1. Charlottesville, One Year Later
Activists, faith leaders, and Charlottesville residents on the ongoing trauma and continued resistance against white nationalists.
2. ICE Crashed a Van Full of Separated Mothers, Then Denied It Ever Happened
The vehicle was towed and another picked up the women, who were on their way to be reunited with their children. An ICE spokesperson denied the crash happened, twice. Three weeks later, ICE admitted it, but called the incident a “fender bender.”
3. These Churches Are Modeling Real Unity, Two Blocks from This Weekend’s Alt-Right Rally
A historically black church and a predominantly white church in Washington, D.C., will share communion and lead a prayer walk at the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial on Aug. 12 — the one-year anniversary of the deadly Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Va.
4. The Age That Women Have Babies: How a Gap Divides America
From The New York Times: “The difference in when women start families cuts along many of the same lines that divide the country in other ways, and the biggest one is education.”
5. Courageous Leadership Is Actually Vulnerable, Humble Belonging
“Hybels may have stepped aside months before his scheduled retirement party, but that’s not enough. All of his denials and equivocating and minimizing, and the maligning of his victims and accusers and the media reporting on his misdeeds needs to stop. We are in the grace and reconciliation business. And he needs to repent.”
6. A Guide to Evangelical Celebrities and Pastors Dominating Hollywood
“These stylish, white evangelical pastors are leading a new religious organization in Hollywood, which looks cool and casual — everybody’s wearing streetwear and waving their hands to Christian pop-rock bands — but actually stems from the traditional Pentecostal movement.”
7. ‘The Laws Haven’t Changed. This Administration’s Policies Have Changed’
Religious groups lead the efforts to resettle refugees. But under the Trump administration, the refugee cap has been halved and actual numbers are even lower. That, combined with additional deterrents put on asylum seekers — from changing policy for who qualifies to separating children from their parents at the border — has led to outrage among faith groups.
8. Willow Creek Leadership Summit Goes On Despite Mass Resignations
All of the elders, as well as Willow Creek’s lead pastor, resigned this week in the wake of sexual harassment allegations against Bill Hybels.
9. A Shared Theology of Sanctuary
How Christian, Jewish, and Muslim congregations are stepping up to serve immigrants: “Taking care of the neighbor is ingrained in Abrahamic religions. If your neighbor isn’t safe, it’s giving them a safe place. If your neighbor is hungry or without shelter, it’s part of these religious traditions to pay attention.”
10. Religion Is Not Always About Certainty
From The Outline: “When well-meaning atheists express a wistful envy about the certainty of faith, what they are imagining is that it imparts some comfort or peace. But the loudest American fundamentalists seem also among the least comfortable and most aggrieved people in our political landscape.”
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