Weekly Roundup: July 18
Here’s the weekly roundup from A Public Witness. In addition to a report from the United Church of Christ’s general synod that is free for anyone to read, paid subscribers to A Public Witness received a look at some MAGA Christians pushing Epstein conspiracies.
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Top 5 at wordandway.org
One of the Last Remaining Christian Villages in Palestine Is Under Attack. Xavier Abu Eid wrote about settler violence against the Palestinian Christian village of Al-Taybeh.
Israeli Strike Hits Gaza Church, Killing 3 and Wounding Priest Who Was Close to Pope Francis. Every church in Gaza has been attacked since October 2023, but this week the territory’s only Catholic church suffered a deadly strike.
Review: Delivered Out of Empire. Robert D. Cornwall reviewed Delivered Out of Empire: Pivotal Moments in the Book of Exodus by Walter Brueggemann.
With Pete Hegseth in the Pews, a Christian Nationalist Church Plant Launches in DC. Jack Jenkins reported from the first church service of a new congregation in the nation’s capital.
Plaintiff in Refugee Ban Lawsuit, Pacito v. Trump, Arrives in North Carolina. A refugee whose resettlement to the U.S. was blocked by the Trump administration has been admitted after faith groups sued.
by Beau Underwood, Word&Way Contributing Editor
This past week, several thousand members (myself included) of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) gathered in Memphis, Tennessee, for the denomination’s general assembly. A major focus of the event, alongside worship and formation, was governance alterations and imagining how our tradition would live into evolving technological, structural, and missional possibilities.
Despite those intentions, the event revealed how much the politics and policy of the U.S. is disrupting the rhythms and priorities of church life. There were relatively few resolutions related to public witness on the business docket going into the assembly, likely because of the floor time needed for governance discussions. Recent events inspired the consideration and passage of three emergency resolutions:
Denouncing the recent tax and spending priorities enacted into law in H.R. 1.
Defending the dignity of immigrants and decrying current policies violating their rights.
Affirming a World Council of Churches statement deploring the plight of Palestinians, calling for change in policy, and seeking a just resolution to the conflict in Gaza.
The first resolution made clear the moral tradeoffs reflected in the legislation. It states that “because we believe in a gospel of welcome, compassion, and healing, we decry the expansion of immigration enforcement through a 265% increase to ICE while funding for Medicaid, rural hospitals, and nutrition programs is being gutted.”
Meanwhile the third resolution was notable for the language it used, with the general assembly condemning “the genocide in Gaza, permanent displacement of Palestinians, and illegal annexation of land as inconsistent with international law and our vision of peace and justice, urging the US and State of Israel to cease these actions and their support of them.”
In the Disciples tradition, the general assembly speaks to, not for, the denomination’s churches and members. These resolutions are a reminder that whenever the church gathers, its attention cannot solely be directed inward. Especially in these perilous times, faithfulness requires persistent attention to what’s going on beyond the church (or assembly) walls.
Other News of Note
Alena Smith and Julianna J. Thomson studied how Mike Johnson’s election as House speaker increased religious rhetoric used by House Republicans.
The head of Trump’s White House Faith Office, prosperity gospel preacher Paula White-Cain, organized a White House faith event with CEOs and business leaders. Presumably, Matthew 6:4 was not the chosen verse for the event.
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene thinks a cryptocurrency bill could help bring about the end-times “mark of the beast.”
Americans United for Separation of Church and State is seeking intervenor status in a federal case in order to defend the IRS’s political campaign activity ban (also called the “Johnson amendment”) after the IRS claims the rule doesn’t apply to houses of worship.
“The pulpit is for preaching the gospel — not endorsing candidates. … I want to be clear: We are defined by what Christ has called us to be, not by what others may now permit us to do or think we should do.” —Ohio Episcopal Bishop Anne B. Jolly, one of several Episcopal bishops urging clergy not to endorse candidates after Trump’s IRS believes churches can ignore the rule barring nonprofits from engaging in such partisan campaign behavior.
After a refugee who was born in Nepal was deported by the Trump administration to Bhutan (where he faced persecution) without his wife and children, he is now being cared for by a pastor in India.
A Hispanic pastor in Florida was arrested by immigration agents and deported to Guatemala after showing up for a scheduled immigration interview.
Rev. Tanya Lopez, senior minister at Downey Memorial Christian Church in California, wrote for USA Today about what it was like when “our sacred space became a site of state-sanctioned fear and violence” as masked immigration agents entered the church’s parking lot and threatened her and other clergy for intervening.
NPR spoke with faith leaders in Los Angeles about their plans for how to respond if immigration raids occur in houses of worship.
Obit: John MacArthur, conservative megachurch pastor and culture warrior.
Olivia Craighead of The Cut wrote about the conservative evangelical criticism of Joanna and Chip Gaines for casting a gay couple on a TV show.
Stephen Colbert appeared on The Spiritual Life show to talk about his Catholic faith, comedy, and the importance of the separation of church and state.
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