I’m traveling to Israel next week on a tour with a group of religion reporters. So spoiler alert: My next few posts will allow me to clear out some of the items in my “guilt folder” as I analyze a few stories that I’ve been wanting to mention for a while.
If you have a comment or a question about those posts, I’d love to hear them. But it may take me longer than normal to get back to you.
I believe that GetReligion Editor Terry Mattingly also will be traveling a bit next week, as well, and sources say he, too, may be a bit preoccupied (read: playing with grandchildren). So things may be a little bit looser than normal around these parts.
In case you missed it, there’s a piece of major news involving our team. I’ll mention it below as we dive into the Friday Five.
The latest Lent challenge for churches: Give up plastic https://t.co/81nQ3yGgDE
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) March 6, 2019
1. Religion story of the week: It’s wonderful to have Sarah Pulliam Bailey back covering religion at the Washington Post.
I’m no fan of paper straws, but I really enjoyed the former GetReligion contributor’s timely piece on “The latest Lent challenge for churches: Give up plastic.”
Other Lent-related stories to give a click this week (Eastern Orthodox churches start Great Lent this coming Sunday) include Kelsey Dallas’ Deseret News delve into “Can a good meal bring people back to church? A growing number of congregations think so” and this Southern California newspaper’s report on a church offering drive-thru ashes, which is turning into an annual feature topic somewhere or another.
“I agree that the feelings of those who lost the debate may seem a lot more colorful than those who won, but seriously, folks? Is there no one out there covering the victorious side of this debate? I’m not seeing it out there.”
—Julia Duinhttps://t.co/WtiauFPfM3
— Ron Henzel (@ronhenzel) March 5, 2019
2. Most popular GetReligion post: Last week’s big story was the high-stakes United Methodist meeting in St. Louis.
The post-meeting coverage sparked our No. 1 most-read commentary of the week: Julia Duin’s post titled “When covering the United Methodist split, remember that there’s two sides — not one.”
Check it out. And last week’s “Crossroads” podcast dug deep into the future of this ongoing doctrinal fight. See this: “Question as reporters look ahead: How many United Methodists are there? Are all created equal?”
Churches organize tornado relief https://t.co/2UlRBJiCzL
— Greg Garrison (@greg_garrison) March 6, 2019
3. Guilt folder fodder (and more): I highlighted the faith angle in news coverage of the Alabama tornado that claimed nearly two dozen lives.
Here’s a piece from longtime Birmingham News religion writer Greg Garrison on relief efforts by faith-based groups.
Ira Rifkin is stepping away from @GetReligion https://t.co/ZlOEBDYdJA?
— Religion News Association (@ReligionReport) March 6, 2019
4. Shameless plug: Our dear colleague Ira Rifkin is facing some serious heart issues and stepping away from GetReligion.
Rifkin underwent quadruple-bypass surgery Wednesday and has months of healing ahead of him. He is sounding realistic and upbeat. That’s a good combination.
Read his farewell post with the headline “The universe sent me a message. It’s time to heed” — a typically eloquent way to put it, as is the normal Rifkin style.
Also, see tmatt’s earlier post on Rifkin’s situation.
But this NYT correction is the BEST EVER: https://t.co/CPq8MmCBJI https://t.co/p0D1W65eDp
— Karen Tumulty (@ktumulty) March 4, 2019
5. Final thought: Who doesn’t love a good New York Times correction!? Anyone want to try writing a one-column headline about that proper noun?
Happy Friday, everybody! Enjoy the weekend!
ybvdadminuser
