Unsettling Advent 2023, Day 6
Rev. Lauren Bennett reflects on her experience with a state execution this year and how faith requires us to bring softness to hard places while opening ourselves to meet Jesus in unlikely faces.
Unsettling Advent, Day 5
Many things have changed since ‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her’ was written, but not who receives the harshest punishments: those with the least social power.
Unsettling Advent 2023, Day 4
Pastor and hospice chaplain Melissa Bowers reminds us that in the long, horrifying legacy of state-sanctioned murder in the United States, a tiny pinprick of light has broken through.
Unsettling Advent 2023, Day 2
Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood reflects on how there is nothing pure about the death penalty process. It ensnares us all. So, where does hope fit in?
Unsettling Advent 2023, Day 1
Brian Kaylor reflects on state executions during Christmastime and the modern parallels with a biblical character we often leave out of our nativity sets and pageants.
The Return of Unsettling Advent
We’re excited to announce that Unsettling Advent is coming back again with new themes. Once again, we’ve assembled a fantastic group of writers to help us all consider Advent in light of issues from the news this year: state executions, political anxieties, and bloodshed in
Religious Leaders Gather in Louisiana for World Day Against the Death Penalty
To commemorate World Day Against the Death Penalty on Tuesday, a number of prominent religious leaders gathered in front of the Louisiana governor's mansion in Baton Rouge to urge clemency hearings for 55 people on the state's death row.
Vatican, Other Faith Leaders Join in Push for End of Death Penalty in Louisiana
‘We think that the clearing of Louisiana’s death row would be a monumental step towards the abolition of the death penalty,’ Vatican agency head said.
Death on the Campaign Trail
In the wake of the first Republican presidential primary debate, today's issue of A Public Witness takes a look at former and current politicians who believe the path to the Oval Office runs through the death chamber.
Missouri Set to Execute Man Suffering From Severe Mental Illness
Missouri plans to execute Johnny Johnson on August 1, a man so severely mentally ill that he believes Satan is using the state of Missouri to kill him and bring about the end of the world.