It took just two words for Judy Kinser to describe how the rare wildfires engulfed her beloved historic church on the island of Maui which just celebrated its 200th anniversary three months ago. "Destroyed. Devastating," Kinser, the treasurer and office administrator at the Waiola Church in Lahaina, Hawaii, said Wednesday. "Not sure if the church building and preschool buildings (are) also gone." (Collins, USA Today)
Read MoreAfter Ohio voters turned out in unexpectedly high numbers Tuesday to reject a Republican-backed referendum that would have made it harder to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution, Democrats are eyeing new opportunities to highlight abortion rights in the 2024 election. (Olorunnipa, Roubein & Marley, The Washington Post)
Read MoreIt is considered one of history’s greatest speeches and an anthem of the civil rights movement. As he delivered it, King summarized the plight and aspirations of African Americans and expressed the dream that all people might one day live together in peace and friendship. (Ruane, The Washington Post)
Read MoreA Lifeway Research study finds almost 7 in 10 U.S. Protestant pastors (69%) believe there is a growing sense of fear within their congregations about the future of the nation and world. Additionally, more than 3 in 5 (63%) say their churches have a similar increasing dread specifically about the future of Christianity in the U.S. and around the world. (Earls, Lifeway Research)
Read MoreCriminologists point to a confluence of factors, including the social disruptions caused by COVID‑19, the rise in gun sales early in the pandemic, and the uproar following the murder of George Floyd, which, in many cities, led to diminished police activity and further erosion of trust in the police. But in my reporting on the surge, I kept hearing about another accelerant: social media. (MacGillis, The Atlantic)
Read MoreMoore is now the editor-in-chief of the Christianity Today magazine and has written a new book, Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call For Evangelical America, which is his attempt at finding a path forward for the religion he loves. (Detrow, Sánchez & Handel, NPR)
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