Donnie McClurkin is an award winning singer, pastor and "Sunday Best" judge.
Donnie McClurkin is urging people to forgive people in ministry who have made public mistakes.
McClurkin,
the 54-year-old pastor of Perfecting Faith Church in Freeport, N.Y.,
blesses people with his singing voice away from the pulpit. While he has
been a leading voice in gospel music with a career that spans almost 20
years, he also admits to making his fair share of mistakes.
For
that reason, the pastor took to Twitter to ask that people forgive those
involved in ministry after public mistakes are made.
"Pls...lets
show mercy to those who may have simply made a mistake. Let's not vilify
them & their entire ministry..," McClurkin tweeted.
"Lets pray, 4give & restore. If I count MY failures & every
time I'VE faltered/they'd be much too much 2mention/I could never count
them all~! HE forgave, WE forgive~!" (SIC)
He went on to offer another perspective on the matter, questioning how people would react if they made a public mistake.
"What
if you made a public mistake? would u want condemnation & criticism
or consideration & covering," McClurkin questioned on Twitter.
"Whichever you'd want done, DO~! simple."
While speaking with The
Christian Post last year, McClurkin opened up about his definition of
God's grace which has helped him accomplish great things.
"The
definition of grace is the supernatural ability to do what you cannot do
in the natural and God graces us to do what He's called us to do," he
told CP. "He put just enough hours in a day, just enough days in a week and just enough weeks in a month for us to accomplish things."
One
of McClurkin's accomplishments is his morning radio show that took the
number one spot in New York and Philadelphia markets from 5 a.m. to 6
a.m, according to Jan. Nielsen radio ratings. McClurkin seemed overjoyed
about his faith-based program doing well in large radio markets.
"The
Donnie McClurkin Show has done so wonderfully in reaching #1 in New
York and Philadelphia in its' radio time slot. I'm thankful that this
show can reach so many across the country and around the world, and give
them great music that inspires them in the course of their day to this
degree," he said in a statement obtained by The Christian Post. "We're reaching millions and looking to reaching millions more!"
By Femi Aribisala
Goodluck Jonathan is currently the only presidential candidate in Nigeria. The others are nowhere to be found.
I have been a student of elections for 42 years. I obtained my first
degree in History and Politics from Warwick University, Coventry,
England in 1975. In my second year at Warwick, I obtained a scholarship
to visit the United States to study the circumstances behind the 1973
election of Maynard Jackson as the first African-American Mayor of
Atlanta, and of a major Southern metropolis in the United States since
the American Civil War.
Since then, I have been fascinated by elections. Unfortunately,
Nigeria remained under military rule for an inordinate length of time.
The most fascinating election I have ever observed was the first
election of Barack Obama as the first African-American president of the
United States in 2008. Obama secured the nomination of the Democratic
Party against the formidable Hilary Clinton; and he then went on to
defeat the Republican nominee, John McCain, in the general election.
Anticlimax
Obama’s 2007/2008 election campaign has since become a textbook-case
of outstanding political strategizing in the United States. His superior
tactics ensured that his victory quickly became inevitable, even
against all the odds. Therefore, some of us were able to call his
nomination as Democratic Party candidate and election as president very
early; to the discomfiture of doubting Thomases who could not imagine a
black U.S. president in their lifetime.
The forthcoming 2015 presidential election in Nigeria is another
election that has become easy to predict, but for different reasons.
Yes, it is a much ballyhooed election, especially since the emergence of
the All Progressives Congress. However, the APC has turned out to be a
newspaper political party and nothing more. Its novelty has long died
down and a new harsh and dismal political reality now confronts it.
As a result, the 2015 election is not likely to live up to its hype.
As a matter of fact, all the evidence now indicates the election will be
a cakewalk for the PDP. Goodluck Jonathan will not only be re-elected
as president, he will be re-elected by a landslide.
PDP failure
Ordinarily, the forthcoming election should be a problematic one for
Goodluck Jonathan. After 15 years, Nigerians are generally fed up with
the PDP. 15 years is more than enough time to change drastically the
electrical power situation in the country. But this has yet to happen to
any appreciable degree.
One year is more than sufficient to make a big impact on the problem
of corruption in Nigeria. Again, this has not happened in 15 years. The
security situation in the country is now critical and is likely to get
much worse before it gets better. 219 kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls are
still missing, with only dubious promissory notes offered by the
president for their imminent rescue.
