In today’s News:
LCMS sends missionaries into the world
As the world continues grappling with the effects of covid-19, the church continues sending missionaries into that world to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. During an Aug. 7 service of sending at the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod International Center In St. Louis, the Rev. Daniel McMiller, executive director of the LCMS Office of International Mission, told four new LCMS missionaries that they don’t go into that world alone, but with the entire church behind them. Of the four new LCMS missionaries, one will be serving in Asia, two in Central America and one in Eurasia.
Court rules in favor transgender
A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of a trans-identifying student as it pertains to use of school restrooms. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 on Tuesday that Gavin Grimm, a biological female who identifies as transgender and has been at the center of a lengthy legal battle starting several years ago, had been discriminated against and that maintaining sex-specific bathrooms was a violation of Title IX, the civil rights statute pertaining to the educational arena. The Richmond-based court held that for a school to prohibit a transgender-identified student from using the restroom of his or her “gender identity” is not constitutional.
Christian school fights to reopen
First Liberty Institute this week sent a letter to Santa Cruz County, California, health officials urging them to allow its client, St. Abraham’s Classical Christian Academy, to safely reopen next week. The state of California permits schools to open in counties that have been off the monitoring list for 14 days. Santa Cruz will have met this goal today, as case rates continue to decline. However, the county has threatened to refuse to allow schools to open next week, even if state guidelines are met. The county currently allows schools to open as childcare centers, serving classes of 12 students provided no “in-person instruction” is provided.
City sued for funding abortion
Yesterday, attorneys from the Thomas More Society sued the city of Austin, Texas, for giving taxpayer money to organizations that help women obtain abortions in violation of state law. The lawsuit alleges that the city’s expenditures are prohibited by the state’s abortion laws, which impose criminal liability on anyone who “furnishes the means for procuring an abortion knowing the purpose intended.” The lawsuit also alleges that the city’s expenditures violate the state constitution’s gift clause, which prohibits transfers of public funds to private entities unless the payment serves a legitimate public purpose and affords a clear public benefit received in return. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Texas Values, an Austin-based nonprofit, as well as several individual taxpayers. Austin recently passed a budget that gives $250,000 in taxpayer money to organizations that provide travel, lodging, and other logistical support to pregnant women seeking to abort their unborn children.
