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Newly strained finances are just one reality that Latino immigrant churches are adjusting to as the Trump administration accelerates a promised mass deportation campaign and other aggressive changes to immigration policy.

This issue of A Public Witness explores what the ending of a significant comedy institution means in light of the fact that Stephen Colbert is one of the most prominent Christians in popular culture today.

Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell reflects on the connections between jazz, supporting young people, church life, and the kingdom of God.

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Church

After years of scrambling to preserve the community and the church’s mission during renovations, the church now wants to get back to its social justice work.

In a March 27 executive order, Trump alleged that Smithsonian exhibits had disparaged the nation's history via a ‘divisive, race-centered ideology.’

This issue of A Public Witness explores an intra-Catholic Easter weekend as well as multiple Easter sermons from progressive ministers around the United States.

Nation

The IRS hopes to settle a lawsuit brought by a pair of Texas churches and a group of religious broadcasters over rules that bar houses of worship and other nonprofits from getting involved in political campaigns.

The decision gives Haitian migrants ‘a little bit of relief,’ said Springfield, Ohio-based Pastor Viles Dorsainvil, one of the plaintiffs.

A group of 33 parents, teachers, and faith leaders asked the state’s highest court to block the controversial new standards, which dictate what topics public schools must teach starting in the 2025-26 academic year.

World

Travis Timmerman of Urbana, Missouri, said he had gone to Syria on a Christian pilgrimage and was not ill-treated while in Palestine Branch, a notorious detention facility operated by Syrian intelligence.

The pope’s appeal was made for the World Day of Peace, coinciding with the launch of the 2025 Jubilee year.

The pro-Palestinian creche is intended to point out the disconnect between the idealized Bethlehem of most representations and the reality in present-day Gaza and the West Bank.

Editorials

Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor responds to a claim by Al Mohler of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary that Methodists who disagree on LGBTQ issues are from “two different religions.” Perhaps Mohler is right.

Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on preachers spreading anti-vaccination messages amid a continuing COVID pandemic. Kaylor also highlights the medical and biblical wisdom of Francis Collins of the National Institutes of Health.

Editor Brian Kaylor reflects on the guilty verdicts in the trial of Derek Chauvin and the concept of justice. Kaylor argues that while holding someone accountable for murdering George Floyd is a step toward justice, we must not confuse it with justice itself.

Word&Way Voices

Palestinian journalist Daoud Kuttab documents how a leading evangelical group recently took a bold step away from pro-Trump American evangelicals.

Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell reflects on ancient understandings of the heart and how they relate to our modern grief.

Daoud Kuttab reflects on a gathering that took place as the war in Gaza — where at least 23 Christians have been killed — has alienated many Palestinian Christians, who feel their co-religionists around the globe have abandoned them.

E-Newsletter

The letter follows a contentious hearing over Senate Bill 594 last week that several ministers attended to testify against the proposal.

This issue of A Public Witness takes you inside a contentious hearing in the Missouri Senate, offers context for Ten Commandments mandates spreading across the country, and highlights the strong Christian opposition to an attempted Christian Nationalist power grab.

This issue of A Public Witness takes you inside a recent academic gathering to hear from some of the nation’s leading scholars as they offer ways to push back against a dangerous ideology.

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Recent Episodes

Books

In "Mornings with Schleiermacher: A Devotional Inspired by the Father of Modern Theology," Chad Bahl seeks to introduce a contemporary audience to the theological ideas of Friedrich Schleiermacher, one of the most important Christian theologians of the nineteenth century.

In "Hebrews (Commentaries for Christian Formation)," New Testament scholar Amy Peeler offers insights into Christology, the relationship between Judaism and Christianity, and the letter’s canonical resonances.

In "Irreverent Prayers: Talking to God When You’re Seriously Sick," Episcopal priests Elizabeth Felicetti and Samantha Vincent-Alexander offer readers a more candid way of communicating with God.

Theologian and pastor Ross Kane articulates a vision of how Christians can engage in public life that begins with the premise that all politics is local.