For these and other reasons, the 2015 presidential elections should
be a difficult one for Goodluck Jonathan. When the Iranians held
American diplomats hostage under the regime of Ayatollah Khomeini in
1979, it led to the defeat of incumbent President Jimmy Carter in the
United States presidential elections of 1980.
However, in the case of Nigeria, my contention is that the
re-election of Jonathan in 2015 is going to be easy. Jonathan will
defeat his APC challenger convincingly. He is also likely to obtain the
requisite one third of the votes in virtually every state of the
federation.
Shambolic opposition
The main reason for this conclusion is that Jonathan is facing a
shambolic APC opposition that does not seem to have a clue about what it
takes to run an effective national presidential campaign. This explains
why, till date, Jonathan is still the only candidate running for the
presidency. Although he has yet to declare his candidacy officially,
even a three year-old Nigerian child knows he will be the PDP candidate.
However, his APC challenger remains unknown. It is incredible that
barely six months to an election where the opposition hopes to unseat a
president who has been in office for nearly six years, the APC bigwigs
have yet to agree on who will be his challenger. Moreover, the INEC
timetable favours the PDP as opposed to the APC. By decreeing that the
party primaries for the presidential elections must wait until October
2014, and the campaigns must not start until November, INEC has created a
situation where Jonathan has become virtually the only candidate. Just
by being president, he is already campaigning and running for
re-election.
This means there is now insufficient time to socialize Nigerians
about the APC candidate. The only opposition candidates that need no
national introduction are Buhari, Atiku and Tinubu. But the candidacies
of these men are dead in the water. Buhari and Atiku have contested the
presidency in the past and failed woefully. Should they try again, they
will fail again.
Tinubu’s candidacy is a nonstarter, given Obasanjo’s recent
eight-year representation of the South-West in Aso Rock. This leaves the
APC with no candidates of note to field against Jonathan. The only
realistic APC candidate at this eleventh hour can only be a national
nonentity; and among the non-entities, I include men like Rabiu
Kwankwaso of Kano. An APC nonentity cannot prevail against Jonathan and
the PDP juggernaut.
Shallow party-structure
The only party that can field a nonentity and still win the
presidential election in Nigeria is the PDP. This is because it is the
only longstanding national party in Nigeria and, unlike the APC; it has
been in power for 15 years. That means the PDP has firm roots
nationwide. But the APC only has roots in the South-West, and even
there, this is beginning to unravel; as the recent elections in Ondo and
Ekiti indicate.
Buhari is very popular in the North, but he is hopeless at building
party-structures. Virtually every party Buhari built imploded. Buhari is
a one-man party. This is not very useful in an election where Buhari
himself is not a viable APC presidential candidate. The APC has excited
itself as a result of the defection of some five PDP governors to its
ranks. But this is also not very useful because these governors could
not defect with their PDP party-structures.
The defector PDP governors have brought a great deal of publicity to
the APC. But whatever assets they had to offer has long fizzled out. A
testament to this is the ease with which Murtala Nyako was impeached as
governor of Adamawa State. With all the noise Nyako was making, it was
easy to forget that he had no roots on the ground. It was all smoke and
mirrors that did not go beyond newspaper headlines.
No game-plan
Where then is the APC taking the fight to the formidable PDP?
Literally nowhere at the moment! The APC peaked too early. As a matter
of fact, it is the party now in retreat virtually everywhere. It lost to
the PDP in Ondo and Ekiti, part of its South-West stronghold. Nyako of
Adamawa has been impeached. Al-Makura of Nasarawa is on the ropes. Other
APC governors are under threat of impeachment, but no such threat hangs
over the head of any PDP governor.
The defection of the PDP governors to the APC has turned out to be a
blessing in initial disguise. From the point of view of political
strategy, it would have been better if they had remained in the PDP as
APC wolves in PDP clothing. This might have been useful in undermining
Jonathan’s candidacy. Indeed, they could have challenged him for the PDP
ticket, not with any hope of winning, but just in order to dent his
strength and create some havoc within the PDP.
However, by defecting, the rebel PDP governors ushered in peace to
the PDP. Simultaneously, they exported their wahala to the APC where
they are now at loggerheads with the old APC brigade in bitter internal
struggles for supremacy. For a party that has yet to find its feet, this
has been disastrous. Indeed, the defections are now going in the other
direction, from APC to PDP; as happened recently in Zamfara. Even the
defector PDP governors are likely to lose their seats in the
near-future, because defection is proscribed in the Constitution and the
PDP has taken the matter to court.
