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.

TULSA, Okla. — Monday marks the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, a truly dark moment in America’s history.

At the centennial, a prayer room at a downtown Tulsa church focuses on the sins of 1921 while asking God to bring healing, as I report here at ReligionUnplugged.com.

In separate dispatches for The Christian Chronicle, I explain how faith drives two leading advocates fighting for massacre justice and detail the racial unity effort by two Tulsa-area ministers — one Black, one White.

At The Oklahoman, longtime faith editor Carla Hinton and her colleagues offer in-depth coverage, including a compelling story on how a modern-day Moses helped rebuild Tulsa’s Mount Zion Baptist Church.

A strong narrative piece by The Associated Press’ Aaron Morrison opens with a scene from Vernon African Methodist Episcopal Church, a congregation involved in a massacre reparations lawsuit that Religion News Service’s Adelle M. Banks highlights.

Check out the Tulsa World, too, for the latest developments, including a last-minute cancellation of a planned centennial event featuring John Legend and Stacey Abrams.

MONDAY UPDATE: New AP religion writer Peter Smith reports from Tulsa on how houses of worship commemorated the massacre Sunday.

Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads

1. After pushback, HarperCollins will not produce ‘God Bless the USA’ Bible: Earlier this month, ReligionUnplugged.com’s Meagan Clark broke the news about plans for a patriotic-themed edition of the Scriptures. This week, she has the scoop on the seller losing its manufacturing agreement.

In a related piece, authors Shane Claiborne, Doug Pagitt, Lisa Sharon Harper, Jemar Tisby and Soong-Chan Rah explain why they’re glad their publisher — Zondervan — isn’t backing the project.

At Religion News Service, Bob Smietana notes that a long-dead British king — King James — could save the Bible inspired by a Lee Greenwood song.

2. Vaccination or termination? Why this Tennessee caregiver would rather be fired: Holly Meyer, The Tennessean’s religion writer, explains why Melissa Fisher, an apostolic holiness Christian, is fighting her employer’s demand that she receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

Hint: The “mark of the beast” comes into play.

“Fisher said some of her church's elders and her pastor have compared the vaccines to the apocalyptic prophecy in the New Testament's Book of Revelation,” Meyer writes.

3. Is it safe to sing at church yet? Depends who you ask: While reporting on the verdict in the Derek Chauvin murder case, I recently visited a suburban Minneapolis church that has two Sunday morning services: one with singing and one without.

Perhaps that’s why I was so fascinated by this feature by Religion News Service’s Adelle M. Banks, who first tackled this subject a year ago.

BONUS: With certain bylines in the Godbeat world, you know you’re about to read an exceptional story.

That’s the case with this moving multimedia package by The Associated Press’ Luis Andres Henao and Jessie Wardarski.

They profile a Massachusetts woman who awakes every day, recites the Kaddish, the mourner’s prayer, and kisses a photo of her father as she copes with guilt over his death from COVID-19.

More Top Reads

• Russell Moore leaves Southern Baptist leadership, but denomination’s troubles remain (by Bob Smietana, Religion News Service)

• Scientology’s secrets spill into open in Danny Masterson rape case (by James Queally and Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times)

• Open hearts for racial healing (by Deana Nall, Christian Chronicle)

• American Jews take stock of internal divisions, antisemitism (by Mariam Fam and Luis Andres Henao, Associated Press)

• Lawsuits, threats continue to hound Christian baker (by Mark A. Kellner, Washington Times)

• ‘Who’s out protecting us?’: Spate of anti-Jewish attacks in the U.S. draws calls for more forceful response (by Shane Harris and Brittany Shammas, Washington Post)

• More than a meal: How Austin ministries are expanding their approach to homelessness (by Deborah Pardo-Kaplan, Christianity Today)

• Bishops denying Communion to Catholic politicians a 'distinctively American' approach (by Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter)

• Kentucky House GOP asks Beshear to reconsider Sunrise contract, cites religious rights law (by Deborah Yetter, Louisville Courier Journal)

• Hampden DA identifies former Catholic priest as killer in 1972 slaying of 13-year-old Danny Croteau (by John R. Ellement and Travis Andersen, Boston Globe)

• Southern Baptists prep for biggest convention in 24 years (by Kate Shellnutt, Christianity Today)

• Chicago priest Pfleger reinstated after abuse investigation (by Kathleen Foody, Associated Press)

• I’m Israeli. My husband is Palestinian. We fear we can never go home (by Mya Guarnieri Jaradat, Washington Post)

Inside The Godbeat: Behind The Bylines

Washington Post media critic Erik Wemple believes The Associated Press wronged Emily Wilder, a junior staff member fired May 18 amid questions about her social media posts and collegiate activism supporting Palestinians.

Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan agrees: “It’s pretty obvious to me that her recent social media posts were not really at the heart of her dismissal. Wilder, who is Jewish, was fired because she had a history of outspoken college activism on a particularly touchy subject.”

A number of Wilder’s former AP colleagues have criticized their employer, accusing the global news organization of abandoning her in the face of an online mob.

Me? I don’t like bullies. And I’m not sure why a newsperson in Phoenix couldn’t simply be taken off any coverage related to Israel and Gaza.

At the same time, I’m an old-school journalist who wishes news reporters would focus more on impartial coverage and less on Twitter hot takes.

Charging Station: In Case You Missed It

Here is where you can catch up on recent news and opinions from Religion Unplugged.

• Data on TV viewership by faith shows white evangelicals love Fox News, Muslims and Hindus watch CNN (by Ryan Burge)

• Seeing the Holocaust through the eyes of a dog: Q&A with the director of ‘Shepherd’ (by Jillian Cheney

• Doodled devotional calls Christians to take Jesus’ words seriously (by Clayton Sidenbender)

• 5 facts PBS left out in new Billy Graham documentary (by Jillian Cheney)

• Bob Dylan at 80: still telling tales about divine judgment in a broken, fallen world (by Terry Mattingly)

• Pope Francis gives rare acknowledgement to persecution of Chinese Catholics (by Timothy Nerozzi)

• Church claims ownership of Jeffrey Epstein’s Santa Fe ranch (by Anne Stych)

• In defense of Mother Theresa: why she is a saint, not a ‘cult leader’ (by Clemente Lisi)

The Final Plug

Pro tip: Pay attention to who’s watching the collection plate.

In Lubbock, Texas, a woman faces up to 30 years in federal prison after embezzling more than $450,000 from her church.

Meanwhile, The Associated Press’ Brendan Farrington reports from Florida that four people have been arrested so far in what authorities dub “Operation Thou Shalt Not Steal.”

Bobby Ross Jr. is a columnist for Religion Unplugged 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.