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The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is ending a half-century of partnerships serving refugees and migrant children, saying the “heartbreaking” decision follows the Trump administration’s abrupt halt to funding.

The clergy-led gathering stood in defiance of ICE policies, drawing on shared interfaith values and representing Jewish, Mennonite, Catholic, Baptist, and Unitarian congregations.

Fleck, a former probation officer turned pastor, was one of the leading voices against efforts to put Trump Bibles in schools.

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Videos

Church

The kerfuffle over Leatherwood's status, which played out in competing press releases from ERLC leaders, is the latest controversy for the SBC's public policy arm.

Many U.S. churches close their doors each year, typically with little attention. But the closure of Ryan Burge’s First Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, has a poignant twist.

A fire all but destroyed the historic church sanctuary at First Baptist Dallas, sending smoke billowing over the city but causing no deaths or injuries, Dallas firefighters said.

Nation

In the category, Carter beat out Barbra Streisand, George Clinton, Dolly Parton, and producer guy Oldfield.

Airport chaplain Nace Lanier, among the first to respond to the midair collision near Washington's airport, joined a team ‘to holistically care for the hurting and confused.’

A small but influential group of evangelicals argues that enforcing the law is as important as mercy, and has come to see Christian charities as the enemy.

World

Francis added his voice to increasing calls for binding, global regulation of AI in his annual message for the World Day of Peace, which the Catholic Church celebrates each Jan. 1.

As the world-famous Paris landmark's reopening draws closer, people are beginning to picture their return to the place they call home and are impatient to breathe life back into its repaired stonework and vast spaces.

A tiny Christian minority sitting on one of the Holy Land's most valuable pieces of real estate has rebelled against a real-estate deal that would sacrifice nearly 25% of its land in Jerusalem.

Editorials

We are a nation led by people crossing by on the other side of the road.

To experience the Bahamas -- where this year's Baptist World Alliance annual meeting was held -- means more than just hanging out on the beach. This is a country, after all, where income inequality means most citizens can’t afford to spend a week at one of the lush resorts on

Over the past few years, some Christians have reduced the concept of religious liberty to merely serve as a counter-value to the rights of LGBTQ persons. This misinterpretation of what religious liberty actually means hurts the historic freedom to practice our faith.

Word&Way Voices

Sociologist and educator Dr. Nabil Tueme uses Springtide Research Institute’s latest research report “Navigating Injustice: A Closer Look at Race, Faith & Mental Health” to argue that when faith leaders ignore racial/ethnic identity, this makes young people of color feel misunderstood and unwelcome.

Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy writes that we will never understand conservative evangelicals until we understand the theological construction of the dominant trope that "Democrats are devils." This has become the most successful propaganda campaign in American politics.

Rev. Darron LaMonte Edwards writes that he is feeling weary from the announcement that another unarmed Black man was killed. But as a Christian community, we cannot afford to get tired of speaking up for victims like Tyre Nichols. This problem has solutions.

E-Newsletter

Before Southern Baptists gather for their annual meeting next week, this issue of A Public Witness offers some helpful context to explain how we got to the point where Donald Trump and Mike Pence — both speaking during the event — represent different wings of the SBC.

We’ve once again asked several Word&Way writers to each offer two books perfect for curling up with at the beach, on your couch, or in your backyard as you listen to the singing of the cicadas.

“Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism” has officially launched — check out the conversation we had to celebrate with Dr. Diana Butler Bass, Rev. Adriene Thorne, and Dr. Andrew Whitehead.

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Recent Episodes

Books

Robert D. Cornwall reviews What Do We Do When Nobody Is Listening?: Leading the Church in a Polarized Society by Robin W. Lovin. This book, written by a United Methodist minister and Christian ethicist, tackles the question of how churches

Robert D. Cornwall reviews Azusa Reimagined: A Radical Vision of Religious and Democratic Belonging by Keri Day. The book explores how the Azusa Street Revival that began in Los Angeles in 1906 served as the foundation of Pentecostalism and the

Robert D. Cornwall reviews Freeing Jesus: Rediscovering Jesus as Friend, Teacher, Savior, Lord, Way, and Presence by Diana Butler Bass. This book is her attempt to free Jesus from the captivity she has experienced in life and in doing so

We review a book each month at A Public Witness and for this installment, Beau Underwood examines and recommends Beth Allison Barr's The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth. He also discusses some