So what exactly is the APC game-plan? Nothing much! All we have at
the moment is Lai Mohammed coming up incessantly with bombastic
broadsides against Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP in the newspapers. If
they really believe this is the way to unseat a six-year-old president
and dislodge a fifteen-year-old government, then the APC bigwigs need to
enroll in NIPSS, Kuru for courses in “Nigerian Elections 101.”
Boko Haram factor
And then there is the Boko Haram insurgency and the albatross of the
kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls. The strategy of the terrorists is that
every explosion is supposed to discredit the Jonathan administration. In
spite of its hatred for the entire Nigerian political establishment,
there is no doubt that the Boko Haram would prefer a Northern Muslim
president to Southern Christian Goodluck Jonathan.
For this very reason, a vote for APC is now more likely to be
construed as a vote of surrender to the insurgency. While Nigerians are
very concerned about the security situation in the country, they are
even less likely to succumb to its incorrigible purpose. The
indiscriminate bombing of innocent Nigerians for the sake of an agenda
that is alien to Nigeria cannot but rally people nationwide behind
President Goodluck Jonathan.
A few days ago, Vanguard published a Special Report captioned: “Six
Months to Elections, Where Are the Presidential Aspirants?” The answer
is that Goodluck Jonathan is currently the only presidential candidate
in Nigeria. The others are nowhere to be found.
The APC is a useful counterpoise to the PDP in the Nigerian political
equation. But it is only likely to pose a strong challenge to the
ruling party in 2019, when there will be no incumbent president to
contend with, and after it might have sorted out its internal
contradictions and developed firm roots nationwide. But as it is today,
the APC is not even likely to survive impending defeat in 2015.
Max Siollun
As
the north of the country suffers at the hands of Boko Haram one former
military ruler, known for his ‘iron fist’, is enjoying huge levels of
support for his presidential bid. Max Siollun assesses what might happen if he wins
Former military ruler and presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari in Lagos. Photograph: Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP/Getty Images
Max Siollun
With only two weeks to go until the most closely contested
presidential election in Nigeria’s history, the biggest issue on the
agenda is security. From Boko Haram to the instability of the
oil-producing Niger Delta, the political fight between incumbent
President Goodluck Jonathan and the lead opposition candidate, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, revolves around who will ensure peace and stability.
Buhari is relying on his credentials as a retired general and former military ruler to convince the electorate that he is the man to end the violent Boko Haram insurgency that has killed more than 10,000 Nigerians and displaced 1.5 million others.
But what would Nigeria be like under a Buhari presidency? He has vowed to take the fight to Boko Haram, crush the sect, and “lead from the front”. Expectations of the stern and resolute general are sky high – many think he is tailor made to end Nigeria’s insecurity, but is he the reformed democrat he claims to be?
Boko Haram
Senior security figures have repeatedly stated that there is no
military solution to the insurgency, and that the government must
address the socio-economic causes of Boko Haram. Nigeria’s former chief of defence staff General MartinLuther
Agwai has said: “You can never solve any of these problems with
military solutions … it is a political issue; it is a social issue; it
is an economic issue, and until these issues are addressed, the military
can never give you a solution.”
Buhari has dealt with insecurity in Nigeria before. In 1983 he led an
army unit that drove out Chadian rebels who had made incursions over
the north-easternNigerian border. In an ironic
reversal of fortunes, the Chadian army is now helping Nigeria to fight
Boko Haram insurgents in the same corner of Nigeria. In response, Buhari
has called the current Nigerian government’s reliance on assistance
from a much poorer country like Chad a “big disgrace”.
Chadian soldiers gather near the Nigerian town of Gamboru. Photograph: Marle/AFP/Getty Images
The current government’s security forces have made tentative steps in
the direction of a “soft approach to countering terrorism”. The
national security adviser Lt Colonel Sambo Dasuki appointed Dr Fatima
Akilu, a psychologist, to work as the director of behavioural analysis
and strategic communication in his office. Last year it was announced
that Akilu had designed a programme for de-radicalising and
rehabilitating militants, and a communication strategy to counter Boko
Haram’s narrative. However initiatives such as this will take years or
decades to have effect, and the Nigerian public is not patient enough
for incremental progress.
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The
rhetoric of Buhari’s campaign suggests that the defence policy is
likely to change greatly if he were to win the election. His
tough-talking promises to confront Boko Haram resonate with the Nigerian
public. He has said he
“will not tolerate insurgency, sabotage of the economy” and, in
reference to the instability in the Niger Delta, the “the blowing up of
installations, by stealing crude and so on ... All these things will be
things of the past.”
