Thursday’s News & Ideas - 11/20/2025

Global Anglican ties are under stress. It’s unclear if they’re at the breaking point 
The Associated Press: While the conservative coalition known as “Gafcon” announced its break in October, several member churches have remained silent on the plan weeks after it was announced. How many church provinces go along with the rupture remains to be seen.

Clergy sue feds over restriction on providing religious services to immigrants held at Broadview ICE facility 
Chicago Sun-Times: The group has attempted to provide communion for detainees at the facility, but were denied, with officials citing “safety and security concerns,” according to the lawsuit. The group is now suing the government, arguing the denial is a violation of the First Amendment. 

As more Catholic churches close, Philadelphia is trying something new 
NPR: The Catholic Church is facing aging congregations, fewer priests and financial strain. In many places, this has meant closing parishes. But in Philadelphia, they’re trying something different: listening groups and missionary hubs.

Virginia’s Episcopal bishop says diocese identified sources for $10M reparations fund  
Religion News Service: The announcement came after former Racial Reparations Task Force members expressed doubts over the diocese’s commitment to deliver on its 2021 promise and uncertainty about its ability to secure funding. 

How the Plymouth Pilgrims took over Thanksgiving – and who history left behind 
The Conversation: The emphasis on the Pilgrims’ 1620 landing and 1621 feast erased a great deal of religious history and narrowed conceptions of who belongs in America, writes a historian of religion.

The Spark

Rosalía’s ‘Lux’ is a god-haunted masterpiece
As the cover art — featuring the international pop star* in a white nun’s habit — suggests, the album really is about God. In interviews, she speaks about drawing inspiration from hagiographies of female saints across the major world religions. But the album doesn’t quite fit inside all the discourse that surrounds it, including the religious kind, writes Sojourners.

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