Wednesday's News & Ideas - 2/23/2022
- SCOTUS takes up LGBTQ case
- Ukrainian Jews struggle
- Clergy shortage looms
- Beware clergy scams
- Parents are not OK
- Memories of Paul Farmer
U.S. Supreme Court takes up clash between religion and LGBT rights
Reuters: The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday took up a major new legal fight pitting religious beliefs against LGBT rights, agreeing to hear an evangelical Christian web designer's free speech claim that she cannot be forced to produce websites for same-sex marriages.
Bloomberg: U.S. Supreme Court spurns bid for religious opt-out from vaccine rule
As Russian invasion threat looms, charities find it harder to support Ukraine’s Jews
The Times of Israel: As tensions rise on the Ukraine-Russia border, humanitarian organizations warn that elderly and impoverished Ukrainian Jews, including thousands of Holocaust survivors, are facing new challenges as a result of the potential conflict.
The great American clergy shortage is coming
Relevant: Religious groups across the country are currently witnessing its clergy members step down from the pulpit without a replacement ready to take their spot in vast numbers.
Wall Street Journal: Houses of worship face clergy shortage as many resign during pandemic*
The growing problem of clergy scams
Deseret News: Fraudsters are increasingly targeting people of faith. Here’s what worshippers should watch out for.
The parents (who used to come to your church) are not okay
Word & Way: What might bring parents back through the doors? “Being asked to come back. As far as we know, our absence hasn’t been noted, a silence that makes space for us to wonder if anyone misses us.” writes Lauren Graeber. “I’d recommend texting. The parents are not okay and they do not like to answer calls.”
The Spark
With love and tears: My first and last memories of Dr. Paul Farmer
Dr. Paul Farmer, who died this week, had made a promise to stand with the most destitute in a community in central Haiti, struggling to provide what the Jesuits have called a "preferential option for the poor." For Paul that meant access to care we would want for our mother or our brothers. We could hear it in his voice and feel it in his presence, writes Dr. Sriram Shamasunder.
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