If Buhari comes to power Dasuki and his colleague Lt GeneralAliyu
Mohammed, the minister of defence, are likely to find themselves
unemployed. Both men were key figures in the military palace coup that
overthrew Buhari in 1985 (when Dasuki was a young army officer and
Mohammed was the head of military intelligence).
There are questions over a military approach, too. So far, when the
military has hit Boko Haram hard the group has escalated its violence
and taken indirect revenge
against civilians. Even if Buhari does end the Boko Haram insurgency,
the conspiracy theorists among his opponents will likely use that
against him to buttress their narrative that the insurgency led by
northern Islamic insurgents was a political ploy to destabilise the
southern Christian President Goodluck Jonathan.
The Niger Delta
Boko Haram is not the only security menace threatening Nigeria. In 2009,
after years of disrupting Nigeria’s oil production, exports and
installations, more than 25,000 militants who waged an armed insurgency
in the oil-producing Niger Delta areas of southern Nigeria
to protest against economic exploitation agreed to lay down their
weapons. In exchange for peace, the government promised to grant them
amnesty, cash stipends, and training.
The elephant in the Nigerian room is that the government’s amnesty
deal with the Niger Delta militants expires later this year, and the
militants have threatened to take up arms
again if Jonathan is not re-elected. Many militants see Jonathan – who
comes from Bayelsa State, the heartland of Nigeria’s oil producing
region – as one of their own. Eighty percent of the Nigerian government’s income
comes from oil exports, so the Niger Delta insurgency carries much more
severe economic consequences than the Boko Haram in the north.
Worryingly, four states in the Delta (Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, and
Rivers States) alone produce 80% of Nigeria’s oil (out of a total of 36 states in Nigeria).
Four states in the Delta alone produce 80% of Nigeria’s oil. Photograph: George Esiri/EPA
Although Buhari has said very little about the Niger Delta during his
election campaign, the militants have reason for discomfort if Buhari
becomes president. Militant leaders have become very rich
from government patronage and contracts. Many ex-militants have been
awarded security contracts to guard the oil installations they once
protested against and attacked. Buhari – a man with a reputation for
austerity and a no-nonsense approach to hard graft – is not the type of
person to pay people money to not be violent.
In addition Nigeria’s ethnic, geographic, and religious differences
can prove explosive, and it’s unlikely that Buhari – a Muslim from
northern Nigeria – will treat the southern Christian Niger Delta
militants differently to the Islamic Boko Haram , who this week declared their allegiance
to Isis. Buhari simply won’t be able to hit one group of insurgents
with an iron fist while negotiating with the other. But, if he stops the
Niger Deltamilitants’ payments, then the country could face the daunting prospect of simultaneous insurgencies in both the north and south.
Those who have worked with Buhari describe him as “strong willed” and
“completely inflexible”; suggesting that his resolute and unyielding
temperament means he will stick to his words and will try to force a
result with insurgents on the battlefield, rather than in the
negotiating room.
If he becomes president after the vote, postponed until the 28th of
March, Buhari will face the unenviable task of inheriting a nightmarish
security landscape. But Nigeria’s problems are so deep and complex that
they are likely to outlast Jonathan, however long he hopes to cling to
power, and Buhari too if he is sucessful. Max Siollun is a Nigerian historian, writer, and author of the books Oil, Politics and Violence: Nigeria’s Military Coup Culture 1966-1976 and Soldiers of Fortune: a History of Nigeria (1983-1993). Follow him on Twitter @maxsiollun
John Gizzi
The White House told Newsmax Monday that the Obama administration had no favorite in the internationally watched election in Nigeria
on Saturday between incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan and retired
Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, who was that country's military strongman in the
1970s.
At the regular briefing for reporters at the White House, Newsmax noted
that Buhari had a highly controversial record on human rights during the
two years he held power in Nigeria
after leading a military coup in 1983. Buhari, according to The
Economist, "expelled 700,000 migrants [and] banned political meetings
and free speech. He detained thousands, used secret tribunals and
executed people for crimes that were not capital offenses."
Would the administration have any problem recognizing a government in Nigeria, we asked Press Secretary Josh Earnest, if General Buhari is elected president on Saturday.
"I'm going to refrain from commenting on any of the candidates," Earnest
replied without hesitation, "but I will note that the president just
did today release a video message to the Nigerian people."
In the brief message posted on the website of the U.S. Embassy in
Nigeria, the president congratulated the Nigerian people on reaching
this point in their history.
