Friday’s News & Ideas - 11/14/2025

Methodist pastors march into courtroom to support ‘boring suburban dad’ indicted for protesting
Religion News Service: “If you come for one United Methodist, you have come for all of us,” said a Chicago area UMC pastor.

Masked Israeli settlers attack 2 Palestinian villages in the West Bank
The Associated Press: The U.N. humanitarian office last week reported more Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank in October than in any other month since it began keeping track in 2006. There were over 260 attacks, the office said.

T.D. Jakes moves from pastoring to podcasting as his next focus
Religion News Service: The announcement of the podcast stated that Jakes will also be telling more of his own story.

Almshouse in England discovers its 15th-century Flemish triptych is worth £3.5m
The Guardian: Artwork that hung for centuries at St John’s Almshouse in Dorset will be sold to raise funds for social housing.

Turn shopping stress into purposeful gift giving by cultivating ‘consumer wisdom’ during the holidays
The Conversation: Constant buying opportunities and frictionless online payments make us especially vulnerable and often unwise this time of year.

The Spark

Texas’s water wars
As industrial operations move to the state, residents find that their drinking water* has been promised to companies, The New Yorker says.

*access is limited for nonsubscribers