Weekly Roundup: Dec. 5
Here’s the weekly roundup from A Public Witness. In addition to a report on preachers at Pentagon prayer services that is free for anyone to read, paid subscribers to A Public Witness received a look at a popular but false story about George Washington and prayer.
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Top 5 at wordandway.org
Standing in the Gap: Why World AIDS Day Matters More Than Ever. Christina Ray Stanton wrote about highlighting the global fight against AIDS as the Trump administration barred State Department employees from commemorating World AIDS Day.
Review: Serving God Under Siege. Robert D. Cornwall reviewed Serving God Under Siege: How War Transformed a Ukrainian Community by Valentyn Syniy.
African Christian Leaders and Health Nonprofits Seek to Fill Gaps After USAID Cuts. Frederick Nzwili reported on a gathering in Kenya of Christian leaders from 10 countries.
In Minneapolis, Clergy Mobilize to Manage Expected ICE Raids Targeting Somali Immigrants. As federal agents target a new city, clergy are once again showing up in opposition.
Faith Groups Join Other Death Penalty Opponents in New Campaign. Adelle M. Banks reported on a new effort to challenge capital punishment amid a spike in some states.
Unsettling Advent
Our Advent series started this week, with devotionals by Brian Kaylor, Matthew D. Taylor, Mara Richards Bim, David Rice, Jennifer Hawks, and Beau Underwood. You can sign up to receive the rest of the daily devotionals each morning in your inbox.
by Brian Kaylor, Word&Way Editor-in-Chief
A lot of churches have a cross out front, or maybe even three. But right now, there are nineteen white crosses on the lawn of University Heights Baptist Church in Springfield, Missouri. Each cross has the name and age of someone killed by gun violence in the community this year.
It’s an annual effort, with the crosses silently bearing witness throughout the month. On Dec. 21, the church will host “The Longest Night: A Service of Remembrance” to read the names, honor family members who attend, and say prayers for the community. The service ends with the congregation singing on the lawn among the crosses and inviting families to take the cross of their loved one.
“It’s symbolism for the darkness that people are walking through,” Rev. Nolan Porter, UHBC’s senior pastor, told the public radio station. “The darkness of their grief, the pain, the hurt that they’re experiencing. And then also all of these folks are experiencing or fixing to experience their first Christmas without this loved one with them, and so it’s very heavy.”
Other churches have offered a similar public witness to gun violence during this sacred season, like Gathering Baptist Church in Independence, Missouri, and Highland Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. It can be a powerful way of lamenting the violence today while also prophetically dreaming of a better world. A world where we experience the angelic promise of peace and goodwill.
Other News of Note
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Catholic Republican, said he didn’t think the state should mandate the posting of the Ten Commandments in public schools, explaining that he’s “a huge supporter of the Ten Commandments” but also “a huge supporter of making sure we have religious freedom in this country.” Two bills to require the posting of a highly gerrymandered version of the Ten Commandments have already been pre-filed for the 2026 session. A similar bill died earlier this year amid opposition from clergy.
The Ohio Senate passed a bill to allow the posting of the Ten Commandments in public schools.
Jason DeRose of NPR reported on immigrant congregations trying to find hope in Advent amid fear of ICE crackdowns.
Rev. Travis Norvell, pastor of Judson Memorial Baptist Church in Minneapolis, wrote for MS NOW about his Somali neighbors in light of President Donald Trump calling them “garbage” from hell.
During a Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the Pentagon, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth talked about the reason for the season before joking about killing people in boats off the coasts of Venezuela and Colombia.
“The end never justifies the means, which must be moral, in accord with the principles of the just war theory, and always respectful of the dignity of each human person. No one can ever be ordered to commit an immoral act, and even those suspected of committing a crime are entitled to due process under the law.” —Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, adding his voice to those concerned about the legality of U.S. strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea.
Amid suggestions from President Donald Trump that the U.S. will invade Venezuela, Pope Leo XIV criticized such rhetoric and urged a non-military response.
Daniel Silliman of The Roys Report wrote about the lawsuits against California megachurch pastor Greg Laurie from men who say they were sexually abused in Romanian orphanages that Laurie’s church founded.
G. Samantha Rosenthal wrote for Sojourners about the rise and decline of Metropolitan Community Churches, the largest gay denomination in the U.S.
Hark!, a seasonal podcast from the Catholic magazine America, each year looks at the stories behind four Christmas carols. The first episode this year explores “The Coventry Carol.”
Photo of the Week
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