Since coming to power in 2012, the government has made abortion completely free as part of the National Health Service, scrapped a requirement that a woman must be “in distress” to obtain permission to abort, and dropped a weeklong “reflection period” between applying for and carrying out an abortion. It decided to act again in part because several anti-abortion sites were found to be ranked higher on search engines than the government’s own abortion information site. Although their home pages appear to be neutral, the sites and their advice hotlines — run mostly by Catholic anti-abortion activists — are on closer inspection clearly against abortion and stress the physical and psychological damage they say the procedure can cause.
Southern Baptist Pastor, Dwight McKissic of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, wrote in his blog on Christmas Eve about the “lynch mob” that is forming to remove Russell Moore.
Although they have lived in the country of Myanmar for generations, the country refuses to see them as citizens. They are often seen as intruders from Bangladesh. Treatment of the group varies from violent to genocidal with many, including The Aleteia, claiming that the Myanmar government is practicing a form of ethnic cleansing.
1. The Man Who Saved 200 Syrian Refugees
Would that the world’s leaders felt the same: “I didn’t want to be 80 years old and know that I did nothing during the greatest humanitarian crisis of my time.”
2. Merry Christmas! The North Pole Is 50 Degrees Warmer Than Usual …
“No word from Santa on the forecast — or from President-elect Donald Trump, who is exercising his Twitter fingers while the Arctic melts.” XOXO, Grist.org
Withstanding some unforeseen breakthrough, Power will not succeed in persuading Russia, Iran, and the Assad regime in Syria. Her plea is passionate, but likely not a winning argument. The best arguments don’t always win. But I believe I know why she still fights so hard, and it’s a lesson for all of us who care.
Our only hope is that light does come into the darkness, that this child born in an animal stall is still more important than all the kings and rulers, that the “lowly” are closer to God than all the “high”-placed people that we are forced to watch and listen to all the time. I needed last night to remind me again.
You probably don’t think of Christmas as a revolutionary holiday. Twinkling lights on trees, Starbucks gift cards, and sweet carols are not exactly the stuff of subversion. A domesticated Christmas is comforting, but considering our fraught political landscape today, we might find better lessons by reflecting on the disruption caused by Jesus’ birth, and the radical implications of his life.
“A New Father, Awe-Struck” is a new hymn-prayer written days before Christmas 2016. It begins with a traditional image of a manger scene, and becomes a prayer that we may look deeper— at our loving God who chose to come into this world as someone who was poor, powerless, in danger, and a refugee.
2016, y'all.
We at Sojourners are committed to reporting on and uncovering the stories of faith and justice in our times — raising up the voices that are too often overlooked, and providing biblical and faith-rooted sustenance and inspiration for the journey. Compiled here are some of our most powerful stories from the year — ones that provided a unique, critical, and faithful lens to some of the biggest stories of the year.
While many are glad to see this year go, we know that what awaits in 2017 will require our journalistic work, our vigilance, our organizing, and our resilience. (And we hope you'll join with us in that work: Consider giving to Sojourners to help us tell more of these stories.)
In no particular order, here are our editors’ top picks from 2016.