As storm cripples Texas' energy grid, people of faith rally to help
Weekend Plug-in 🔌
Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Subscribe now to get this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com.
(ANALYSIS) Texas likes to brag that it’s “like a whole other country.”
I don’t suppose, though, that whoever came up with that slogan had Siberia in mind.
As a severe winter storm crippled the state’s energy grid this week, my parents were among 4 million residents who lost electricity. Mom and Dad endured a really chilly night before going to stay at my sister’s house for a few days.
Heroes (think “Mattress Mack”) and villains (#FlyingTed) have emerged, while people of faith — as they tend to do during disasters — rally to help.
A car drives in the snow in Dallas. Photo by Matthew T. Rader, via Wikimedia Commons.
Here at ReligionUnplugged.com, Jillian Cheney tells the inspiring story of a church that partnered with a Jeep club to rescue snowed-in families.
Houses of worship losing power themselves hampered some efforts to provide reliable sanctuary, but “leaders are doing all they can to connect and comfort their communities,” Christianity Today’s Kate Shellnutt reports.
Churches and other faith groups teamed up to help open an emergency warming center for the homeless at a Dallas convention center, Religion News Service’s Bob Smietana notes.
Catholic churches in San Antonio and Fort Worth opened their doors, according to the Catholic News Agency’s Jonah McKeown.
Among others mobilizing to help: Southern Baptists, Churches of Christ and Episcopalians.
Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads
1. A congregation of avatars: A few pastors minister “to the wild universe of virtual reality, or VR for short,” this fascinating feature by World magazine’s Juliana Chan Erikson explains.
“Churches that meet in virtual reality allow users, represented by digital characters known as ‘avatars,’ to walk through ‘worlds’ designed to look like churches,” Erikson writes. “Avatars can sit in a pew, listen to a preacher, and talk with each other afterward — all without the need for masks, social distancing, or Zoom.”
2. The Christian prophets who say Trump is coming again: Last month, veteran religion writer Julia Duin wrote a viral piece for ReligionUnplugged.com on charismatics at war with each other over failed prophecies of a Trump victory in the 2020 election.
Her latest story — this time for Politico — delves deeper into that subject.
A related must read: New York Times religion writer Ruth Graham’s front-page coverage from last Friday on what happens when Christian prophets are wrong.
3. Ash Wednesday rituals tweaked for coronavirus as Christians are reminded of death: Catholic and Protestant leaders adjusted practices to avoid the spread of the coronavirus, as highlighted by the Washington Post’s Sarah Pulliam Bailey.
There was even an app for celebrating Ash Wednesday, Religion News Service’s Emily McFarlan Miller reports. Churches found innovative ways to get ashes to members, notes the Columbus Dispatch’s Danae King.
Here in my home city of Oklahoma City, Ash Wednesday crowds were not deterred by snow or freezing temperatures, according to The Oklahoman’s Carla Hinton.
Read more coverage from The Tennessean’s Holly Meyer, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Sophie Carson and the Delaware News Journal’s Ryan Cormier.
More Top Reads
• With his mentors dying, a young Catholic priest tries to save his diocese from COVID-19 (by Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times)
• ‘How many funerals will come out of this one?’ (by Patrick Kingsley, New York Times)
• Amid increasing secularization and waning influence, can the Black church evolve? (by Mya Jaradat, Deseret News)
• Catholic priests accused of sex abuse increasingly use defamation lawsuits to fight allegations (by Deena Yellin, USA Today)
• Religion and the death penalty collide at the Supreme Court (by Jessica Gresko, Associated Press)
• On social media, vaccine misinformation mixes with extreme faith (by Elizabeth Dwoskin, Washington Post)
• Eric Metaxas believes America is creeping toward Nazi Germany (by Emma Green, The Atlantic)
• ‘Horrible’: Witnesses recall massacre in Ethiopian holy city (by Cara Anna, AP)
• Tithes rise during COVID, defying expectations of widespread church collapse (by Mike Ellis, Greenville News)
• COVID-fatigued communities prepare for a distanced Purim (by Shira Hanau, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
• Buddhist temple food pantry a lifeline for Nepalese students (by Luis Andres Henao and Jessie Wardarski, AP)
Inside The Godbeat: Behind The Bylines
After eight years as CNN’s religion editor, Daniel Burke recently announced his departure.
This week, he revealed that he’s joining Tricycle, a Buddhist magazine, as a contributing editor.
In other Godbeat news, The Associated Press is seeking an intern to work for six months on its religion team.
Charging Station: In Case You Missed It
Here is where you can catch up on recent news and opinions from Religion Unplugged.
• Berliners debate renaming street honoring 'Nazi' pope after Israel's only female PM (by Gil Zohar)
• Did the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol involve Christian 'heresy' or was it 'apostasy'? (by Richard Ostling)
• Americans say religion is more central to their identity than politics (by Ryan Burge)
• PBS documentary 'The Black Church' paints unique and spiritual history through gospel music (by Jillian Cheney)
• One-fifth of Black Americans not affiliated with any religion, straying from majority Black churches (by Mattie Townson)
• Myanmar's asylum seekers in Malaysia face uncertain deportation to military regime (by Alexandra Radu)
• New book by church historian explains tensions between Biden and U.S. bishops (by Christopher White)
• Biden re-establishes White House Office for Faith-Based Partnerships (by Chelsea Langston Bombino)
• Israel issue complicates anti-Semitism definition — possibly haunting Biden's work in the Middle East (by Ira Rifkin)
The Final Plug
Even after giving $1 million to coronavirus research, Dolly Parton insisted on waiting to get a shot “until some more people get theirs.”
Now, she’s telling Tennessee lawmakers to stop “any and all consideration” of a bill to erect a statue of her on the state Capitol grounds.
Can’t get enough Dolly? Check out my Christian Chronicle story, inspired by a 1966 church directory photo of a newlywed Parton and her husband, Carl Dean.
Bobby Ross Jr. is a columnist for ReligionUnplugged.com and editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle. A former religion writer for The Associated Press and The Oklahoman, Ross has reported from all 50 states and 15 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.