On July 7, settlers carried out a daytime arson attack on the Church of St. George and a Byzantine Christian cemetery. The fifth-century church is “one of the oldest and most venerated places of worship for Christians in Palestine.”

Although the IRS recently allowed religious organizations to address their faithful about electoral politics, the Church will not speak on specific candidates.

Each year at this time, near the Fourth of July, we contemplate freedom. But maybe we are also being called to do an extended examination of our own fears.

“Deep cuts” to SNAP and Medicaid will “inflict real suffering on these families…. SNAP and Medicaid are not luxuries, they are lifelines for millions of children across our country.”

“We are alive only through the grace of God. At one point, I got messages saying someone had offered 1 million lempiras [$38,000] to have me killed.”

The end of U.S.A.I.D. will result in the loss of a “staggering” 14 million lives by 2030, including the deaths of 4.5 million children under age 5.