The online editorial staff comprises Betsy Shirley, Jenna Barnett, Josiah R. Daniels, Mitchell Atencio, Heather Brady, Kierra Bennning, and Zachary Lee.
Posts By This Author
British Man on Trial for Trying to Rescue 4-Year-Old Refugee
Rob Lawrie with Bahar Ahmadi. Image via Twitter
"I had told her father 'no' many times," Lawrie said in his small suburban-style house in Guiseley, 210 miles (335 kilometers) north of London. "But half past 10 one rainy night, when she fell asleep on my knee as I was leaving for the ferry, I just couldn't leave her there anymore. All rational thought left my head."
Ever Wished You Could Go to Church Inside a Giant Shoe? Now You Can.
Screenshot via skynewsofficial56/Youtube
Apparently, Bigfoot wears glass slippers. And he lost one in Taiwan.
That may be the conclusion passers-by would come to when seeing this new church in Taiwan’s Jaiyi County, but in reality, the intention is to attract women worshippers.
Wheaton Students Call on College to Reinstate Professor Hawkins
On Jan. 11, the first day of spring semester classes at Wheaton College, some students are protesting the termination of the professor who said that Muslims and Christians worship the same God. Student concerns are ongoing surrounding the circumstances of Professor Hawkins' review and termination process. Some have taken to Twitter in protest using the hashtag #ReinstateDocHawk:
Weekly Wrap 1.8.16: The 10 Best Stories You Missed This Week
No … Obama’s not taking your guns.
2. Sandra Bland’s Family: Trooper Perjury Charge a ‘Slap on the Wrist’
"Where is the indictment for the assault, the battery, the false arrest?"
3. Open Letter to the Leadership of #Urbana15 and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
Add your voice to the growing list of people of faith saying “thank you!” to InterVarsity for supporting Black Lives Matter.
Wheaton College Recommends Terminating Professor Larycia Hawkins Over Comments About Islam
Image via Larycia Hawkins / Facebook
Wheaton College suspended Larycia Hawkins, professor of political science, on Dec. 15 after she said Christians and Muslims "worship the same God." Hawkins' primary purpose was to announce that she would wear hijab during Advent to show her solidarity with Muslims in the United States facing persecution.
Now, according to a statement released Jan. 5, Wheaton Provost Stanton Jones delivered to President Philip Ryken a "Notice of Recommendation to Initiate Termination-for-Cause Proceedings regarding Dr. Hawkins."
The Full Text of President Obama's Emotional Speech on Gun Control
Photo via The White House / YouTube
President Obama's eagerly anticipated announcement about his executive action regarding gun violence was a rare emotional speech for the president. Read the full text of what he said here.
What You Need to Know About Obama's Gun Control Plan
Image via Sojourners / JP Keenan
The White House released the details of President Obama's latest executive action on Jan. 4, and the eagerly expected announcement will be suffixed by a live town hall meeting on gun control at 8 p.m. Thursday at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. While some are lamenting that the actions don't go far enough, the measures will tighten up existing laws.
The plan is divded into four topics: background checks, community safety, mental health, and gun safety technology. Here's what you need to know about each.
Bill Cosby Charged With Assault, Arrest Warrant Issued
Image via Randy Miramontez/Shutterstock.com
Bill Cosby has been charged for sexual assault, reports the Los Angeles Times. The charge — of aggravated indecent assault, against alleged victim Andrea Constand in 2004 — comes with an arrest warrant. Though Cosby's decades of assault came to light in a high-profile series of revelations this year, this is the first time criminal charges have been filed against the comedian. He is expected to be arraigned at 4 p.m. on Dec. 30.
InterVarsity Backs #BlackLivesMatter at Urbana
Image via Twitter.
InterVarsity, the evangelical campus ministry, stands in full support of #BlackLivesMatter, issuing a call this week for the nearly 16,000 attendees at Urbana to support the movement, reports Religion News Service. Urbana is a yearly conference put on by the biblical and social justice-minded InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. At the main evening session on Dec. 28, featured speaker Michelle Higgins — director of a faith advocacy group and active member of #BlackLivesMatter in St. Louis, Mo. — challenged students to listen to the movement and to have conversations about racism, even if such conversations cause discomfort.
Sojourners’ 15 Most Powerful Stories of 2015
Editor’s Note: A lot has happened this year, and there has been much to cover — much to lament, much to praise, and much to record into history. It has been our privilege and honor to write, edit, and read along with you. In no particular order, here are our 15 favorite stories of 2015.
Officer Who Shot Tamir Rice Not Facing Charges
Stop Mass Incarcerations Network children's march in New York City on the anniversary of Tamir Rice's death. a katz / Shutterstock.com
Officer Timothy Loehmann will not face charges in the shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice after a grand jury failed to indict Monday. The Cuyahoga County prosecutor’s office announced Monday that Loehmann's partner, Frank Garmback, will also face no charges. The news comes more than a year after Rice was killed while carrying a toy gun at a park in Cleveland.
