Wednesday's News & Ideas - 10/6/2021

SBC committee waives privilege after bitter debate, moving abuse investigation forward
Religion News Service: Ending weeks of debate, the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee voted Tuesday (Oct. 5) to waive attorney-client privilege as part of an investigation of how Southern Baptist leaders have handled issues of sexual abuse in recent decades.
Associated Press: Southern Baptist panel to open legal records for abuse probe

‘This is the moment of shame,’ pope says about France abuse report
Reuters: Pope Francis said he was saddened and ashamed by the Catholic Church’s inability to deal with sexual abuse of children in France and that the Church must make itself a “safe home for everyone.”

Ruffled feathers: Wild Goose Festival is a case study in how hard it is to disentangle from white supremacy – even when you want to
Baptist News Global: Despite intentionally seeking out persons of color to be keynotes and to serve as board members, the Goose suffers from the ailment all too common to many progressive Christian spaces – overwhelming whiteness.

After pastor evicts nearly 200 migrants, his brother welcomes them all*
The New York Times: An evangelical minister in a Mexico border town had let dozens of migrant families live in his church. When he ousted most of them, his brother across the way invited the outcasts into his home.

The beauty of representation in children’s books*
The Christian Century: “I was a child who loved to read. But I didn’t see a lot of characters that looked like me.”

The Spark

Hanging out with Joan Didion: What I learned about writing from an American master
“I’ve interviewed her many times for publications over the years…and found that the habits and practices she described could be helpful in developing and sharpening one’s own writing,” writes Sarah Davidson for Lit Hub.

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