Emmanuel leader Alain Emerson continues ecumenical descent by organising prayer event with Rome’s blessing

The leader of the Emmanuel Church, based in the Craigavon area, Alain ‘Ecumenical’ Emerson, just can’t help himself when it comes to ecumenical compromise.

Not content with addressing a meeting in St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church in Belfast as part of the ecumenical Four Corners Festival in February, at which he endorsed the ecumenical, ritualistic, anti-Christian form of worship known as Taizé, Alain ‘Ecumenical’ Emerson then addressed another ecumenical meeting in Ballymena last month with Rome’s stamp of approval.

And now he is throwing his full weight behind organising an ecumenical prayer initiative which has been granted the seal of approval from Rome.

‘Thy Kingdom Come’ is the name of the prayer initiative, founded by Arch-apostate of Canterbury Justin Welby in 2016.

Any prayer initiative launched by such a Bible rejecter as the Arch-apostate of Canterbury cannot be founded on solid rock.

After all, he was previously featured on ‘Protestant Revival’ for endorsing prayer to Mary (1 Timothy 2:5 clearly demonstrates the blasphemy of this) and encouraging Protestants to join in prayer with the Pope, “that Antichrist, that man of sin, and son of perdition”.

We also revealed last week the cosy relationship of the Arch-apostate of Canterbury with the Pope, as well as his close friendship with the leaders of the Vineyard movement, one of whose local leaders declared he was “all in” with the Pope.

So this gives a fine example of the sort of clerical company Alain ‘Ecumenical’ Emerson believes it is acceptable to associate with. As a side note, Alain ‘Ecumenical’ Emerson recently spoke at the Causeway Coast Vineyard, where Alan Scott made those disgraceful comments regarding the Pope. It would also appear it was far from his first visit there.

We had previously highlighted this prayer event being so fulsomely championed by Alain ‘Ecumenical’ Emerson as we offered him the opportunity not to engage in his further ecumenical compromise last month, an opportunity which, of course, he did not take.

Then, our chief concern with the event was the venue it was to be held at this Saturday, 19 May in Belfast, May Street Presbyterian Church, a church synonymous with mean compromise with Rome.

However, at the time, we were unaware of how strong the Romanist connections to this prayer initiative were.

In a Church of England article about the launch of the initiative, which is also championed by Archbishop of York John Sentamu, it says: “The campaign’s broad ecumenical appeal led to more than 50 denominations and traditions being involved last year; including the Roman Catholic Church.”

The Church of England is clearly entirely satisfied with Rome’s involvement and, indeed, proud of it, given that of the “more than 50 denominations and traditions” involved last year, it was the very first one they mentioned.

Alain ‘Ecumenical’ Emerson is currently Director of a group called 24-7 Prayer Ireland, which is organising this prayer event, meaning he is one of the leading figures in this ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ prayer initiative.

At the Church of Ireland’s Synod last week, the Irish launch of the ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ prayer initiative was held jointly by the so-called Protestant Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Ecumenical Richard Clarke, whose disgraceful Rome loving behaviour we have previously covered, and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh, Eamon Martin.

The pair speak at length in an article on the Church of Ireland Diocese of Derry and Raphoe website, with ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ at least twice being referred to as an “ecumenical” initiative.

As if this was not enough evidence to damn this event already, a quick look at the ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ website itself will finish the job.

On its website, there are resources for Roman Catholics to pray a Novena during the celebrations.

Novenas are something we previously dealt with when addressing the apostasy of Antrim Church of Ireland cleric, Rev Stephen McBride.

Novenas are “often used to ask specific saints to pray for us”, says the ‘Pray More Novenas’ website, meaning they involve the invocation of saints, forbidden in 1 Timothy 2:5.

We also recounted at that time how “by the 11th century, the Novena practice had become a means in Christianity of praying to petition personal or spiritual favour to a saint, such as Virgin Mary. After the Reformation and Counter-Reformation era, the Catholic Church formally approved Novenas, in particular through the papal approvals of a large number of Novenas by Pope Pius IX.

“The practice of the Novena is based in early Christianity, where masses were held for nine days with devotional prayers to someone who has died.”

This means the Novena has its roots in prayer for the dead, which is an utter affront to the gospel.

Despite this, the ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ initiative is encouraging Novenas to be prayed under its banner.

And the Roman Catholic Church of England and Wales has said on its website: ‘We’re supporting this initiative with our Pentecost Novena”.

What a shameful event this is, and what a shameful event Alain ‘Ecumenical’ Emerson (pictured below, speaking in St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church back in February) is not only supporting but indeed organising.

We will remind Alain ‘Ecumenical’ Emerson and his ilk of what the Bible has to say.

Ephesians 5:11: “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.”

