1. A Call for a National Lament
"Lament … is not a passive act. Many Christians may hear the word lament and assume that feeling bad about suffering is the purpose of lament. How sad that people died. How sad that the shooter had a mental illness. But lament moves beyond bad feelings for the privileged. ... Lament voices the prayers of the suffering and therefore serves as an act of protest against the powers."
2. Recalling Nine Spiritual Mentors, Gunned Down During Night of Devotion
“The nine victims — three men and six women, who ranged in age from 26 to 87 — were leaders, motivators, counselors and the people everyone could turn to for a heap of prayer, friends and relatives said.”
3. WATCH: Jon Stewart on Charleston Shooting
“This one is black and white. There’s no nuance here. … Nine people were shot in a black church by a white guy who hated them who wanted to start some kind of civil war. The confederate flag flies over South Carolina, and the roads are named for confederate generals. And the white guy feels like he’s the one who’s feels like this country has been taken away from him.”
4. WATCH: Changing the World Through Faith & Justice
Sojourners is hosting The Summit this week, and the conversations have been powerful. To catch all of today’s sessions, WATCH the livestream throughout the day and follow along on social media using #summitforchange. You can also view recorded sessions from the past two days. *Recordings available for a limited time.
5. We Are One Body: White Christians, It’s Time to Get in the Game
“Seek to understand, lament, and see the systems and principalities at work in our world, in our churches, and maybe in our minds. Ask Christ for the eyes to see.”
6. A Woman Will Go on the $10 Bill, Twitter Explodes
Hamilton defenders, the ‘why-is-it-taking-so-long’ crowd, those wishing it was the $20 bill instead — Twitter’s got some opinions.
7. Juneteenth: 150 Years Ago, Black America Got Its Own Independence Day
The Root examines the history of how the last remaining slaves in the United States were set free on this day 150 years ago, in Galveston, Texas.
8. Here’s How Badly the Pentagon Effort to Train Syrian Rebels Is Lagging
“Less than 200 moderate Syrian rebels have started training with U.S. military advisers through a new Pentagon-run program, and none has graduated, a Defense Department spokesman said Thursday.”
9. Every Single County in America Is Facing an Affordable Housing Crisis
“New research from the Urban Institute shows that the supply of housing for extremely low-income families, which was already in short supply, is only declining. In 2013, just 28 of every 100 extremely low-income families could afford their rental homes. Than figure is down from 37 of 100 in 2000—a 25 percent decline over a little more than a decade.”
10. Seattle Preschool in a Nursing Home ‘Transforms’ Elderly Residents
In this week’s best ideas ever: “As soon as the kids walked in for art or music or making sandwiches for the homeless or whatever the project that day was, the residents came alive."
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