Tuesday's Catch: 'Advocates reeling as Trump shuts down legal refugee entry' And More

Advocates reeling as Trump shuts down legal refugee entry
On “day one,” President Donald Trump shut the door on legal immigration of well-vetted refugees into the United States. While much of Trump’s anti-immigrant campaign rhetoric focused on what he called “illegal” immigrants — people he uniformly equated with crime and disease — this Jan. 20 executive order goes much further and shuts down a part of the nation’s immigration system even evangelical leaders had begged him not to harm.

Letter from Episcopal Church leaders on Trump administration immigration executive orders
"Even as we gave thanks for a peaceful transfer of power, we learned from news reports that the new presidential administration has issued a series of executive orders that are a harbinger of President Trump’s pledge to deport undocumented immigrants at a historic scale, restrict asylum, and direct other immigration actions. We read this news with concern and urge our new president and congressional leaders to exercise mercy and compassion, especially toward law-abiding, long-term members of our congregations and communities; parents and children who are under threat of separation in the name of immigration enforcement; and women and children who are vulnerable to abuse in detention and who fear reporting abuse to law enforcement."

Do You Really Remember What Took Place in Churches During COVID?
Though COVID is still mentioned frequently, many of the detailed memories have disappeared. Thom and Sam recall six very specific developments in churches during COVID based upon hundreds of stories from members of Church Answers. They share what we can learn from them today.

Embracing Latino Spirituality
Latinos are often seen primarily as a demographic solution — a potential means to bolster numbers and build diversity. This perspective, however, reduces a vibrant culture and its rich spiritual life to mere statistics, overlooking the profound spiritual depth that Latinos bring. To genuinely address the church’s challenges, we must move beyond this narrow focus on demographic contributions and recognize the cultural and spiritual wealth inherent in the Latino community. Our role is not just to increase numbers, but to foster genuine relationships and true inclusivity.

Seeds of Religious Freedom: The 500th Anniversary of the Anabaptist Movement
As snow fell on Zurich’s narrow streets on January 21, 1525, a group of young Swiss reformers huddled inside Felix Manz’s home in the shadow of the Grossmünster cathedral. The air outside was frozen, but the room was filled with fervent prayer and intense discussion. This was a forbidden gathering. Zurich’s city council had prohibited these men from convening for Bible study. The edict was to no avail. The smallest seeds of religious freedom had already been sown. By the end of the night, the first Reformation-era believers’ church was born.

Against Executive Pastors
For churches of a similar size and wealth to the aforementioned leafy London church, an increasingly popular hire has been an Executive Pastor. They have become somewhat ubiquitous in churches of a certain size and evangelical lilt. Now, I have been in a number of churches with EPs, and this is not to say that those men have not been gifted or productive in the life of those churches. Yet I find the role somewhat superfluous conceptually.

What Happens at the Prayer Meeting? 

Each Sunday night we have a prayer meeting. The church gathers, there is singing, a short exhortation from a passage of Scripture, and then we pray through that passage of Scripture. That is how the prayer meeting happens. I want to tell you what happens at the prayer meeting.

Hundreds of churches offer warm spaces this winter
As winter continues to bite, hundreds of churches across the country are opening their doors each week to offer a warm space to people struggling to keep their heating on. There are 485 Church of England churches offering warm spaces this winter, many of them with food and activities to help build community.