Nativity Scenes Take Center Stage at 43 State Capitol Buildings for Christmas 2023

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5 months ago

December 21, 2023

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Share Tweet By Talia Wise
December 20, 2023

Thousands of households and churches across the country will be displaying nativity scenes that depict the birth of Jesus Christ.

This year, theThomas More SocietyandAmerican Nativity Sceneare helping a growing number of private citizen groups across the nation to display Biblical manger scenes on government property this Christmas season.

Listen to them on the latestepisodeof Quick Start ?

Celebrations of the Savior’s birth are scheduled with 43 State Capitol Nativity Scenes across America this Christmas.

“In 2023, we are pleased to announce that 43 State Capitol Nativity Scenes, the most to date, are scheduled to be erected at state capitols this Christmas season,” shared Ed O’Malley, president of American Nativity Scene.

“The message of hope delivered by the Baby Jesus celebrates the joy of new life,” O’Malley added. “This troubled world can benefit from more hope and more joy.”

As CBN News reported, the tradition dates back to 1223 after St. Francis of Assisi visited the Holy Land and wanted to recreate what he saw for his friends and family in Italy.

“St. Francis of Assisi went to Bethlehem and was moved by the nativity scene and wanted to help people to understand what it looked like, to get a feel for the humble nature of Jesus birth,” Jeffery Kloha, chief curatorial officer at Museum of the Bible explained to CBN News.

American Nativity Scene worked closely with attorneys at Thomas More Society to make sure that groups that desired to sponsor a state capitol Nativity scene were able to do so, as allowed by law.

“Many erroneously assume that government entities are prohibited from allowing a religious display,” explained Thomas More Society Executive Vice President Thomas Olp.

He continued, “The law is clear. Government entities may erect and maintain celebrations of the Christmas holidayor allow citizens to do so on government property, including Nativity scenes, as long as a crche’s sole purpose is not to promote its religious content, and it is placed in context with other symbols of the season as part of an effort to celebrate the public Christmas holiday through traditional symbols.

“We pray that the Nativity scenes of this Christmas season will help to foster a sense of unity and peace on earth,” Olp added.

Last year, 44 state capitol buildings featured a Nativity scene in 2022.

***As the number of voices facing big-tech censorship continues to grow, please sign up forFaithwires daily newsletterand download theCBN News app, developed by our parent company, to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***

Sports

Keys to the offseason: What’s next for the Bruins, Avs, other eliminated teams?

Published

2 hours ago

May 18, 2024

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Keys to the offseason: What's next for the Bruins, Avs, other eliminated teams?

Ryan S. Clark
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Ryan S. Clark

NHL reporter
Kristen Shilton
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Kristen Shilton

ESPN NHL reporter

May 18, 2024, 02:00 AM ET

The 2023-24 NHL regular season was an entertaining one, with races for playoff position, point and goal leaders, and major trophies all coming down to the bitter end.

But not every fan base got to enjoy all of it so much.

With eliminations piling up, it’s time to look ahead to the offseason. Clubs that didn’t quite hit the mark this season will use the draft, free agency and trades in an effort to be more competitive in 2024-25.

Read on for a look at what went wrong for each eliminated team, along with a breakdown of its biggest keys this offseason and realistic expectations for next season. Note that more teams will be added to this story as they are eliminated.

Note: Profiles for the Atlantic and Metro teams were written by Kristen Shilton, while Ryan S. Clark analyzed the Central and Pacific teams. Stats are collected from sites such as Natural Stat Trick, Hockey Reference and Evolving Hockey. Projected cap space per Cap Friendly. Dates listed with each team are when the entry was published.

Jump to a team:
ANA | ARI | BOS | BUF
CGY | CAR | CHI | COL
CBJ | DET | LA | MIN
MTL | NSH | NJ | NYI
OTT | PHI | PIT | SJ
SEA | STL | TB | TOR
VGK | WSH | WPG

World

Ron Benjamin: Body of Israeli hostage kidnapped during cycling trip on 7 October found in Gaza, IDF says

Published

3 hours ago

May 18, 2024

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Ron Benjamin: Body of Israeli hostage kidnapped during cycling trip on 7 October found in Gaza, IDF says

The body of an Israeli hostage who was captured by Hamas militants while on a cycling trip has been recovered from Gaza, the Israeli military has said.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Ron Benjamin, 53, was riding his bike in the Kibbutz Be’eri in Israel when he was taken hostage during the 7 October attack.

The group said he was a “family man who loved cycling” and that he “used to go out for a ride every Saturday, just as he did on that fateful Saturday when he was taken hostage”.

It added: “Ron loved traveling in Israel and around the world, and he loved music.”

The Israeli military said on Saturday that Mr Benjamin’s body was recovered by its forces operating in Gaza.

Chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Mr Benjamin was “brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists at the Mefalsim Intersection, and his body was kidnapped to Gaza”.

Mr Hagari said Mr Benjamin were found along with three other murdered hostages whose repatriation was announced on Friday.

The remains of Itzhak Gelerenter, 56, Amit Buskila, 28, and Shani Louk, 22, were discovered in an overnight operation carried out by Israel’s military and intelligence agency Shin Bet, Mr Hagari said.

They were killed at the Nova music festival on the day of the Hamas attack.

The Israeli military, citing intelligence information, has said all four hostages were killed on 7 October.

They were among the 252 people seized by Hamas-led Palestinian gunmen during the attack.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

Business

Marks & Spencer’s website and app go down

Published

5 hours ago

May 18, 2024

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Marks & Spencer's website and app go down

Marks & Spencer’s website and app has not been working for several hours, with a message telling shoppers “you can’t shop with us right now”.

“We’re working hard to be back online as soon as possible,” it adds.

All the menus and images have disappeared apart from one showing a model in a green jacket.

Customers trying to use the app got the message: “Sorry you can’t shop through the app right now. We’re busy making some planned changes, but will be back soon.”

The site is understood to have been down for several hours.

Replying to one customer on X, the retailer said: “We’re experiencing some technical issues but we are working on it.”

M&S is the latest high street name to have technical issues – last month some Sainsbury’s shoppers had problems with their online orders.

The outage comes a few days before M&S is expected to reveal a big jump in annual profits.

It’s been a successful year for the brand, with strong sales across the business following a turnaround plan that has included store closures and cost cutting.