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Government tries to force Christian ministry servicing at-risk youth to remove its Christian character: suit

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Government tries to force Christian ministry servicing at-risk youth to remove its Christian character: suit

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A Christian youth ministry group is experiencing financial woes causing “irreparable injury” after an Oregon government agency conditioned critical funding on whether it would hire people who do not conform to the nonprofit’s deeply held religious beliefs, according to the allegations in court. 

The Oregon-based Christian ministry group – 71Five Ministries – is currently grappling with a large deficit in its annual budget after the state’s education department allegedly stripped its funding due to its religious character, the lawsuit, originally filed by the Alliance Defending Freedom in March, alleged. The case wrapped up oral arguments last week and is awaiting a decision from a judge in the case. 

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“It felt very much like a punch in the gut,” Bud Amundsen, the executive director of the Christian youth-mentoring nonprofit, told Fox News Digital. 

“We were actually kind of one of their favorite programs,” he added.

CALIFORNIA DEI OFFICER BLASTED JESUS AS A CAPITALIST EXPLOITER, CLAIMS WHITE PEOPLE HAVE ‘PATHOLOGY’

A Christian ministry in Oregon services at-risk youth had its funding cut from the department of education over its religious character, according to a lawsuit.  (Fox News Digital)

71Five Ministries serves at-risk youth of all faiths and backgrounds, including those who are incarcerated and expectant and parenting teens. It had been granted funds for six years before it was abruptly denied over a “statement of faith” expected of its staff.

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The ministry required all board members, employees, and volunteers “to be authentic followers of Christ.” The ADF argued that as a religious organization, it has the legally protected right to prefer members of its own faith as employees and volunteers. The ADF based it on Supreme Court rulings, including one which said the government cannot interfere with a religious organization’s “selection of those who will personify its beliefs.”

OREGON DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PAYING $1.9 MILLION TO TRAIN TEACHERS AGAINST WESTERN VALUES OF ‘INDIVIDUALISM’

“When we were awarded the funding, we were happy to continue on with the partnership. And then to have it pulled and to have it pulled for that reason, I mean … [I was] like, how in the world could that happen?” Amundsen said. 

Amundsen added he still doesn’t know how he’s going to fill the financial gap going into the next fiscal year.

“My hope and goal is to not reduce staff, which will reduce access for young people,” he said.I’ve had a variety of emotions related to that. And probably the best thing I could say is, now it feels like we’re very unappreciated, that our hard work has been basically tossed into the trash can simply because they disagree with our faith perspective.”

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71Five Executive Director Bud Amundsen  (71Five)

Amundsen said he is dipping into the nonprofit’s reserves to ensure that his staffers aren’t laid off and the local youth are not turned away due to lack of resources. 

“We’re in the middle of [dealing with this] right now. The amount of the grants was over 10% of our budget. And so to have that pulled obviously we have to go about … funding in a different way,” he said. “We’ve had to spend $187,000 in reserves to keep the programming at present.”

“Defendants for the first time decided to prohibit faith-based organizations from participating in the program if they prefer members of their own faith as employees and volunteers,” the lawsuit said. “This New Rule led to Defendants stripping 71Five Ministries of over $400,000 in grant awards just because the Christian ministry expects its employees and volunteers to share its religious beliefs and mission.” 

OREGON EDUCATION DEPARTMENT ANTI-BIAS TRAINING ACCUSES WHITE PEOPLE OF HAVING A ‘THOROUGH RACIST CONDITIONING’

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Jeremiah Galus, senior counsel at the ADF, said, “The Supreme Court three times in a period of seven years had to tell state officials, you cannot exclude religious organizations from your programs just because they’re religious.”

“But unfortunately, we see officials like the officials here in the state of Oregon who continue to push back and test those boundaries and try and find other ways to exclude religious organizations. It’s wrong.” 

“This is a situation where the state of Oregon did partner with 71Five for six consecutive years. No one disputes that 71Five admirably fulfilled the purposes of the grant program, that they’re doing good work for the youth. And so to just say, because you’re religious, because you have a religious staff somehow that keeps you from helping kids – the First Amendment doesn’t allow that. Our Constitution doesn’t permit that.”

Jeremiah Galus serves as senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, where he is a key member of the Center for Christian Ministries. (Fox News Digital)

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“At the end of the day, this isn’t just a violation of 71Five constitutional rights, which is bad enough, but it’s actually hurting youth in Southern Oregon who are not able to access these services. 71Five is not able to expand its programs to help more kids, and that’s a tragedy,” Galus added. “We [at ADF] want to make sure that 71Five is not excluded from any future grant programs and that no other religious organization suffers the same religious discrimination and 71Five has.” 

Oregon’s Department of Education was contacted for comment and said, “The agency does not comment on pending legal cases.”

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San Francisco, CA

49ers Show ‘Resiliency’ in Upset Victory, Thanks to LFG Winner Demarcus Robinson

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49ers Show ‘Resiliency’ in Upset Victory, Thanks to LFG Winner Demarcus Robinson


The San Francisco 49ers suffered another devastating injury on Sunday. But, thanks to a strong supporting cast, they found a way to prevail once again.

