Tuesday's News & Ideas - 4/25/2023

‘It’s time for another fight.’ Barber and Moral Monday protesters return to NC Capitol*
Charlotte Observer: The Rev. William J. Barber II led a rally outside the North Carolina Legislative Building Monday to mark the 10-year anniversary of the protests, which began as a backlash against conservative state laws and have grown into a national campaign.

As Israel turns 75, we should celebrate by fighting for it to live up to its ideals
Jewish Telegraphic Agency: Those of us who care about the future of Israel, and who dream of a state rooted in democracy and human rights, must mark this 75th anniversary by fighting for that vision, writes Rabbi Jill Jacobs.
Religion News Service: What Israel restored to the Jewish people

Diverse Christian poets supply National Poetry Month reading for questing spirits
National Catholic Reporter: In “Christian Poetry in America Since 1940: An Anthology,” the writers have undergone pain and challenges to belief yet they remain within or around the fold, rendering their experience with craft, in well-wrought language.

SatanCon, poking at religion and government, opens this weekend in Boston
NBC News: The mostly lighthearted convention will celebrate the 10th year of the Satanic Temple, a progressive church that doesn’t worship the devil but instead uses the word to get attention.

How do you stay optimistic in spite of it all? 6 hopeful souls share their secrets
NPR: Six innovators and entrepreneurs at the Skoll World Forum shared what gives them cause to be hopeful — why they find themselves smiling in spite of everything.

The Spark

Researchers find hidden markings on the Stone of Destiny, sacred slab used in British coronations
The block of red sandstone, which will be placed in the Coronation Chair at Charles III’s crowning next week, has long been shrouded in mystery and myth. But a new analysis of the stone is offering researchers insights on its origins, says Smithsonian Magazine.

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