Monday's News & Ideas - 4/11/2022

Asian Americans are ‘bringing heaven to earth’ by fighting racism
Sojourners: This spring marks one year since mass shootings in Atlanta and Indianapolis killed Korean, Chinese, and Sikh Americans.

Renewing faith, or losing it, in the time of COVID-19*
Los Angeles Times: The last two years have transformed the stability of our families, our jobs and our collective understanding of science and sacrifice. But, for many of us, COVID-19’s reach also rewired something more elemental: our faith.

Hillsong founder Brian Houston says megachurch ‘losing its soul’ after it makes his wife redundant
The Guardian: Houston, who resigned as global senior pastor last month, attacks church he founded in online post.

Chicago church’s plan to fast from ‘whiteness’ for Lent gets pushback
Religion News Service: News of First United Church of Oak Park’s plan to ‘fast from whiteness’ for Lent drew so many responses, many of them critical, that its website crashed.

US life expectancy continues historic decline with another drop in 2021, study finds
CNN: Life expectancy in the United States took another hit in 2021, furthering a dramatic decline from 2020 that was the largest since World War II, according to a new report.

The Spark

These birds aren’t lost. They’re adapting.
Bird-watchers love to see vagrants,* or birds that have traveled far outside their range. But scientists say they have a lot to teach us in a world facing ecological change, The New York Times says.

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