FPI said it aimed to enforce a fatwa, or decree, issued by Indonesia’s Islamic Clerical Council in 2016 prohibiting business owners from forcing employees to wear Christmas clothing.
“We will raid businesses in anticipation of them being stubborn about this and we will be accompanied by police,” said Novel Bakmukmin, head of the FPI’s Jakarta chapter.
Employers forcing staff to wear Christmas clothes were violating their rights.
“Businesses should be aware that there should be no forcing,” he said.
The Islamic Clerical Council’s decrees are not legally binding but serve as guidelines for Indonesian Muslims.
Christmas is widely celebrated across Indonesia and holiday decorations are ubiquitous, especially at shops, restaurants and malls where many enthusiastic workers – even Muslims – don Santa hats or elf costumes.
The FPI built its reputation with raids on restaurants and bars serving alcohol during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
In recent years, it has turned its attention to Christian celebrations.
The group has also said it wants the Jakarta city government to stop sponsoring New Year celebrations, which attract many thousands of people.
About 90,000 police officers will be on duty cross the country during the end-of-year holidays, in an operation largely aimed at preventing militant attacks.
Attacks on churches in Jakarta and elsewhere on Christmas Eve in 2000, killed nearly 20 people. Ever since, authorities have stepped up security at churches and tourist spots for the holiday.
(Reporting by Djohan Widjaya and Kanupriya Kapoor; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Robert Birsel)
Australia police say don’t suspect terrorism after car plows into pedestrians
By Melanie Burton and Byron Kaye
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – An Australian man of Afghan descent with a history of mental health issues drove a car into Christmas shoppers in the city of Melbourne on Thursday, injuring 19 people, but police said they did not believe the attack was terror-related.
In January, four people were killed and more than 20 injured when a man drove into pedestrians just a few hundred meters away from Thursday’s attack. That too was not a terror attack.
Jim Stoupas, the owner of a donut shop at the scene, told Reuters the vehicle was traveling up to 100 kph (62 mph) when it drove into the intersection packed with people, hitting one person after another.
“All you could hear was just ‘bang bang bang bang bang’ and screams,” Stoupas said in a telephone interview, adding the car came to rest by a tram stop.
Police said they detained the 32-year-old driver, an Australian of Afghan descent with a history of assault, drug use and mental health issues.
“At this time, we don’t have any evidence or intelligence to indicate a connection with terrorism,” said the acting chief commissioner of Victoria State, Shane Patton.
Four of the injured were in critical condition, including a pre-school aged boy who suffered a head injury.
Police also detained a 24-year-old man at the scene who was filming the incident and had a bag with knifes.
Patton said it was “quite probable” the 24-year-old was not involved.
The men had not been charged and their names have not been released by police.
The attack took place on Flinders Street, a major road that runs alongside the Yarra River, in the central business district of Australia’s second-biggest city.
Melbourne has installed about 140 concrete bollards in the city center to stop vehicle attacks by militants similar to recent attacks in Europe and the United States.
“We’ve seen an horrific act, an evil act, an act of cowardice perpetrated against innocent bystanders,” said the state premier, Daniel Andrews.
Sydney, Australia’s biggest city, has also installed concrete barricades in main pedestrian thoroughfares.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and the emergency health workers who are treating them,” Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said in a post on his official Twitter account.
Australia has been on a “high” national threat level since 2015, citing the likelihood of attacks by Australians radicalized in Iraq and Syria.
Two hostages were killed during a 17-hour siege by a “lone wolf” gunman, inspired by Islamic State militants, in a cafe in Sydney in December 2014.
(Reporting by Melanie Burton in MELBOURNE and Byron Kaye in SYDNEY; additional reporting by Sonali Paul and Paulina Duran; writing by Jonathan Barrett; Editing by Nick Macfie, Robert Birsel)
Philippine leader declares unilateral ceasefire for Christmas
MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has declared a 10-day unilateral ceasefire with communist rebels to allow Filipinos to celebrate a “stress-free” Christmas season, two weeks after peace talks with the insurgents were formally scrapped.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte had ordered the army and police to suspend offensive operations from Dec. 24 to Jan. 2 “to lessen the apprehension of the public this Christmas season”.
He said he expected the Maoists and their political leaders to “do a similar gesture of goodwill.”
There was no immediate comment from the communist rebel movement, whose top leaders and negotiators have been living in exile in The Netherlands since the late 1980s.
Duterte restarted a stalled peace process and freed several communist leaders as a gesture of good faith when he came to office last year but he recently abandoned talks due to escalating rebel attacks.
He has vented his fury on a near-daily basis at what he considers duplicity by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA). He has collectively declared them a “terrorist organization” and has ended the three-decades peace process.
The rebel forces, estimated to number around 3,000, have been waging a protracted guerrilla warfare in the countryside for nearly 50 years in a conflict that has killed more than 40,000 people and stifled growth in resource-rich areas of the Philippines.
The guerrillas have been targeting mines, plantations, construction and telecommunication companies, demanding “revolutionary taxation” to finance arms purchases and recruitment activities.
