Thursday's News & Ideas - 10/24/2019

A church service inspired by Beyoncé, no halo required*
New York Times: The Beyoncé Mass explores how issues of race and gender impact the lives, voices and bodies of black women. (It’s not, however, about worshiping Beyoncé.)

Anti-Semitism tops American Jewish concerns in latest survey
Religion News Service: A first-of-its-kind survey from the American Jewish Committee finds that 88% of American Jews say anti-Semitism is a problem in the U.S. today.

Attorney General Barr preaches a secular law-and-order Christianity*
New York Magazine: The cold secular legalism of Barr’s approach to religion’s role in human life reinforces cultural conservatism -- replacing Law and Gospel with Law and Order.

Black Baptist church shaped Cummings’ commitment
Associated Press: To many black clergy, Maryland Rep. Elijah E. Cummings was more than a formidable orator, civil rights champion and passionate public servant, he was also one of them.

Cardinal says synod seeks to give women greater role in Church governance
Crux: Catholic bishops are not fully utilizing Church law to maximize the role of women in decision making capacities, Indian Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai said on Wednesday.

The Spark

I’ve got your back
When the unthinkable happened, a loving dog took the lead. Katie Hawkins-Gaar writes about her family in Garden & Gun.

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