Jude v 3: “…ye should earnestly contend for the faith…”

2 Corinthians 6:14-17: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.”

There can be no light fellowshipping with darkness, therefore when Alain ‘Ecumenical’ Emerson and his acolytes gather together they may think they are spreading light but instead they are enveloping themselves in darkness.

Alain ‘Ecumenical’ Emerson is doing this proudly and unashamedly. In a video he has posted on the 24-7 Prayer Ireland twitter page he is encouraging everyone to go along, making a virtue of the Arch-apostate of Canterbury supporting the initiative and claiming an event which is an affront to God is going to be “beautiful”.

He also points out it is not the first time he has led such an anti Biblical meeting, and last year he held it in St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast, probably second only to Corrymeela as the home of ecumenical deceit in Ulster.

Alain ‘Ecumenical’ Emerson says: “Last year we had an event in St Anne’s Cathedral at the same time of year and it was such a beautiful joy.

“Please come and join us. It’s part of a wider global initiative where people all over the world are going to be praying that night. It’s championed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby himself.

“We’d love to play our part here, it’s going to be beautiful.”

Alain ‘Ecumenical’ Emerson would do well to consider what Jesus said in Matthew 12:37: “…by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”

These prayers offered up will not be heard by God, they will go no further than the ceiling. God has already judged and condemned their actions.

Isaiah 1:11-17: “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord : I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.”

However, if Alain ‘Ecumenical’ Emerson and his followers repudiate such God-defying conduct as this ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ initiative and put away the evil of their doings, God is ready to show mercy to them.

Verse 18 of that chapter says: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

God has called on us to separate from the works of darkness. It is our prayer that anyone reading who has not yet separated themselves will do so and anyone who is not yet saved will call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation today.

Leading apostasy in Antrim – Archdeacon Stephen McBride

Ecumenical fervency is very much the order of the day in the town of Antrim, and the chief architect of this Biblical betrayal is Archdeacon Stephen McBride.

A veteran ecumenist, the ‘Venerable’ Dr Stephen McBride is minister of All Saints Parish Church in the town.

During the recent ‘Holy Week’ events in the town, a lot of unholy mingling of the seed was going on, with many of the churches involved.

The ecumenical celebrations got underway on the Monday prior to Easter with an ‘Inter Church Prayer Service’ in St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church. Given Rome teaches the praying to Mary and saints, surely we are entitled to ask the question, as we have done previously, to whom were they praying?

The Bible clearly teaches we are to pray to God alone. 1 Timothy 2:5 says: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

This service was followed up with another prayer service, this time in St Comgall’s Roman Catholic Church, also in Antrim. The speaker at the meeting was a so-called Protestant, Alastair Wallace (pictured), of Christian Fellowship Church in the town.

And the tin hat was put on this ecumenical betrayal on Good Friday, when the Antrim Clergy Fellowship organised its annual “walk of witness” through the town in a brazen act of defiance against God, which we featured earlier this week.

It began at Antrim Methodist Church (Minister: Rev Michael Gregory) before moving to Archdeacon Stephen McBride’s apostate abode of All Saints Parish Church. From there it moved to St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church, before finishing off at High Street Presbyterian Church (Minister: Rev Colin McDowell).

By some distance the longest serving clergyman at their respective church in this area is Archdeacon Stephen McBride, who has spent much of the past three decades in the town.

And we have uncovered numerous details about him which mean he ought not to hold any position within the church.

He has a remarkably cosy and long-standing relationship with Rome, even for an apostate. A Belfast NewsLetter article states that these links go as far back as 2002, and no doubt much further.

It says that in 2002 the then priest in St Comgall’s “asked Archdeacon McBride to preach at a parish Novena” in order to put on a “more public display of togetherness”.

What is a Novena? It is a Roman Catholic ritual and according to the ‘Pray More Novenas’ website, “a Novena is made up of nine days of prayer and meditation, usually to ask God for special prayer requests or petitions. Novenas are often used to ask specific saints to pray for us”.

So a Novena involves the invocation of saints, despite the Bible’s teaching in 1 Timothy 2:5, as we have already referred to above.

Wikipedia continues and says: “The practice grew by the Middle Ages to include pious prayers for nine days before a feast in honour of a saint identified on a liturgical calendar. By the 11th century, the Novena practice had become a means in Christianity of praying to petition personal or spiritual favour to a saint, such as Virgin Mary. After the Reformation and Counter-Reformation era, the Catholic Church formally approved Novenas, in particular through the papal approvals of a large number of Novenas by Pope Pius IX.”

So the Novena has the stamp of approval from the Pope, “that man of sin, and son of perdition”, the man who blasphemously sets himself up in God’s place.

Wikipedia goes on to say: “The practice of the Novena is based in early Christianity, where masses were held for nine days with devotional prayers to someone who has died.”

