News & Ideas

Monday’s News & Ideas - 3/2/2026

  • Ayatollah Ali Khamenei killed
  • Sobering up in church
  • Reporter on clergy abuse scandal
  • Churches suing ICE
  • Rachel Held Evans book
  • Indigenous slavery

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who led the Islamic Republic since 1989, is dead at 86
The Associated Press: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei assembled theocratic power in Iran over the decades as its top leader and sought to turn it into a regional powerhouse, bringing it into confrontation with Israel and the United States over its nuclear program while crushing democracy protests.

A priest helped her see her drinking problem. Talks with Jesus kept her sober. She’s not the only one
CNN: What finally made her sobriety stick, Jenny Teeters said, was a newfound faith in a higher power.

He broke the story of the US Catholic clergy abuse scandal. Now he reflects on struggling to keep his faith
The Guardian: Reporter Jason Berry ponders on how to repair a religious structure long thought of as good but supported by an evil underside.

Churches vs. ICE
Politico: Thousands of congregations have sued over a policy change that opens the door for ICE raids at houses of worship.

What Rachel Held Evans knew about not going to church*
Sojourners: “Braving the Truth” is a new book with a collection of blog posts by the late Rachel Held Evans.

The Spark

The hidden history of Native American enslavement
Indigenous slavery,* which lasted for centuries, has gone by many names. A new public history project wants us to see it for what it was, The New Yorker says.

*access is limited for nonsubscribers



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Most recent News & Ideas

Friday’s News & Ideas - 3/6/2026

  • Americans see fellows as morally bad
  • Other people’s children
  • Faithful at a human scale
  • Selma organizer dies
  • 2026 Oscars: faith vs. religion
  • Knitting helps kick harmful habits

Thursday’s News & Ideas - 3/5/2026

  • Is this a just war?
  • Report details abuse in R.I.
  • Anti-AIPAC group loses
  • Lent isn't stoic
  • Psychedelics pose risks
  • Key to better aging?

Wednesday’s News & Ideas - 3/4/2026

  • Southerners less religious
  • Non-Muslims in Iran
  • Church protestors prosecuted
  • Ancestral veneration is American
  • Enslaver’s property yields graves
  • The technological evolution of storytelling
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The Exploring Christian Practices Initiative aims to multiply opportunities and increase access to settings that help individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds explore and engage in Christian practices to address their spiritual interests and questions, find and build community with others, nourish their religious lives and grow in faith. 

An Interest Form and Letter of Interest are due March 25, 2026. Complete proposals are due May 18, 2026.

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