Duterte on Tuesday night said he only wanted Filipinos to celebrate a “stress-free” Christmas.
“I do not want to add more strain to what people are now suffering,” he told reporters.
(Reporting by Manuel Mogato; Editing by Martin Petty and Michael Perry)
Christmas Spirit for the Heart, Enjoy Tammy Sue Bakker in concert this Friday December 22nd LIVE!
By Kami Klein
There are a constant stream of requests from partners all over the world wanting to hear Tammy Sue Bakker sing! On Friday, December 22, at 7pm our Christmas concert series will conclude with our very own Tammy Sue Bakker on Grace Street. In her dad’s words: “Tammy Sue’s voice has never been more powerful!” Your heart will be filled with the true meaning of Christmas as you relax into the music and experience the spirit-led, clear and beautiful songs from this amazing entertainer.
Tammy Sue brings a humility and joy from her voice to the stage of The Jim Bakker Show, reminding others of the healing and power found in God’s love. We are thrilled to have a whole evening with her! But if you can’t make it here to Grace Street, you and your family can join us on our live feed at jimbakkershow.com!
So gather the family and enjoy the last of our very special concerts that celebrate the true meaning of Christmas and the joy found in God’s love!
Merry Christmas!
Amtrak train on new route derails in Washington state, killing several
(Reuters) – An Amtrak passenger train derailed on Monday during its inaugural run along a faster route through Washington state, sending part of the train crashing down onto a major highway and killing an unknown number of passengers, authorities said.
The derailment caused “multiple fatalities,” Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the local sheriff’s office, told reporters at the scene, though he did not offer a specific number. The train struck several cars on the highway, he added, causing injuries but no additional deaths.
Seventy-seven people were transported to hospitals in Pierce and Thurston counties, the Tacoma-based CHI Franciscan Health healthcare network said in a statement. Four of them were considered “level red” patients with the most severe injuries.
Approximately 78 passengers and five crew members were aboard the train, Amtrak said in a statement.
People escaped the derailed train by kicking out windows, passenger Chris Karnes told local news outlet KIRO 7.
“All of a sudden, we felt this rocking and creaking noise, and it felt like we were heading down a hill,” Karnes said. “The next thing we know, we’re being slammed into the front of our seats, windows are breaking, we stop, and there’s water gushing out of the train. People were screaming.”
First responders are seen at the scene of an Amtrak passenger train derailment on interstate highway (I-5) in this Washington State Patrol image moved on social media in DuPont, Washington, U.S., December 18, 2017. Courtesy Brooke Bova/Washington State Patrol/Handout via REUTERS
The derailment occurred on the first day Amtrak trains began using a new inland route between the cities of Tacoma and Olympia, part of a project to reduce travel time, according to an October news release from the state’s transportation department.
The rerouting takes trains along Interstate 5, eliminating a major choke point for passenger trains in Tacoma and allowing trains to reach speeds of 79 miles per hour (127 km per hour), the department has said.
Monday’s train, which had been scheduled to depart Seattle at 6 a.m. (1400 GMT) for Portland, Oregon, was the first to run along the new route, which uses tracks owned by a local commuter line.
It was not immediately clear whether the derailment, which came during a busy travel time one week before the Christmas holiday, was connected to the rerouting.
The train derailed around 7:30 a.m. (1530 GMT) in DuPont. A photograph posted by a Washington State Police spokeswoman showed an upside-down train car partially crushed on the highway, with a second car dangling off the overpass.
Authorities warned drivers to avoid the area, and southbound lanes remained closed.
The National Transportation Safety Board was sending a team of investigators to the site, the federal agency said on Twitter.
“Thank you to the first responders on the scene,” Washington Governor Jay Inslee wrote in a Twitter message. “We’re praying for everyone on board the train, and ask everyone to hold them in your thoughts.”
An Amtrak passenger train is seen derailed on a bridge over interstate highway I-5. Courtesy WSDOT/via REUTERS
The mayor of one of the towns through which the rerouted trains travel warned earlier this month that the high-speed trains were dangerously close to cars and pedestrians.
“Come back when there is that accident, and try to justify not putting in those safety enhancements, or you can go back now and advocate for the money to do it, because this project was never needed and endangers our citizens,” Lakewood Mayor Don Anderson told transportation officials in early December, according to Seattle’s KOMO News.
(Reporting by Jonathan Allen and Gina Cherelus in New York; Writing by Joseph Ax; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jonathan Oatis)
Nazareth Christmas celebrations will be held as normal
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Nazareth, the Israeli Arab city where Jesus is thought to have been raised, will celebrate Christmas as usual, its mayor said, denying the festivities would be curtailed in protest at the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
On Wednesday, a city spokesman said there would be some cuts to the celebrations to protest against President Donald Trump’s decision on Jerusalem that angered Palestinians as well as U.S. allies in the Middle East and the rest of the world.
Mayor Ali Salam told Reuters on Saturday that three singers who had been due to perform would not appear. He gave no reason for their absence, but said that the celebrations would proceed as normal.
