Jules Woodson

Plug-In: Faith in Uvalde, even as national media attention focuses on police and guns

Plug-In: Faith in Uvalde, even as national media attention focuses on police and guns

In the 10 days since a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, questions about the incompetent police response have dominated the headlines.

So, too, has the political debate over gun violence, specifically the assault-style weapons used in Uvalde as well as recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and — just this week — Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Rightly so.

But faith, too, has emerged as a vital part of the story, as we first highlighted last Friday. Once again this week, that is where we start.

Check out this must-read coverage:

A church, a gathering place for generations, becomes a hub for Uvalde’s grief (by Rick Rojas, New York Times).

Funeral after funeral, Uvalde’s only Catholic priest leans on faith (by Teo Armus, Washington Post).

Meet the first minister of gun violence prevention (by Emily McFarlan Miller, Religion News Service).

In Uvalde, a ministry of listening and silence (by Addie Michaelian, World).

‘This is wailing, weeping, heartfelt grief. This is what this town is feeling’ (by Audrey Jackson, Christian Chronicle).

The arrow in America’s heart (by Elizabeth Dias, New York Times).

A former pastor grieves the loss of his great-granddaughter in Uvalde (by John Burnett and Marisa Peñaloza, NPR).

On Texas shooting, Vatican Academy for Life says just laws ‘protect all citizens’ (by Elise Ann Allen, Crux).


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Big coverage of Memphis pastor and woman he assaulted provides perfect #ChurchToo hook

Although the #ChurchToo hashtag was invented two months ago, it got a huge boost this week with the revelations of the saga of an errant minister at a Southern Baptist church in Memphis. And with the same deliciousness that reporters pounced upon the Roy Moore imbroglio, they’re covering this scandal in excruciating detail.

Why shouldn’t they? I'd venture that #ChurchToo is evangelical Protestants having the same existential crisis about their congregations as Catholics did after revelations of their priestly sex abuse crisis hit the fan in 2002. 

About this latest drama, we start with the latest news in the Commercial Appeal in Memphis, the hometown of the erring pastor.

A canceled book deal is the latest repercussion for Memphis pastor Andy Savage as the ripples continue to spread from his admitted sexual encounter with a 17-year-old high school senior in Texas 20 years ago.
Also, a petition calling on him to resign his position at Highpoint Church is gaining momentum online, with 836 signatures out of a 1,000-signature goal Tuesday evening.
The victim, Jules Woodson, says, meanwhile, that she is "disgusted" by Savage's public apology and doesn't agree that the matter was "dealt with" at the time as Savage suggested. Woodson has come forward with her story in the vein of others in the #metoo movement.

The story is unbelievably rich in irony, including the fact that the pastor regularly did pre-marital counseling with couples he encouraged to live sexually pure lives.


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