News & Ideas

Wednesday's News & Ideas - 6/3/2020

  • Trump’s temptation
  • Trump photo-op is about power
  • Trump visits Catholic shrine
  • Evangelicals praise Trump
  • COVID vs. religious freedom
  • Remembering Big Floyd

The last temptation of Trump*
New York Times: The president brandishes a Bible in front of a church, in search of a divine mandate that isn’t coming.

Trump's religious photo-ops aren't about piety. They're about power
CNN: Where other presidents came to pray, Donald Trump came to pose.

Washington Archbishop condemns Trump’s visit to Catholic shrine
HuffPost: Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory said he finds it “baffling and reprehensible” that a Catholic facility would allow itself to be “manipulated” in this way.

‘He wears the armor of God’: evangelicals hail Trump's church photo op
The Guardian: The president’s appeal to his base amid protests was derided by some Christians. Others saw a victory in a world of evil.

For most churchgoers, controversy between religious freedom and public health is not real
USA Today: Amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, partisans and our political process may be turning the freedom of religion into a threat to public health.

The Spark

‘He shook the world’: George Floyd’s legendary Houston legacy
Before a police officer killed him, Big Floyd was a rapper in Texas, The Rolling Stone says. Now, the musicians that knew him are left to reflect on his life in Houston -- and what comes next.

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Lilly logo

Lilly Endowment Inc. announces Exploring Christian Practices Initiative

The Exploring Christian Practices Initiative aims to multiply opportunities and increase access to settings that help individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds explore and engage in Christian practices to address their spiritual interests and questions, find and build community with others, nourish their religious lives and grow in faith. 

In this open and competitive initiative, the Endowment invites charitable organizations to submit proposals for grants of up to $2.5 million each that may be used for up to a five-year period to develop new and/or enhance existing programs that present promising strategies for advancing the aim of the initiative and provide compelling and thoughtful responses to its guiding questions. The Endowment anticipates awarding approximately 60 grants and announcing grant awards in December 2026.

The Endowment will host four virtual information sessions (February 17, 19, 24, and 25) to discuss the Exploring Christian Practices guidelines for submitting a proposal. An Interest Form and Letter of Interest are due March 25, 2026. Complete proposals are due May 18, 2026.

Learn More and register for information sessions