What We Read This Week

Each week, we bring you interesting stories from around the web. Here’s what caught our eye this week!

POLITICS

Christian Leaders Welcome Muslim-American Women to Congress

A delegation of Christian leaders delivered a welcome message to the first Muslim-American Congresswomen, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), today at Longworth House Office Building. Led by an online Christian organizing group called Faithful America, this message was signed by 7,400 Christians nationwide, and given to the congresswomen’s staffs after their swearing in this afternoon. Read Full Article

From Sojo

LIFESTYLE

7 Thoughtful Ways to Reach Out to Others This Year

When the time for making New Year’s resolutions rolled around last year, I focused on some self-improvement goals – eating better, exercising more (never easy for me!), and committing to more spiritual development. And I did make some progress! But this year, rather than embark on another quest to improve my own life, I feel God is challenging me to help improve the lives of others. Read Full Article

From Busted Halo

CHRISTMAS

Visual Reflection after Christmas: Seeking Jesus

In the brief days between Christmas Eve and Epiphany, many of us in church work enjoy a bit of a breather. Christmas Eve services have been held, candles lit, favorite carols sung. Luke’s familiar birth narrative has been recited. The bustle of Christmas morning has come and gone. Wrapping paper discarded. Christmas feasts enjoyed. Perhaps we find leisure in a well-deserved nap. We’ve ushered our church communities through Advent. Now what? After Christmas is our time of seeking. Like the shepherds. Like the Magi. Like Simeon and Anna. Like Mary and Joseph upon leaving the temple. The people of this world are looking, seeking, waiting, frantically searching for the One who has come. Read Full Article

From APCE

LIFESTYLE

This dad couldn’t miss Christmas with his flight attendant daughter, so he bought six plane tickets to be with her.

It has to be depressing to be at work while your friends and family members celebrate the holidays, but it’s a pretty common occurrence in America. According to USA Today, around 25% of Americans have to work on either Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s Day. One father from Ohio went to incredible lengths to spend his Christmas Eve and Day with his daughter even though she was at work. What made it even more incredible is that she was 30,000 feet in the sky. Pierce Vaughan, a flight attendant for Delta Airlines, had to work from December 24 to 25, so her father, Hal, bought tickets on six flights just so he could be right there beside her. Read Full Article

From Good Is

ENVIRONMENT

Meet the Press just modeled what it looks like to take climate change seriously

On Sunday morning, NBC’s Meet the Press did what no other weekend news program had ever done before: They discussed climate change for a full hour. Host Chuck Todd led off the hour with what amounted to a bold line in the sand: Climate denial is no longer welcome on our airwaves. It’s a statement that hopefully sets the tone for media coverage as a new year begins and 2020 presidential campaigns gets underway. It was a glimpse of what it would look like if we took climate change seriously. And it was refreshing to see a real-life climate scientist speaking freely about the urgency of our present moment and unimpeded by stale talking points. Read Full Article

From Grist