Newell Presbyterian is one of hundreds of declining congregations with underutilized space, excess land, deteriorating buildings and soaring maintenance costs. But these churches are finding that they can stanch their fiscal woes by selling or, in many cases, leasing some of their land and repurposing their properties for affordable housing. (Shimron, Religion News Service)
Read MoreCostco received pressure from groups on both sides of the issue, many of them investors in the nationwide grocery giant. The company’s decision not to sell the pill, first reported by Bloomberg, is a victory for antiabortion advocates — but a narrow one. (Somasundaram, The Washington Post)
Read MoreI am intrigued by our modern-day penchant for making monsters and demons safe—or cute or attractive or morally ambiguous—and how this might be creating a sense of spiritual ambivalence. (Ong, Christianity Today)
Read MoreA record high percentage of U.S. adults, 53%, now say moderate drinking is bad for their health, up from 28% in 2015. The uptick in doubt about alcohol’s benefits is largely driven by young adults — the age group that is most likely to believe drinking “one or two drinks a day” can cause health hazards — but older adults are also now increasingly likely to think moderate drinking carries risks. (Sanders, AP News)
Read MoreWhen Canada’s Parliament in 2016 legalized the practice of euthanasia—Medical Assistance in Dying, or MAID, as it’s formally called—it launched an open-ended medical experiment. One day, administering a lethal injection to a patient was against the law; the next, it was as legitimate as a tonsillectomy, but often with less of a wait. MAID now accounts for about one in 20 deaths in Canada—more than Alzheimer’s and diabetes combined—surpassing countries where assisted dying has been legal for far longer. (Calabro, The Atlantic)
Read MoreHuman composting is part of trend in the funeral industry toward more sustainable and environmentally-friendly burials. So-called green funerals include human composting, as well as other practices like forgoing chemical embalming and choosing green burial materials like biodegradable caskets. (Trethan, USA Today)
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