Faith in the Public Square

 In order to assist church and faith leaders discuss the importance of vaccinations in the fight against COVID, the National Council of Churches has produced a fact sheet titled  A Christian Approach to Vaccine Hesitancy   The fact sheet also provides “a scriptural basis for a compassionate response to vaccine hesitancy and provides responses to Biblical misinformation around vaccination.”   When announcing the release of the fact sheet, the Council cited research showing that church and faith leaders can successfully encourage people to get vaccinated. The fact sheet states that some religious Americans have indicated that certain religious approaches made them more likely to get vaccinated. They have responded favorably to these situations: - A religious leader encouraged them to get the vaccine.  - A member of a local religious community they trust addressed their concerns about the vaccine or got the vaccine. - A healthcare professional from a local religio...

People of faith have not been silent in the face of our nation’s gun violence. They have supported reasonable gun laws for many years and now, in the light of recent shootings, their words continue to guide us. The National Council of Churches issued a statement this week that read, in part: The unchecked gun violence in this nation must end. In 1967, the NCC adopted a statement calling for Firearms Control while proclaiming at the time that it represented “a long overdue measure which might have prevented much tragic loss of life.”   Over 50 years later, these basic common-sense changes to our gun laws still have not been enacted and they are far beyond overdue.                . . . “I stand firmly with the vast majority of Americans who are demanding an end to gun violence and the passage of legislation that requires greater screening, longer waiting periods for background checks, and the elimination of rapid fire guns,” stated Rev. D...