Weekend Plug-in 🔌

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Subscribe now to get this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com.

(ANALYSIS) Good morning, Weekend Plug-in readers!

We open with Dolly Parton, who celebrated her 77th birthday Thursday and gave the world a gift: a new song.

“I had a dream about God standing on a mountain, looking down on us, saying ‘Don't make me have to come down there,’” she said of her inspiration.

Give it a listen as we dive into the top headlines and best reads in the world of faith.

What To Know: The Big Story

Today in Washington: It’s abortion opponents’ annual March for Life.

Fifty years after Roe v. Wade — and seven months after its overturning — the anti-abortion movement has “multiple reasons to celebrate — and some reasons for unease.”

That’s the assessment of The Associated Press’ David Crary. The movement has reached a crossroads, as The New York Times’ Ruth Graham notes. And since last year’s ruling, the fight has moved to statehouses, explain Religion News Service’s Adelle M. Banks and Jack Jenkins.

Stand for Life: A new organization with Southern Baptist ties “will bridge anti-abortion groups … as the larger movement redirects focus in a major way,” The Tennessean’s Liam Adams points out.

More: In Missouri, religious leaders who support abortion rights filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging the state’s abortion ban, AP’s Jim Salter reports. At the same time, Indiana’s top court is weighing a challenge to that state’s abortion ban.

Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads

1. Family slain in Utah: “The seven caskets sat in a neat row at the front of the quiet chapel.”

That’s how The Salt Lake Tribune’s Courtney Tanner begins her sensitive, nuanced coverage of the funeral for a Latter-day Saint family — five children, their mother and their grandmother.

The man who killed his family had been investigated two years prior for child abuse, according to AP’s Sam Metz.

2. Sabbatarian Christians: Last year, we highlighted a story by Christianity Today’s Kate Shellnutt on a rural mail carrier fired for refusing to make Amazon deliveries on Sunday.

Now, that case is headed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which will rethink a decades-old “precedent making it easy for businesses to deny workers’ religious accommodation requests,” Bloomberg Law’s Khorri Atkinson and J. Edward Moreno report.

3. Religious diversity champion: Here at ReligionUnplugged.com, Kimberly Winston profiles Eboo Patel, founder and president of Interfaith America.

It’s a delightful, insightful read, starting with the opening sentence that points out Patel used to be “something of a jerk.”

More Top Reads

In a story from Chennai, India, AP’s Deepa Bharath relates how deity decorating is a calling for a Hindu temple artist. … The Los Angeles Times’ Deborah Netburn writes about how California’s record rainstorms are “a blessing, a hardship and a spiritual experience.” … For Religion News Service, Tori Luecking delves into how New York has answered religiously motivated hate crime. … At the Daily Memphian, David Waters introduces readers to “dementia-friendly” congregations. … The Oklahoman’s Carla Hinton details church restoration efforts in a historic all-Black town. … The Tennessean’s Liam Adams explores the faith of Tennessee Titans players. … And finally, in a think piece at The Atlantic, Wendy Cadge and Elan Babchuck declare that “American religion is not dead yet.”

Inside The Godbeat

Religion News Service’s Vatican correspondent, Claire Giangrave, has a reason to celebrate.

Congratulations, Claire, on the birth of your little one.

Charging Station: ICYMI

Here is where you can catch up on recent news and opinions from ReligionUnplugged.com.

Elvis is a prophet.

And he’s worth an estimated $115 million.

Reporting from Kampala, Uganda, Amy Fallon writes that 45-year-old Elvis Mbonye “puts the profit in prophet.”

The Final Plug

Who enjoys bathroom humor? Me, that’s who.

I chuckled at the responses to Christianity Today’s Daniel Silliman tweeting a link to a Los Angeles Times story about “the high cost of church toilets.”

Thank you to The Tennessean’s Liam Adams and The Washington Times’ Mark A. Kellner for playing along.

Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the weekend.

Bobby Ross Jr. writes the Weekend Plug-in column for ReligionUnplugged.com and serves as editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle. A former religion writer for The Associated Press and The Oklahoman, Ross has reported from all 50 states and 18 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.