"Together, you won your independence, emerged from military rule, and
strengthened democratic institutions," he said, adding that "you now
have a historic opportunity to help write the next chapter of Nigeria's progress — by voting in the upcoming elections."
In urging Nigerians to vote, Obama denounced Boko Haram as a terrorist
group that "wants to destroy Nigeria and all that you have worked to
build. By casting your ballot, you can help secure your nation's
progress."
The world's eyes have been increasingly on the race in Nigeria, which
final polls have shown as a dead heat between Jonathan and Buhari. The
international outrage over the kidnapping of the 200 Nigerian girls by
Boko Haram last year has been enhanced by the militant Islamic group's
efforts to seize control territory in northeast Nigeria.
Roughly 1 million Nigerians in the northeast have been driven from their
homes since 2009 by Boko Haram, which recently pledged solidarity with
its sister terrorists in the Islamic State.
In addition, the once robust Nigerian economy has been jolted by a drop in its oil prices and an increase in the cost of its rice and fabric.
"The naira [Nigerian currency] has been Africa's worst performer since
September," reported Business Week, noting that the International
Monetary Fund cut its 2015 forecast for Nigeria's economic growth to 4.8
percent from 7.3 percent.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax.
Harvest
America attendees make professions of faith in Jesus Christ after
hearing pastor Greg Laurie share the Gospel with a sold-out crowd of
19,000 for Harvest America at the American Airlines Center and Victory
Park in Dallas, Texas, Oct. 5, 2014.
Barna Group has released its 2015 study on the state of atheism in America, and has revealed that one
in four unchurched adults in the country now identify as atheists or
agnostics. The study also found that rejection of the Bible and lack of
trust in the church are two main reasons why people are turning away from faith. The study was
focused on those who have not attended church within the past six
months, and found that the majority of such people identify as
non-practicing Christians. One in four, or 25 percent, however, were
classed as skeptics, which Barna defines as people who "either do not
believe God exists (atheists) or are not sure God exists, but are open
to the possibility (agnostics)."
Of that number, nearly one-third said that they have never attended a Christian church service in their lives.
Barna found that the three
main reasons people decide not to believe in God stem from rejection of
the Bible; lack of trust in the local church; and the "cultural
reinforcement of a secular worldview."
"Skeptics dismiss the idea
that the Bible is Holy or supernatural in any way. Two-thirds contend
that it is simply a book of well-known stories and advice, written by
humans and containing the same degree of authority and wisdom as any
other self-help book," the report said.
It added that the other
one-third believe that the Bible is either a historical document that
contains "the unique but not God-inspired accounts of events that
happened in the past," or do not really know what to make of the Bible.
David Kinnaman, president of Barna Group, said: "The
data show that some cities — and younger generations — are more
Gospel-resistant than others. It is increasingly common among
millennials to dismiss religion, God, churches, authority and tradition.
For years, some observers have claimed colleges and universities are a
breeding ground for anti-God sentiment. The data does lend support to
the notion that college campuses are comfortable places for young people
to abandon God and assume control of their own lives."
The
group explained that today's skeptics, much like their counterparts two
decades ago, are defined by their denial and doubts about God's
existence. Their demographics have been changing considerably, however.
As
other studies have also found, younger people are more likely to be
skeptics than older people. Barna says that today, 34 percent of all
skeptics are younger than 30.
The statistics also showed that half
of all skeptics have a college degree, and that many more women today
are joining their ranks — only 16 percent of skeptics in 1993 were
women, but by 2013 that number grew to 43 percent.
Kinnaman added
in his statement: "Figuring out how to effectively engage skeptics is
difficult. One of the unexpected results we uncovered is the limited
influence of personal relationships on skeptics. They are considerably
less relational and less engaged in social activities than the average
American. Christians for whom 'ministry is about relationships' may be
disappointed when they find that many skeptics are not as enamored of
relational bonds as are those who are already a part of church life."
"But
in giving his followers the Great Commission, Jesus didn't mention
anything about doing what is easy. New levels of courage and clarity
will be required to connect beyond the Christianized majority."
Barna
reached out to 23,000 churched and unchurched adults for the study, and
found that for each survey of 1,000 people, the estimated maximum
sampling error was plus or minus 3.1 percent at the 95 percent
confidence level.
Other polls, such as the 2014 General Social Survey conducted
by NORC and the University of Chicago, which was released in March,
also found that the number of Americans leaving organized religion is at
a record high, at 21 percent.
