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December 1, 2021

Volume 138, Issue #24

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Features

First Person

Maybe it’s time for me to let go of Thomas Merton

Who do I pay attention to who may be prophetically controversial today?

by Cassidy Hall

First Person

Don’t tell my Pentecostal mom, but I pray the Hail Mary

My Grandma Violet was the black sheep of our family. I think of her when I pray.

by Samuel Thomas Martin

Critical Essay

Christian nationalism is thriving in Bolsonaro’s Brazil

Understanding the political situation in the US’s mirror-image nation

by Raimundo Barreto and João B. Chaves

Interviews

Strategic racism benefits only the wealthiest and most powerful

“If racism is a class weapon, then ending racism is in the self-interest of nearly every American.”

Amy Frykholm interviews Ian Haney López

Understanding Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett

Fiercely Zionist yet pragmatic. Bold but not charismatic. The independent leader of a disparate coalition.

by Mordechai Beck

Voices

Debie Thomas

What I pray when I can’t say thanks or help

A prayer of bare-bones presence with God

Kathryn Reklis

Telling Native stories on TV

Rutherford Falls gambles on humor to sort out White blindness. Reservation Dogs ignores the White gaze altogether.

Books

What preachers have said in times of national crisis

Melissa Matthes well understands both the political and the religious power of mourning.

by Richard Lischer

Some trees are like mothers

Scientist Susanne Simard on how trees communicate and nurture each other

by Jane McBride

Jonathan Franzen writes a family that feels familiar

In Crossroads, a troubled associate pastor faces his deepest desires and doubts.

by Joshua B. Grace

Departments

Faith Matters

What I pray when I can’t say thanks or help

A prayer of bare-bones presence with God

by Debie Thomas

First Words

The human moments of pastoral care

There’s something uniquely precious about being physically present with people.

by Peter W. Marty

On Art

Surface Incidents, by Cherith Lundin

According to Cherith Lundin, the handcrafted artist book Surface Incidents (created this year in an edition of 50) began from an intentional reshuffling of some of the piles of raw material that inhabit her studio space—materials that she...

art selection and comment by Daniel C. Richardson

Screen Time

Telling Native stories on TV

Rutherford Falls gambles on humor to sort out White blindness. Reservation Dogs ignores the White gaze altogether.

by Kathryn Reklis

From the Editors

The dangerous doctrine of qualified immunity for police

When officers can duck consequences for civil rights violations, policing is more dangerous for everyone.

News

People

Donald Ottenhoff retires from Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research

This summer, Donald Ottenhoff, a former Century senior editor, retired from his position as executive director of the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research....

by Dawn Araujo-Hawkins

People

Kyoichi Sugino named president of Gakurin Seminary in Tokyo

Religions for Peace’s deputy secretary general, Kyoichi Sugino, has resigned his position to take on the role of president of Gakurin Seminary, a lay Buddhist training institution in Tokyo....

by Dawn Araujo-Hawkins

COP26 event urges religious, indigenous partnership

As world leaders gathered for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP26, leaders of the world’s religions wanted to make sure the voices of indigenous peoples weren’t lost in the crowd....

by Emily McFarlan Miller

In Rome and at the Vatican, Biden receives warm welcome

In Rome and at the Vatican, President Joe Biden found a safe haven from the debates taking place back home, where some US bishops argue Catholic politicians should not be allowed to receive communion if they support abortion rights....

by Claire Giangravé

After four-month lockout, AME pastor preaches at her church

A pastor who had been locked out of the church she was appointed to lead in June preached for the first time from its pulpit on October 31. The lockout was allegedly due to her gender....

by Adelle M. Banks

Texas judge rules religious businesses exempt from LGBTQ bias claims

For-profit businesses with sincerely held religious beliefs are exempt from LGBTQ discrimination liability under a decision by a federal judge in Texas....

by Kathryn Post

For some churches, paying back PPP loans is better than forgiveness

When Michigan’s governor required churches to stop meeting in person on March 16 last year, Kenton Sanders, director of operations at Mars Hill Bible Church, quickly did some worrying math....

by Bob Smietana

These Cleveland church vans will drive you to work

It’s hard to get around without a car in Northeast Ohio. Decades of neglect by the federal and state governments have resulted in endless cuts to transit service, which in turn have led to years of ridership decline....

by Henry Pan

People

Lutheran scholar, archaeologist Edgar M. Krentz dies at 93

New Testament scholar and archaeologist Edgar M. Krentz died on October 31. He was 93....

by Dawn Araujo-Hawkins

People

Thema Bryant-Davis elected president of the American Psychological Association

Thema Bryant-Davis, an ordained elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, has been elected as the 2023 president of the American Psychological Association....

by Dawn Araujo-Hawkins