Thursday’s News & Ideas - 2/13/2025

As Trump officials demonize faith-based partners, government grants are called heresy 
Religion News Service: Faith groups have long received government grants to feed the hungry, respond to disasters and assist those in need, but recent comments from Trump administration officials have cast such grants in a bad light.

Church of England refuses call for gluten-free wafers and non-alcoholic wine 
The Guardian: Synod was asked to bring in alternatives for Eucharist, but says believers can still take part without consuming both.

Ukrainian Christians plead with Trump administration* 
Christianity Today: Ukraine sent its largest-ever delegation to Washington, DC, last week to rally support for more military defense and plead with Donald Trump not to pull the plug and make a deal that favors Russia.

Common App welcomes community colleges* 
Inside Higher Ed: The Common App is inviting a cohort of community colleges to its platform for the first time in the hopes of serving a wider pool of applicants. The initiative is a decade in the making.

Whether Christians should prioritize care for migrants as much as for fellow citizens has been debated for centuries 
The Conversation: Some Christian thinkers have adopted the terms “cosmopolitan” vs. “communitarian” as a helpful way to understand Christian ethical debates over how to prioritize caring for people who are more closely connected or less connected to us.

The Spark

Authors Against Book Bans helped defeat attempted library censorship in Florida
Authors Against Book Bans is a coalition of writers, illustrators and other book people who are working to fight censorship and protect access to literature across the country, writes Lit Hub. They believe that knowledge is power.

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