So the Novena has its roots in prayer for the dead, which is a reference to the Romanist lie of purgatory, an absolutely anti-Biblical construct of the Roman Catholic Church. When we die we either go straight to heaven or straight to hell. There is no in between.

Look at the rich man in Luke 16. We are told in verses 22-23: “…the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments…”

There was no in between for the rich man. He died and went straight to hell. And hell most assuredly exists, despite what Pope Francis might like to think.

The notion of praying for the dead is further demonstrated as a fraud when we look at 2 Samuel 12:18-23: “And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead? But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead. Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself , and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord , and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat. Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”

David ceased praying for his child when he died. He didn’t keep praying, he didn’t hold a Month’s Mind mass, light a candle or pay a priest to earn his son a place in heaven.

David acknowledged no more could be done and acknowledged the comfort in the fact his son, who had not reached an age of understanding to call on God for salvation, was in heaven. He also rested in the comfort that he, as a saved sinner, was going to meet his son again in heaven.

Can you rest in that comfort? Are you saved? Have you repented of your sin to God and asked to be washed in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Jonah 2:9 says: “Salvation is of the Lord.” It can be found nowhere else. Acts 4:12 says: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

We MUST be saved and Acts 16:31 tells us: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”

Our sins, no matter how great, can all be washed away. Isaiah 1:18: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

You can obtain forgiveness of God today. 1 John 1:9 says: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Don’t delay, 2 Corinthians 6:2 says: “…behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

The fact that Archdeacon Stephen McBride preached at this Novena, an act disgracefully repeated soon after by then Antrim Methodist minister Rev Jack Moore, with all the lies and blasphemies it encapsulates, is frankly horrifying.

However, this is what Archdeacon Stephen McBride has to say about his blasphemous betrayal of true Christianity.

He said: “It was one of the most memorable days of my ministry.

“It speaks volumes for the maturity of the ecumenical relationships that have been developed in the town that it was possible for the two clergy from the Reformed tradition to preach at a Catholic Novena mission without creating a fuss from either congregation, because the time was right for this to happen, and our people were encouraging further such exchanges to be developed.

“It is a day I will never forget.”

One can be sure it is a day God will never forget, if Archdeacon Stephen McBride doesn’t repent.

It is also indicative of the disgraceful shepherding of the flock that Archdeacon Stephen McBride, permanent minister in All Saints Parish Church since 1995, has demonstrated, that he brought his congregation to the point where they were “encouraging further such exchanges to be developed”.

His job is to declare the full counsel of God, in season and out of season. Jeremiah was instructed by God that, though he be faithful in declaring His Word, the disobedient children of Israel would not listen to him. This, however, was not to stop him from declaring God’s message, and it ought not to stop anyone else.

Jeremiah 7:27: “Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee.”

Archdeacon Stephen McBride is abandoning this charge and many others to which he should be paying close attention.

We will remind Archdeacon Stephen McBride of the 39 Articles, which are supposed to govern his church, the Church of Ireland.

Article 22, for example, concerning purgatory, says: “The Romish Doctrine concerning Purgatory, Pardons, Worshipping and Adoration, as well of Images as of Relics, and also Invocation of Saints, is a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God.”

Does Archdeacon Stephen McBride find Rome repugnant? Clearly not.

We’ll share another one of his 39 Articles with him now.

Article 31 states: “The Offering of Christ once made is that perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction, for all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual; and there is none other satisfaction for sin, but that alone.

“Wherefore the sacrifices of Masses, in the which it was commonly said, that the Priest did offer Christ for the quick and the dead, to have remission of pain or guilt, were blasphemous fables, and dangerous deceits.”

Does he share that view? If not, then why he is being allowed to stand in a pulpit that is supposed to be used to honour God, when he is using it to undermine the gospel?

We are also told in a biography of Archdeacon Stephen McBride that he is a fan of various types of music, including rock music and Gregorian chant.

A particular favourite band of his is Led Zeppelin, a rock group noted for its links to the occult, something which is expressly warned against in the Bible.

Deuteronomy 18:9-12 says: “When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee.”

His love for Gregorian chant, meanwhile, is further indication of his love affair with Rome. Gregorian chant is the music of the Roman rite and is performed in the Mass.

Why would any Protestant minister want to listen to music used in the blasphemous ‘worship’ of the Mass?

This is one of the many question marks which must be placed against Archdeacon Stephen McBride. If anyone reading this knows him or anyone connected to his church, we would encourage you to challenge him on these matters and encourage those you know to do so too.

We are living in an age of departure from God and the road to revival will be paved with faithfulness to God’s Word. Let us pray that God will take a dealing with apostates in the pulpits spewing out their deceits, so that once again we will see a revival in Ulster.