We call this morning to God, Goddess, Universe, that which is greater than ourselves to be here with us today,” said Deborah Maynard, who delivered the first prayer by a Wiccan in the assembly. “By the Earth that is in our bones and centers us, may all here remember our roots and those whom we are here to represent….. We call this morning to Spirit, which is ever present, to help us respect the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. Be with this legislative body and guide them to seek justice, equity and compassion in the work that is before them today.” MORE – VIDEO

3:00PM EDT 4/9/2015 Jennifer LeClaire
Charisma Magazine

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A devastating tornado leveled an entire town Thursday night, killing one person and leaving dozens of others trapped in their basements as extreme weather tore through the Midwest.

The small town of Fairdale was hardly standing Friday morning, after 17 of its 50 buildings were obliterated by the vortex, which also left one resident, 67-year-old Geraldine M Schultz, dead. MORE

A Canadian documentary has alleged that the Chinese state is aware and approves of the removal of organs from live political prisoners, often without anesthetic. MORE 2nd VIDEO

‘Blood rain’ will fall on Britain this weekend staining cars and pavements a rusty brown as red dust blows in from the Sahara desert. MORE

President Obama has long known that the real decision maker in Iran is Ayatollah Khamenei, the so-called supreme leader. While other Iranian officials have negotiated with Western powers over the mullahs’ nuclear program, Khamenei’s opinion is the only one that really counts. It is for this reason that Obama began writing directly to Khamenei early in his presidency. MORE

Funny, Traditional Catholics are not allowed to use new church churches or facilities at Catholic cemeteries.

Anglicans are to hold a cathedral service in a Roman Catholic Church in what is thought to be a first in the UK.

Derby Cathedral is to have an £800,000 refurbishment and will be closed during the week until the end of August. It means some services will be held at nearby St Mary’s church, starting on Thursday evening. MORE

An Afghanistan-based jihadist group known for its past ties to Pakistani intelligence on Wednesday vowed to send “thousands” of fighters to Yemen in support of Saudi Arabia.

Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin was one of the main Sunni insurgent groups that fought against Soviet troops and later re-emerged to fight US-led coalition forces after 2001. MORE

The group said in a regulatory statement that up to 100 billion barrels of oil could be onshore beneath the South of England, after it drilled a well at Horse Hill near Gatwick Airport, West Sussex, last year. The number comes from the fact that UKOG said that the local area could hold 158 million barrels of oil per square mile and from management estimates confirmed this morning on the BBC. MORE

Yet who could have expected the draconian measures the Times would propose? Either Christians fully embrace the gay lifestyle, or you will be coerced into doing so.

Op-ed writer Frank Bruni, onetime Times restaurant critic and a gay activist, has written that Christians who hold on to “ossified,” biblically-based beliefs regarding sexual morality have no place at America’s table and are deserving of no particular regard.

In one fell swoop, Bruni trashes all believing Christians as “bigots,” saying that Christians’ negative moral assessment of homosexual relations is “a choice” that “prioritizes scattered passages of ancient texts over all that has been learned since — as if time had stood still, as if the advances of science and knowledge meant nothing.” MORE

The eating habits of modern Americans have been described as, “eating breakfast in their cars, lunch at their desks and chicken from a bucket.” Within the last few decades, Americans are eating out more and more and cooking fewer meals at home, which is typically the healthier option, with meals containing less saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, and more fiber. Therefore, the benefits to preparing healthy food at home may include the prevention of chronic disease. Even when food is prepared at home, it still may not mean much — microwaving a frozen pizza isn’t exactly home cooking. MORE

Decrying Atlanta pastor Charles Stanley’s “sordid history of virulent homophobic statements and actions,” a gay Jewish group is protesting the Jewish National Fund for plans to bestow a high honor on Stanley, senior pastor of First Baptist Atlanta and a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention. MORE

This lighting display in the financial district of Manhattan was a surefire way to attract  attention during the Easter celebrations of 1956.