Monday's News & Ideas - 7/19/2021
- Churches done with buildings
- Mass shooting liturgy
- Master’s degree scam?
- Name change ceremony
- Vatican sex abuse trial
- What to do about Audubon
These churches are done with buildings. Here’s why
Deseret News: These two congregations went virtual during the pandemic and neither pastor wants to go back. Do American congregations actually need churches to build communities?
Denominations have begun creating special prayers for fatal mass shootings*
The Washington Post: Written by an Episcopal priest for the bishops, the prayer service was constructed with the cruel assumption of its growth, with additional shootings that result in more than four deaths continually added at the end.
Master’s degrees are the second biggest scam in higher education*
Slate: Elite universities deserve a huge share of the blame.
Church in Norway marks name change for transgender person
Associated Press: A Lutheran church in Norway has held a name change ceremony for a 49-year-old transgender person in what officials said marked the first such event in a place of worship in the Nordic country.
Vatican sex abuse trial ends with call for six-year sentence for priest*
The New York Times: Gabriele Martinelli was accused of repeatedly abusing a fellow boarder at a seminary for altar boys before he became a priest. The seminary’s rector has been accused of looking the other way.
The Spark
What do we do about John James Audubon?
The founding father of American birding soared on the wings of white privilege, J. Drew Lanham writes at Audubon Magazine. The birding community and organizations that bear his name must grapple with this racist legacy to create a more just, inclusive world.
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