Thursday's News & Ideas - 2/24/2022
- Burnout and breakthrough in COVID
- Welcoming the stranger
- Amistad Chapel holds last service
- SBC apologizes to assault victim
- The cost of reparations
- Making fruitcake for my father
For clergy, COVID-19 has brought both burnout and breakthrough
Religion News Service: After two years of a global pandemic, rabbis, pastors and other congregational leaders have given up predicting the future. Some say they are exhausted. Some are thinking about quitting. Others, while they are weary and the future is uncertain, say the pandemic has also brought opportunities for ministry and growth.
My synagogue was attacked, but I will never stop welcoming the stranger*
New York Times: I opened the doors of my synagogue and unknowingly welcomed the individual who would later attack me and my fellow congregants. That I opened the door will always weigh heavily on me. Still, I remain committed to the idea of welcoming and caring for the stranger and living that value, writes the rabbi of Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas.
Details of last Amistad Chapel service coming together around movement, inclusiveness, collaboration
UCC News: As the United Church of Christ plans to move from its headquarters of more than 30 years, the Amistad Chapel will host its last worship service on March 13. The chapel conveys the story of the Amistad rebellion of 1839, when captives aboard a schooner mutinied against human traffickers — and were eventually aided in their freedom fight by ancestors of today’s UCC.
SBC Executive Committee publicly apologizes to sexual abuse survivor
Baptist News Global: In a stunning reversal of course, the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee acknowledged its own mishandling of a report of sexual abuse and publicly apologized to the survivor in a statement by Chairman Rolland Slade.
What reparations is costing my church
Sojourners: As our city pilots one of the first reparations programs in the country, we have been wrestling with what restoration and healing mean for our church, writes the senior minister of the predominantly white Lake Street Church of Evanston, Illinois.
The Spark
Making fruitcake for my father as an act of optimism
A year in fruitcake means a year soaking in hope and optimism. Committing to the cakes meant believing that we would all see some semblance of survival, writes Alana Dao.
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