Weekly Wrap: 12.26.15: The 10 Best Stories You Missed While Christmas-ing
1. 12 Things to Do on the 12 Days of Christmas
Don’t take down that tree just yet. Remember that Christmas is an entire season. Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Stephen — the first Christian martyr. Let these ideas take you all the way through Epiphany.
2. ICYMI: Why Jesus Was, and Is, a Political Threat
“The language of Mary is the narrative of revolution and redistribution, two words that the powers that be just hate. And while the revolution that Christ brings is not violent, it is nonetheless completely transformational. Mary got it.”
3. Las Posadas: Searching for an Inn
Washington Post features the Hispanic Christian tradition of recreating Joseph and Mary’s search for shelter. “Making it real, and making it something that’s close to home, fits in closely with Hispanic/Latino theology.”
This Comic Will Change How You Look at Privilege
Image via Twitter.
Australian artist Toby Morris’ comic “On a Plate” illustrates how privilege works — and why people who benefit from it can’t see it.
By following two individuals’ life paths set side-by-side, Morris shows how someone’s privilege — or lack thereof — can lead to totally different outcomes.
No Indictments in Sandra Bland's Death
Sandra Bland's traffic stop. Screenshot via Texas Department of Public Safety
Bland was found dead in a jail cell after being arrested during a traffic stop, when she was pulled over for changing lanes without signaling. Police claim that her death was a suicide, but friends and family don’t believe it.
Wheaton Professor Suspended for 'Same God' Comments: 'We Want To Be Very Clear: The Love of Christ Compels Us'
Image via Facebook
Dr. Larycia Hawkins, the Wheaton College professor suspended this week for public comments suggesting Muslims and Christians worship the "same god," released a statement Dec. 17 elaborating her position and her remarks to the press on Dec 16. The full text of her statement is below. The college also released a statement explaining its actions on Dec. 16, and can be read here.
Weekly Wrap 12.18.15: The 10 Best Stories You Missed This Week
As the lead editor behind the dubious byline “the Web Editors,” it is within my job description to read all the Internet. And this is how the Weekly Wrap was born. This week, I decided to show all my biased cards and give you, fair reader, a glimpse behind how I decide what’s worth your spare few minutes on Fridays. As a religion writer and journalist, I give special attention to mainstream outlets that actually get faith right; I get sucked in by clickbait on the regular; I have a few favorite go-to publications (can you spot ‘em?); I link to a piece or two from our own publication that I think are excellent and perhaps underappreciated; I usually find at least one thing from my home state of Texas; and I cry ugly tears at most things having to do with babies. There are all my secrets. And here is the Weekly Wrap. —Sandi
Judge Declares Mistrial in Case Over Freddie Gray's Death
Image via Brocreative / Shutterstock.com
Jurors began deliberations on Monday afternoon. On Tuesday afternoon, the panel informed the judge it was deadlocked, and Williams ordered them to continue deliberating.
The panel, made up of seven women and five men, resumed deliberations Wednesday morning.
In Porter's trial, the prosecution brought medical experts, policing experts and other witnesses to show that Porter was criminally negligent when he failed to secure Gray in a seat belt in the van or call for a medic when Gray requested one.
The defense brought similar experts, as well as other Baltimore police officers, to show that Porter acted as a "reasonable officer" in his interactions with Gray and that Gray's injury was the result of an accident that Porter could not have prevented.
Wheaton College Professor Suspended for Saying Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God
Larycia Hawkins, a tenured professor at Wheaton College, pledged on Dec. 10 to wear hijab during Advent as a show of support to her Muslim neighbors.
"I don't love my Muslim neighbor because s/he is American," Hawkins wrote in a Facebook post.
"I love my Muslim neighbor because s/he deserves love by virtue of her/his human dignity."
"I stand in religious solidarity with Muslims because they, like me, a Christian, are people of the book. And as Pope Francis stated last week, we worship the same God."
This Jimmy Fallon A-Capella 'Star Wars' Medley Is the Perfect 'Force Awakens' Pregame
Here at Sojourners, we're more than a little bit excited about Star Wars week. I mean, have you seen the cover of our January issue?
And today, we're launching a new online series "Keeping the Force: How Sci-Fi and Fantasy Show Us the Divine." So, yeah. When we saw this amazing Star Wars medley featuring Jimmy Fallon, The Roots, AND the cast of The Force Awakens, including the indomitable Carrie Fisher, we just had to share. Enjoy!
Study: Mass Incarceration Is Spreading to Suburbs and Rural Counties
Image via sakhorn / Shutterstock.com
A new study from the Vera Institute of Justice suggests that mass incarceration, typically focused in urban centers, is growing fastest in suburbs and rural areas.
The U.S. already has a massive imprisonment problem — despite having 4 percent of the world’s population, the U.S. has 25 percent of the world’s prisoners. And now, the problem is spreading beyond cities. In 2014, densely-populated counties had 271 inmates in jail per 100,000 people, whereas sparsely-populated counties had 446 inmates per 100,000 people — nearly double the amount.