Wednesday’s News & Ideas - 8/27/2025

Christian groups helped millions after Katrina* 
Christianity Today: When federal aid was slow or nonexistent, volunteers sacrificed to serve.

Clergy rally to defend Kilmar Abrego García as he is detained by ICE 
Religion News Service: “God is with us, and God will never leave us,” Abrego told the crowd gathered at ICE’s Baltimore field office, before being taken into custody. “God will bring justice to all of the injustice that we are suffering.” 
Baptist News Global: Trump seeks to punish García for resisting, his attorney says.

‘A day of joy’: historic church relocation captivates the world 
Religion Unplugged: Part of a larger 30-year project to relocate the Arctic city of Kiruna to safer ground, the sight of a Swedish church on the move attracted attention worldwide.

Around DC, congregations aid those who’ve lost the ‘good government job’ 
Religion News Service: “You worry: Oh, these resources are going to dry up after a while,” said an attendee of a church’s job-hunting workshop, “or just people's attention moves on.”

What happened after Jemar Tisby started a network for Black Christians?* 
Sojourners: Tisby reflects on ending Pass the Mic — the podcast he co-created as a way to give Black voices a place at the Reformed and evangelical table, on being pushed out of these spaces, and on what comes next.

The Spark

What brain surgery taught me about the fragile gift of consciousness 
After the trauma of a high-risk medical procedure, Eric Markowitz discovered a kind of consciousness that lives not in thought — but in presence, writes Big Think.

*access is limited for nonsubscribers