The survey reported, however, that
only 3 percent of the respondents to its poll are atheist, while 5
percent identified as agnostic, which is a notably lower number than
Barna's statistics.
Los
Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak introduces Jeremy Lin
during a press conference at Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo,
California, Thursday, July 24, 2014.
Jeremy Lin is officially sharing his prayers with fans, months after starting a prayer group.
Lin,
the 26-year-old Los Angeles Lakers guard, sent an official email to
those subscribed to his prayer group titled, "Jeremy Lin's Prayer
Requests 7." The NBA player shared specific prayers from his "upcoming
prayer list" which includes learning to give thanks and praise.
Since
Lin's team are not making the playoffs, he also prayed for a specific
mindset that would enable him to continue playing for God's glory and
surrender each game to God with humility.
Lin also called for prayer for his teammates and coaches, that their tough season may help them get saved.
"This
season has had its fair share of discouragement, disappointment and
brokenness," Lin wrote. "Please pray that their vulnerability from a
tough season would allow them to seek and see Christ, whether through joining chapel, Bible study, daily devotionals or a church."
While
Lin also praised God for a YouTube video that shed light on
homelessness, he asked that people would pray that they also come to
Christ and have their needs met.
"Prayer
that these individuals would have open hearts to truly know Jesus
Christ," Lin wrote. "Also prayer that God would provide for their
physical needs, whether it's for housing, a job or stability in
general."
He went on to pray for a worldwide spiritual revival, and admitted that he shied away from big prayers at times.
"Often
times, I'm afraid to pray big prayers because they seem so intangible
or too unrealistic, but I have to remind myself that God is bigger than
anything I will ever face or encounter and my biggest dreams are nothing
compared to the power He possesses," Lin said. "So prayer for global
revival!"
Last year, Lin introduced the prayer group to fans which sends an email of prayers to those who subscribe on his website.
"The NBA star revealed that he would begin a prayer group that fans can be involved in.
"The
journey I've been on has had its ups and downs and I appreciate all of
your support throughout. Some of you have asked how to pray for me so I
decided to start a prayer group where I can send out requests for those
that want to pray and support," Lin wrote on his website."Please
feel free to share with others you think would be interested. So much
of what happens is out of our control, but prayer has been a place I
have consistently found peace with God."
Pope
Francis waves as he arrives to lead the weekly audience in Saint
Peter's square at the Vatican, Rome, Italy, March 25, 2015.
Archbishop
Charles J. Chaput of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has revealed that
close to 10,000 volunteers will be needed for Pope Francis' upcoming
visit for the World Meeting of Families on Sept. 26 and 27. Two million people are expected to attend the pontiff's closing mass for his first ever visit to the United States.
"First,
World Meeting of Families is a very expensive event. Much of the
heaviest fund-raising for WMOF is being done by generous corporate and
major individual donors, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, because WMOF
will be a boost for our whole region. But many parishioners have also
asked how they can personally help. And that's a blessing, because we
can use all the help that we can get," Chaput said in a statement.
"Second,
WMOF will need 10,000 or more volunteers for the event. This is
crucial, since volunteers will be the face of the local Catholic
community throughout the meeting. Volunteer registration will open soon
on the World Meeting of Families website at www.worldmeeting2015.org. All volunteers must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old, and they must complete an online background check," he added.
The
archbishop goes on to say that families are also needed to host
visitors at their homes; to get familiar with the World Meeting of
Families catechesis Love Is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive; and to register to attend the events.
Francis and other Catholic officials are set to talk about the Catholic approach to marriage, family, and sexuality at the World Meeting. ABC News reported
that organizers expect 2 million people to attend the Vatican leader's
closing mass, which is 500,000 more than the population of the entire
city.
Francis will be spearheading a number of Catholic
initiatives in 2015 focused on supporting the family, with the Synod of
Bishops on the family scheduled a month later in October. The Synod will
reflect on 2014's meeting, where Church leaders discussed how best to
continue presenting the Catholic approach to family issues.
On Wednesday, Francis asked the Catholic faithful to pray for the upcoming Synod.
"The Church needs a prayer full of love for the family and for life," the pope told the St. Peter's Square general audience.
"Because
of this, I ask you to pray insistently for the next Synod of Bishops,
on the family, so that the Church is increasingly more committed and
unified in her witness of the love and mercy of God with all families,"
he said.
(Photo: BET Networks)
(Photo: The Christian Post)
(Photo: Reuters/Stefano Rellandini)