“I don’t know why people thought that there would be cuts to the celebrations. Everything, except for three singers who will not be coming, will be held as normal. We have already welcomed 60,000 people to the city today,” Salam said.
Nazareth, the largest Arab town in Israel with a population of 76,000 Muslims and Christians, is one of the Holy Land’s focal points of Christmas festivities which begin officially on Saturday evening.
Nazareth’s imposing Basilica of the Annunciation is built on a site that many Christian faithful believe was the childhood home of Jesus’ mother, Mary.
(Writing by Ori Lewis; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
Record number of Americans to travel during Christmas holiday: AAA
By Jarrett Renshaw
NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. travelers will hit the roads, rails and skies this Christmas holiday in their largest numbers on record, lured by cheap plane tickets and a growing economy, the nation’s largest motor advocacy group said on Thursday.
Roughly 107.3 million Americans will journey 50 miles (80 km) or more from home during Dec. 23 through Jan. 1, a 3.1 percent increase from a year earlier and the most ever recorded, AAA said in a report.
That would be the sixth consecutive record high for the holiday season, the Heathrow, Florida-based organization said.
“More expensive gas prices are not swaying holiday revelers to stay home,” AAA Senior Vice President Bill Sutherland said. “We’ve seen the strong economy and growing consumer confidence fuel holiday travel all year long.”
The largest share of travel, roughly 90.7 percent, will be on U.S. roads. Energy traders watch this activity closely because it accounts for 10 percent of global oil demand.
U.S. motor trips will rise to 97.3 million for this holiday season, the seventh consecutive annual increase, AAA said.
The group expects air travel to grow by 4.1 percent to 6.4 million trips, the highest since 2004 as passengers take advantage of lower ticket prices.
Air travel now accounts now for 5.9 percent of all travel, following four consecutive years of share increases, AAA said.
For 2017, motorists are on pace to break the record for most vehicle miles driven on U.S. roads, helping spur potential record demand for gasoline.
U.S. gasoline demand and vehicle miles traveled both set records in 2016. [nL1N1OC196]
Gas prices jumped more than 10 percent after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, peaking on Sept. 8 at an average of $2.67 a gallon. Prices were at $2.45 a gallon on Thursday, up about 9 percent from a year earlier, AAA said.
(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
The Chrisagis Brothers Concert – Friday, December 15th at 7pm Watch it Live!
By Kami Klein
Feel the spirit of the season with the music and warmth of Christmas as we welcome The Chrisagis Brothers in concert Friday, December 15th at 7pm here at Morningside. These dynamic twin brothers are known for their wholesome family entertainment and fun. Nationally they are loved for their inspiring life story about God’s Miracle Healing Power and for their popular Christian music with 6 successful CDs to their credit.
Their CD, “Playing with Life & Death”, was so successful that they were the first Christian artists to be on MTV with their music. In 2016, the Chrisagis Brothers won “Best Christian Duo” in the Extraordinary People Awards and have won powerful acclaim, nominations, and awards for many other incredible albums. Bring the family and welcome in the Christmas joy with The Chrisagis Brothers!
If you can’t make it to Grace Street, we want to make sure everyone has the chance to experience this amazing Christmas Concert on our website. Make yourself some hot chocolate, and go to JimBakkershow.com to watch us LIVE!
Happy Birthday Jesus!
P.S. Don’t forget to join us on Friday, December 22nd for the last of our Christmas Concert Series with none other than Tammy Sue Bakker!
Scheduling glitch leaves thousands of American Air flights in December pilotless
By Alana Wise
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A system scheduling error has left thousands of American Airlines <AAL.O> flights in December without scheduled pilots, the carrier’s pilots union said as the airline heads into one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
The Allied Pilots Association estimated that more than 15,000 flights from Dec. 17 to 31 were affected by a glitch in the system in which pilots bid for time off based on seniority.
“Basically there’s a crisis at American for manning the cockpits,” Dennis Tajer, a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, said on Wednesday.
The system error was disclosed to pilots on Friday, the union said.
“We have reserve pilots to help cover flying in December, and we are paying pilots who pick up certain open trips 150 percent of their hourly rate – as much as we are allowed to pay them per the contract,” American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller said on Wednesday.
In an email to employees, American had offered pilots the extra pay to work certain flights in the holiday period. But the union filed a grievance, saying that some restrictions on overtime pay violated the group’s contract.
The union said on Wednesday that management had still not reached out to discuss how best to resolve the shortage.
“I’m watching a ‘Grinch that stole Christmas’ thing happening. And we don’t want to see that happening for our passengers,” Tajer said.
American is hoping to avoid having to cancel flights, which, in addition to being a nuisance for travelers, could cost the carrier millions in lost revenue.
In the best-case scenario, labor costs for the quarter will likely climb as a result of pilots’ higher pay on those flights, just months after a substantial mid-contract pay increase for pilots and flight attendants spooked investors and temporarily sent the carrier’s shares tumbling.
Shares of American were mostly flat in Wednesday afternoon trading.
(Reporting by Alana Wise; Editing by G Crosse and Peter Cooney)