San Francisco pulled off the biggest playoff upset so far in what’s been a wild wild-card round, defeating the Philadelphia Eagles, 23-19, on the road. Unheralded wide receiver Demarcus Robinson was a major reason behind Sunday’s upset as he hauled in six receptions for a game-high 111 yards and a touchdown en route to winning Tom Brady’s LFG Player of the Game.

When Robinson spoke with Brady after the game, it didn’t take long for him to find the one word to describe the 49ers. 

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“If it was one word, I’d say resiliency. Resilient,” Robinson said of his team. “These guys play with resiliency. We’ve got a lot of injuries throughout the year. Even tonight, like you said, losing Kittle, guys stepped up and knew they had to make plays. That’s what we were able to do today, go out and make plays.”

Sunday’s victory also came in comeback fashion for the Niners, who rallied from a 16-10 fourth-quarter deficit despite losing tight end George Kittle in the first half to a torn Achilles.

Tom Brady’s LFG Player of the Game: 49ers WR Demarcus Robinson 🏆

Robinson’s resiliency was on full display on the 49ers’ opening possession. He turned an intermediate pass from Brock Purdy over the middle into a 61-yard gain, zigzagging through the Eagles’ secondary on his way to Philly’s 16-yard line. He then caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from Purdy to end the drive.

There was possibly no greater sign of the team’s resiliency, however, than the play that gave them a 17-16 lead early in the fourth quarter. After their offense seemed stuck in the mud for most of the game, the 49ers found the end zone when wide receiver Jauan Jennings threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to running back Christian McCaffrey on a trick play.

Robinson was just one of a few supporting characters who contributed to the 49ers’ win. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk had a season-high four receptions for 49 yards, making a pair of big grabs that helped set up touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Defensively, linebacker Garret Wallow had a game-high 11 total tackles after recording just nine total tackles in the regular season. 

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The 49ers’ top player in McCaffrey also showed his resilience in the win. McCaffrey turned 21 touches into 114 yards and two touchdowns, with the second TD coming via a 4-yard grab with 2:54 remaining to give the 49ers a decisive 23-19 lead.

“I think the guys are just playing with resiliency, man,” Robinson said of his team. “Everybody knew what we had at stake. Everybody came out there and did their part. So, that helped us get the dub.”

The injury to Kittle was his second serious injury of the season after he missed time earlier in the year due to a hamstring tear. San Francisco has also seen some of its other stars get sidelined for the majority of the year, such as edge rusher Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner.

Warner could potentially return later in the postseason, but another key piece in wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, who missed Sunday’s game, remains in limbo as he battles a knee injury. Of course, Purdy missed time this year due to shoulder and toe injuries that cost him eight games.

Despite all of that, the 49ers will now move on to play for a spot in the NFC Championship Game when they take on the Seahawks in Seattle next weekend. They nearly hosted the divisional round game, but lost to the Seahawks at home, 13-3, in the regular-season finale to give Seattle the NFC West and the conference’s No. 1 seed. 

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Robinson is optimistic, however, that there will be a different result this time around. 

“Hopefully, we get the dub, obviously,” Robinson said. “We’ve just got to lock in, man. We’ve got to lock in and put more points on the board than we did last week at home. Just put more points on the board. The defense played lights out tonight. Hopefully, we keep playing that same way, man, and it leads to more dubs.”

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Denver, CO

Broncos will face Chargers or Bills in divisional round (date coming soon)

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Broncos will face Chargers or Bills in divisional round (date coming soon)


The Denver Broncos are just hours away from learning their opponent for the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.

As the AFC’s No. 1 playoff seed, the Broncos have a bye for the wild-card round this weekend. They will play the lowest advancing seed from the conference, and there are now two candidates.

The Buffalo Bills (the No. 6) seed defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. The only lower seed in the AFC are the Los Angeles Chargers (No. 7), who will face the New England Patriots on Sunday Night Football this evening. So if L.A. wins, they will face Denver next weekend. If the Chargers lose, the Broncos will host the Bills next weekend.

Broncos divisional opponent

  • If Chargers win: Chargers @ Broncos
  • If Chargers lose: Bills @ Broncos

The NFL will likely announce the date, time and television channel for the Broncos’ playoff game during or just after SNF. Denver is coming off a bye and there’s another AFC wild-card game scheduled for Monday, so the Broncos will likely be scheduled to play on Saturday, Jan. 17 (but that hasn’t been confirmed yet).

Stay tuned. We will know Denver’s opponent later today, and the game date should also arrive soon.

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Seattle, WA

49ers Set to Face the Seattle Seahawks in Divisional Round

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49ers Set to Face the Seattle Seahawks in Divisional Round


The San Francisco 49ers will continue their postseason run, next up against the No. 1 seed Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field for the NFC Divisional Round.

The 49ers defeated the No. 3 seed Philadelphia Eagles on the road during Wild Card Weekend. With the win, San Francisco advances to the NFC Divisional Round. As the lowest seed in the conference, the 49ers will face the top seed team, the Seahawks. San Francisco and Seattle will meet for the third time this season, the 49ers taking the first matchup and the Seahawks taking the second. Winner of the Divisional Round will advance to the NFC Championship, the final round ahead of Super Bowl LX at Levi’s® Stadium.

Time, date, and broadcast information for the 49ers vs. Seahawks Divisional Round contest will be announced following the conclusion of the NFL’s Wild Card Weekend.



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