🚨 Another Week, Another Mass Shooting In America: Have We Had Enough? 🔌
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.
ALLEN, Texas — Nine killed, counting the gunman.
Seven wounded.
Hundreds traumatized by what they experienced while simply trying to shop or eat and enjoy a leisurely weekend afternoon.
In other words, more of the same in America, where mass shootings have become a way of life — and too much death.
I wrote a column about how I ended up in this suburb north of Dallas after the nation’s latest massacre. That’s where we start our weekly roundup of the top headlines and best reads in the world of faith.
What To Know: The Big Story
Prayer and protest: Predictably, Saturday’s shooting at the Allen Premium Outlets reignited the debate on gun control — with President Joe Biden and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on opposite sides.
Thousands — including Abbott — gathered the next day at a community prayer service, while a few dozen protesters outside carried signs such as “Thoughts and prayers are useless” and “We have an epidemic of gun violence.”
Investigating the motive: Online activity by the 33-year-old shooter, identified as Mauricio Garcia, “betrayed a fascination with white supremacy and mass shootings, which he described as sport,” according to The Associated Press.
“Photos he posted showed large Nazi tattoos on his arm and torso, including a swastika and the SS lightning bolt logo of Hitler’s paramilitary forces,” adds the story by AP’s Jake Bleiberg, Gene Johnson and Lolita C. Baldor.
Still, a Texas Department of Public Safety official said at a news conference that Garcia “was very random in the people he killed. It didn’t matter the age, race or sex. He just shot people, which is horrific in itself.”
War at home: As hundreds fled the mall in panic, Steven Spainhouer — a devoted Christian and former Army officer — jumped in to help victims.
Spainhouer trained for combat. But he never dreamed he’d experience such bloodshed in the bustling shopping center a few miles from his home.
More coverage: The Dallas Morning News’ Isabella Volmert has a list of shooting memorials, prayer services and vigils.
Among the victims were Cindy and Kyu Cho and their 3-year-old son, James. The couple’s 6-year-old son, William, was shot but survived.
The family attended a large Korean Baptist congregation, according to a story by a New York Times team including Dallas-based religion writer Ruth Graham.
Finally, the area’s congressman “pushed back against Americans who say more than prayers are needed to curb the violence, labeling them ‘people that don’t believe in an almighty God,’” the Washington Post’s Jennifer Hassan and Molly Hennessy-Fiske report.
Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads
1. Registered sex offender/minister: “Over the past 30 years, well over a hundred men involved in Texas chapters of the campus ministry Chi Alpha have seen Daniel Savala naked.”
That’s the no-holds-barred lede by Christianity Today’s Kate Shellnutt as she reports on how “some Texas pastors supported and involved a man they knew was convicted of child sex abuse.”
Shellnutt credits Nicholas Gutteridge at The Battalion student newspaper at Texas A&M University for breaking the story.
2. ‘Don’t ban the whole church’: Ukraine’s holiest site has become a battleground in the campaign to erase Russian influence.
The Wall Street Journal’s Ian Lovett, normally the newspaper’s national religion reporter, has been on assignment covering the war for over a year.
3. Southern Baptist trends: “In 2022, baptisms, giving and attendance rose within the Southern Baptist Convention, while membership and the number of congregations fell,” Lifeway Research’s Aaron Earls reports.
Read related coverage by Religion News Service’s Bob Smietana, The Tennessean’s Liam Adams and the Washington Times’ Mark A. Kellner.
More Top Reads
An Oklahoma death penalty case has shaken up evangelical views on execution, Christianity Today’s Emily Belz writes. … It’s the end of an era for the Sisters of Charity of New York, The Associated Press’ Luis Andres Henao explains. … To stem the housing crisis, religious congregations are building homes, Eden Stiffman of The Chronicle of Philanthropy notes. … As more women forgo the hijab, Iran’s government is pushing back, AP’s Nasser Karimi and Jon Gambrell report. … Republican presidential candidates are wooing Iowa's pivotal evangelicals to pry them away from former President Donald Trump, the Des Moines Register’s Brianne Pfannenstiel writes. … A breakaway United Methodist Church in Texas has plans for a new denomination, BeLynn Hollers and Emily McFarlan Miller report for Religion News Service. … A Birmingham church planned its last service after 182 years, Greg Garrison notes at AL.com.
Inside The Godbeat
Three quick notes:
• Emily Belz and Andy Olsen of Christianity Today and Sarah Eekhof Zylstra of The Gospel Coalition are among the winners of the Zenger Prize.
• John Blake, a journalist on religion and race who has a new memoir, talks to Religion News Service’s Adelle M. Banks.
• Jewish communities are rallying around Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter imprisoned in Russia, and advocating for his release, the WSJ’s Jennifer Calfas reports.
Charging Station: ICYMI
Here is where you can catch up on recent news and opinions from ReligionUnplugged.com.
What did Daniel Herszberg, a 30-year-old doctoral student from Australia, learn about religion while visiting every country in the world?
Ken Chitwood’s in-depth profile for ReligionUnplugged.com reveals the answers.
The Final Plug
Satan is gaining popularity after school.
To be more precise, “After School Satan Clubs have been steadily increasing … as their supporters rack up media attention and legal wins fighting for free speech,” according to The Hill’s Lexi Lonas.
However, the same story notes:
While the clubs are controversial, mostly for their name and association with the Satanic Temple, students are not actually getting proselytized or instructions in devil worship.
“We’re definitely not interested in having children identify as satanists,” said Rose Bastet, who has been involved with the Satanic Temple for four years.
Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the weekend.
Bobby Ross Jr. writes the Weekend Plug-in column for ReligionUnplugged.com and serves as 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 18 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.