3Stories - January 12, 2026

In May of last year, a group of Christians gathered in a Seattle park for an event called, MayDay USA.  Liberty Counsel reported on its website:

In May 2025, Seattle unlawfully denied the organizers of the grassroots revival event Mayday USA a permit to peacefully assemble at the traditional Pike Street downtown location due to its religious message. Instead, it steered the May 24 event to Cal Anderson Park in a predominantly “LGBTQ+ community” where violent attacks from agitators ensued.

The Christian legal organization filed a lawsuit against city officials, claiming that the attendees of the Mayday rally were discriminated against based on their point of view. Liberty Counsel noted: “Seattle officials argued that Mayday’s permit decision was not based on viewpoint or message but rather a permissible ‘time, place, and manner restriction’ based on neutral factors like traffic regulation and safety.”

It contends:

Even though city officials urged organizers to choose Cal Anderson Park when denying their original Pike Street location request, Mayor Harrell stated that the event was held in an LGBTQ community to “provoke a reaction” by “inherently opposing the city’s values.” He blamed the peaceful Mayday organizers for the violence they suffered rather than the perpetrators while other religious sects and leaders joined in to condemn Mayday’s religious speech.

The stated purpose of the event was “…to worship, advocate against abortion and human trafficking, and advocate for protecting children and the family unit.”  Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel stated, “The City of Seattle enacted an unconstitutional prior restraint on the religious speech of the Mayday organizers. Silencing the peaceful public expression of Christian viewpoints cannot be tolerated. The city’s unconstitutional permitting scheme cannot withstand First Amendment scrutiny and causes irreparable harm to free speech.”

It has been reported for years that the Church is continuing to grow in China; however, it has been subjected to persecution and a fresh proliferation of it has been unleashed.  A few weeks ago, I reported that a group of pastors had been arrested there, including a particular high-profile one.  

CBN.com reported that the Chinese Communist Party…

…has been cracking down on the spread of religion over the internet. In September, they issued a new Code of Conduct for Religious Clergy on the Internet, WSJ reports.
 
The code stipulates that preaching on the internet "may be done only through websites, applications, forums, etc. legally established by religious groups, religious schools, temples, monasteries, and churches that have obtained an 'Internet Religious Information Services License.'" Another article of the code says that pastors "must not self-promote or use religious topics and content to attract attention and traffic."

The CBN report, issued Thursday, noted that, “Numerous reports detail that prominent leaders of the Early Rain Covenant Church in Sichuan province were arrested on Tuesday. The church's leader, Li Yingqiang, was among the nine individuals taken into custody. His home and the church's office were also raided during a coordinated sweep.”  The advocacy organization, China Aid reported that a number of church leaders and their families were “taken away.”

One of the Top 10 Topics of 2025 impacting to the Christian community dealt with court action in response to state attorneys general in New Jersey and New York attempting to curb the excellent work that pregnancy resource centers do in preserving unborn life and ministering to women and their families in crisis pregnancy situation.

A Federal appeals court ruled in favor of a group of centers in New York state who had been under fire by that state’s AG, who attempted to restrict them from informing women about abortion pill reversal, APR.

The Daily Citizen reported recently:

Colorado has agreed to pay $6.1 million in attorney fees for its unconstitutional attack on abortion pill reversal that was struck down by a federal court.

The state will pay $5.4 million in attorneys fees to Becket, and another $700,000 to Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).

The ruling represents a significant victory in the fight for life in a notoriously pro-abortion state.

In 2023, the state had passed a bill banning APR, which is an intervention occurring following a woman’s taking of the first of the two pills causing an abortion.  This has a 60+ percent rate of saving the baby’s life.  A pro-life clinic, Bella Health and Wellness, “…represented by Becket, sued Colorado over the law, contending it violated the First Amendment’s free exercise clause.”  In August of last year, a federal district judge issued a ruling in favor of Bella and nurse practitioner Chelsea Mynyk.

The Daily Citizen reported, “Now, Colorado will pay $6.1 million in attorney fees for its unconstitutional attempt to outlaw APR, as a federal law requires the state to pay attorneys’ fees and court costs.”