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This issue of A Public Witness goes inside the first meeting of the White House Religious Liberty Commission this week to warn about their effort to turn religious freedom upside down.

‘It is featured in over 40 different Christian hymnals and sung in churches all across America, not just during Black History Month or Juneteenth,’ said musician Theodore Thorpe III.

As survivors gathered Tuesday, they invited another congregation that knows the pain of murderous hatred to join them: members of the Tree of Life synagogue.

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Church

This issue of A Public Witness looks at an Episcopal Church resolution, a PC(USA) recommendation, and a regional UMC resolution to see how some mainline Protestant groups are wrestling — or not — with their own complicity in spreading Christian Nationalism.

The new statement of values, which passed with 80% support, is the first wholesale revision of the Unitarian Universalist covenant clause since 1987 and reflects over three years of feedback and discussions.

Wood will replace Foley Beach, who has been the archbishop of ACNA for a decade.

Nation

This issue of A Public Witness heads to the Cheese State to consider the church politicking of an Elon Musk-backed court hopeful.

Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area, a crucial resettlement agency, is in disarray. The organization is waiting on $3.7 million in federal reimbursements for work it has already provided.

This issue of A Public Witness looks at the U.S. government coming for a Palestinian student activist for exercising his free speech rights and the Christian and other religious voices speaking out for him.

World

After the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas launched a large, surprise attack on Israel on Saturday (Oct. 7), a Baptist who ministers in the Gaza Strip urged prayers amid the “unprecedented” conflict. More than 1,000 Israelis and Palestinians have been killed in just two days of fighting.

This issue of A Public Witness takes you on a journey to Lebanon to consider the living cedars in a land filled with the ruins of empires — including the magnificent Baalbek.

Many faith-based organizations opposed to abortion are fighting for PEPFAR, an AIDS program that some Republicans now claim provides abortion services.

Editorials

Brian KaylorAs a journalist, there are stories I love to write. Like the stories from the annual gathering of the Baptist World Alliance last month in Bangkok, Thailand. These types of events inspire

Brian KaylorIf Baptists have a guiding word it would likely be “cooperative” — at least in theory. Yet, it seems we no longer believe in the c-word. Many Baptist churches have a denominational

Brian KaylorA couple local public school ballot initiatives recently inspired me to go door-to-door with my wife and five-year-old son. I told my son to say “vote for J & C” to indicate

Word&Way Voices

“It was a personally moving experience,” said Amy Brown after visiting the house where her great uncle spent 36 years as a general surgeon in Jordan. Amy, married to the secretary general of Baptist World Alliance Elijah Brown, visited just one month after the passing of the elder Lovegren, who

Social worker Sophie Day writes that this Advent, she has not had the luxury of looking away from the hurt in this world as an execution date looms for another one of her clients on the Tenth Day of Christmas. In her work, but especially now, hope has to be

This Advent, Rev. Dr. Kristel Clayville wishes this for all of us: that we feel the deep connection with each other, the energy that it creates, and that we use that hope to transform the world. Hope is not a sign of naïveté in a world on fire but rather

E-Newsletter

This edition of A Public Witness looks at how denying the problem of Christian Nationalism or putting the blame on the shoulders of others avoids the discomfort of identifying our own complicity and having to alter our practices.

This issue of A Public Witness explores what it was like to edit the forthcoming book “Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism” from the perspective of a lifelong mainliner.

Given recent claims about how the Bible should guide U.S. policy decisions when it comes to Israel, this issue of A Public Witness reads through Scripture to determine how political leaders should treat various nations.

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Recent Episodes

Books

In her new book, Shannon Dingle writes about leaning into grief, accepting uncertainty, connecting to feelings, expressing hard truths, and getting psychological help.

In God Spare the Girls, Abigail and Caroline are the daughters of celebrity evangelical pastor Luke Nolan. While they aren’t always able to abide by scripture exactly, Abigail and Caroline more or less believe in their religion and their father

Beau Underwood reviews Bruce Reyes-Chow’s new book, ‘In Defense of Kindness: Why it Matters, How it Changes our Lives, and How it Can Save the World,’ praising how Reyes-Chow pushes back against superficial understandings of “kindness.”

Senior Editor Beau Underwood reviews the new book 'Praying with Our Feet: Pursuing Justice and Healing on the Streets' by Lindsay Krinks, a street chaplain and social justice activist in Nashville, Tennessee.