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July 1, 2020

Volume 137, Issue #14
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Features

Joshua Centre at Liverpool Cathedral

Iranian asylum seekers are finding hospitality in the Church of England

Saman’s parents disowned him. The church became a new sort of family.

by Jason Byassee

First Person

The pandemic has deepened my insomnia—and my prayers

As I lie awake, it seems right to join those who address God with different names than I use.

by Belden C. Lane

First Person

The gift of nurturing small things during isolation

What deep desire do my sourdough starter and jade clippings represent?

by Melissa Kuipers

photo of James Baldwin
Reflection

James Baldwin reminds us not to be surprised by this

Facing the “intolerable trouble” of antiblack violence

by Brad R. Braxton

photo of Lydia Dugdale
Interviews

The coronavirus is helping us rehearse for our own deaths

“A lot of people want to talk about the big questions; they just don’t know how to get started.”

Liuan Huska interviews Lydia Dugdale

church with a first aid sign
Interviews

Being church while the neighborhood burns

“There’s a fire that cannot be extinguished except by justice.”

Elizabeth Palmer interviews Ingrid C. A. Rasmussen and Angela Khabeb

protester-holding-sign
Critical Essay

The additional violence of George Floyd’s autopsy report

It’s getting harder to believe in the vindication of history.

by Benjamin J. Dueholm

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Opinion

The killing of George Floyd and the meaning of kneeling

When we see a white police officer kneeling on a black body, squeezing the breath of life out of that body, we are witnessing an act of worship.

by Cheryl Townsend Gilkes

Books

A humble God?

Matthew Wilcoxen traces the idea from Augustine through Katherine Sonderegger.

by J. Scott Jackson
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The big business of evangelical Christian publishing

Daniel Vaca details the marriage of missionary zeal and financial reward.

by Grant Wacker
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Lydia Millet’s A Children’s Bible is a believable climate fable

The dystopian novel feels about 15 minutes away from becoming reality.

by Amy Peterson
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Talking to white kids about what whiteness means

Three children’s books to help start the conversation

by Kaethe Schwehn

Departments

Brazil’s massive replica of the Temple of Solomon

The Pentecostals of the Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus have a mighty vision.

by Philip Jenkins

On Art

Believe They Are Worthy Too, by aung.robo.arts / Anastasio Wrobel

“Genderqueer and non-conformist are two of my roots,” writes Ansastasio Wrobel (known in the art world as aung robo) in their recent artist statement....

art selection and comment by Lil Copan

Faith Matters

Walking with Moses from slavery to liberation

When Moses says “keep still,” he’s not recommending inactivity.

by Brian Bantum

protesters face off with riot police
From the Editors

The urgent need for deep changes in American policing

Are the police meant to protect people? Or to fight them?
First Words

What I’d like to say to President Trump about the Bible

I’d tell him a secret I learned from Eugene Peterson.

by Peter W. Marty

News

UMC musician’s protest hymn goes viral

Many United Methodist clergy gave Pentecost Sunday sermons on the scourge of racism, prompted by the latest high-profile killing of a black man in police custody....

by Sam Hodges

Nigerian Catholic bishops donate 425 hospitals for COVID-19 treatment

With the increasing rate of COVID-19 cases in Nigeria, the Catholic community is responding and supporting the government’s efforts to combat the virus....

by Patrick Egwu

People

Ella Jones elected first black mayor of Ferguson

On June 2, former pastor Ella Jones was elected mayor of Fergu­son, Missouri, with 54 percent of the votes cast. Jones currently serves as the council member for Ferguson Ward 1....
People

Southern Baptist Convention president faces criticism for new church hire

Since the beginning of 2019, Southern Baptist Convention president J. D. Greear has been among the highest-profile advocates for preventing sexual abuse and protecting victims of abuse in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination....

by Adelle M. Banks

People

Liberty University instructor resigns after Jerry Falwell Jr.'s blackface tweet

A day after Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University in Virginia, tweeted an image of a face mask depicting figures in blackface and dressed as Klansmen, Christopher House, an online instructor for the university, announced his resignati...

by Kathryn Post

Ahead of Trump Bible photo op, police forcibly expel priest from church

In the early evening on June 1, President Donald Trump stood before the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church in downtown Washington and held aloft a Bible for cameras....

by Jack Jenkins

Lectionary

July 19, 16A (Genesis 28:10–19a)

Sometimes we don’t see what’s right in front of us.

by E. Carrington Heath

July 12, 15A (Romans 8:1–11)

What if all the energy we spent on taming the flesh were channeled toward loving the world?

by E. Carrington Heath

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