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'The Supreme Court, not too far from here, decided that it was OK for Black folks to not deserve representation in Congress,' said its social justice commission co-chair.

This issue of A Public Witness documents several outlandish events beyond those named in a recent church-state lawsuit by employees or a complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

'I am sick and tired of waking up every morning to see another loved one is dead,' said Charlene Walker, head of Faith in New Jersey.

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Videos

Church

One of the most popular worship songs, ‘How Great Is Our God,’ has moved from churches to political rallies in recent years.

Jones is stepping down as president of Union Theological Seminary after 18 years. Her tenure has been defined by difficult, sometimes unpopular decisions that helped stabilize the institution even as mainline Protestantism declines.

Translating the Bible into Cherokee began early in the 19th century, shortly after Protestant missionaries arrived in the Cherokee Nation – centered mainly in what are now western North Carolina, north Georgia, and eastern Tennessee.

Nation

Jackson Lahmeyer, who founded Pastors for Trump and leads Sheridan Church in Tulsa, exchanged thousands of romantic text messages with a woman who is not his wife.

A new poll by PRRI shows two-thirds of Americans still prefer a nation made of many different faiths, despite the growth of Christian Nationalism in the public square.

'At the end of it, when we were just responding totally instinctually, we talked a lot about God,' Glover told RNS in a recent interview, referring to the Artemis II crew.

World

U.S. President Donald Trump has alleged without evidence that Christians are the primary targets in Nigeria. While Christians have been among those targeted, analysts say the majority of victims of armed groups are Muslims.

The worldwide Anglican Communion, which includes the Episcopal Church in the U.S., has no formal head, but the archbishop traditionally has been seen as its spiritual leader.

This issue of A Public Witness highlights important voices of opposition to imperial plotting from a variety of religious groups, ranging from Lutherans to Baptists, Anglicans, Catholics, and others.

Editorials

Word&Way Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on two memorials to an enslaved man on the campus of Samford University, and what this could teach us about telling the truth about the histories of our institutions and churches.

Brian Kaylor takes a moment to thank everyone for being part of our 2022 journey. This includes a quick review of the year — including a countdown of the top 10 most-read pieces we published in our award-winning newsletter A Public Witness in 2022.

Brian Kaylor reflects on the 1914 “Christmas truce” during World War I and why it he does not find it to be an inspiring take on what “peace on Earth” could look like today.

Word&Way Voices

The season of Advent urges us to slow down; to dwell in the fullness of God’s good news. God offers us life-affirming joy even as calamity follows crisis like an ever-unspooling tragedy.

It seems if we are to have an honest conversation about persecution against Christians, we should first and foremost consider the migrant who is our neighbor, who is made in God’s image, and who needs our collective voice and support right now.

As Christmas nears, may we continue to not run away from seeing the injustices in our communities. But hold that in tension with the joy that we should all be feeling as we anticipate Jesus’s birth.

E-Newsletter

A court of appeals ruling just overturned Supreme Court precedent on posting the Ten Commandments in public schools — and the majority opinion conscripted a legendary colonial Baptist figure who fought for church-state separation to justify their actions.

The story about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reading a prayer based on a scene in a Quentin Tarantino film really did go viral in the U.S. and elsewhere. And it all started with our newsletter A Public Witness.

In addition, ‘The Surprising Story of How Speaker Johnson Read a Fake Jefferson Prayer’ won the magazine feature category and Best in Class for Writing for Periodicals and our Unsettling Advent devotionals won the editorial series category and Best in Class for Specialized Writing.

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Recent Episodes

Books

For this issue of A Public Witness, we briefly highlight 15 of our favorite recent books beyond those from our longer giveaway reviews. It can be a great resource for gifts or your own wishlist.

In this eyewitness account, Valentyn Syniy recounts how the Russian invasion of Ukraine upended life for students, teachers, and staff in a seminary community.

Two recent books, each co-authored by two pastors, offer insight to church leaders who feel stuck and congregations struggling to muster hope in a time where maintaining a successful religious community is more difficult than ever.

Through honest storytelling, spiritual reflection, and practical wisdom gained from a pilgrimage journey, Andy and Kara Root offer parents and pastors a refreshing alternative to the exhausting cycle of trying to control outcomes.