Friday's News & Ideas - 5/20/2022

Willow Creek announces major layoffs amid post-COVID struggle
Religion News Service: The layoffs come as the church struggles to rebound from COVID-19 and the scandal involving co-founder Bill Hybels.

Religious backers of abortion rights say God’s on their side
Associated Press: The loudest voices in the abortion debate are often characterized along a starkly religious divide, the faithful versus not. But the reality is much more nuanced.

‘She told Martin Luther King: tell ’em about the dream!’ The eternal life of gospel singer Mahalia Jackson
The Guardian: Fifty years after her death, friends and fans assess the legacy of a singer who took gospel mainstream.

$121.5M settlement in New Mexico clergy sex abuse scandal
National Catholic Reporter: One of the oldest Catholic dioceses in the United States announced a settlement agreement Tuesday to resolve a bankruptcy case in New Mexico that resulted from a clergy sex abuse scandal.

The director of Princeton Seminary’s Farminary Project says we ought to start by stopping
Presbyterian Outlook: The Rev. Dr. Nathan Stucky serves Princeton Theological Seminary as director of the Farminary Project, a place “where theological education is integrated with small-scale regenerative agriculture to train faith leaders who are conversant in the areas of ecology, sustainability and food justice.”

The Spark

A chef who offered Chinese food in Spanish
How Lupe Liang’s restaurant* in L.A.’s Chinatown fed everyone, according to The New Yorker.

*access is limited for nonsubscribers