Talk to Jesus for $3; Trump Reads Bible; Black Denom Wins Grant, and More: FM Newsletter (April 18, 2026)
A roundup of News, Culture, and Christianity... for the Times, free virtual events, and more.
Welcome to this edition of the Faithfully Magazine Newsletter. Here’s what’s ahead:
Trump to read the Bible
Black denomination wins major grant
Soldiers execute child in school
Talk to “Jesus” for less than $3 a month; and more...
Dear Reader,
President Donald Trump has issued an official statement “Commemorating 250 Years of the Bible in America,” coinciding with the America Reads the Bible initiative. In his statement, Trump paints a picture of an America that has had a virtuous, centuries-long relationship with the Bible. For example, he writes:
“From Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the New World and the first permanent English-speaking settlement at Jamestown to our founding in 1776 and to the present day, the Bible has been indelibly woven into our national identity and way of life.”
This may be true, but the Bible wasn’t always used for virtuous means — and still isn’t, if one follows current headlines. Trump’s own reference to “the legendary John Winthrop” — a Puritan lawyer and Massachusetts Bay Colony governor who wanted the early colonies to be known as a “city upon a hill” — is telling. Winthrop’s “city” was built on the backs of the enslaved. He didn’t just read the Bible; he used it to codify the enslavement of Native Americans and Africans.
The America Reads the Bible initiative aims to have participants — including Trump — read every verse from Genesis to Revelation aloud throughout the week. There is an obvious hypocrisy in a White House celebrating the Bible while overseeing lawless, and deadly, immigration crackdowns that tear families apart. It is hard to reconcile the “virtues of the Bible” with a leader whose public rants are often peppered with profanity and has had a decades-long association with a notorious sex offender.
Even as Trump prepares to publicly read the Bible, his administration is carrying out what ecumenical leaders have labeled an “unjust” war of “gratuitous violence” in Iran. As others have asked, What does it mean to read “Blessed are the peacemakers” while dropping missiles on a schoolyard?
Students of history know that simply reading the Bible has never been a neutral act. Historically this is the same text that was redacted into “Slave Bibles” and used as a tool of oppression and control. When the State touts a lifelong love affair with Scripture to celebrate a national anniversary, we should probably ask: Are we really honoring the Word of God, or are we simply using it as a prop in a redacted story?
The Bible is God’s revelation for human liberation from spiritual, social, and political oppression. If reading it doesn’t lead to “setting the oppressed free” (Luke 4:18) or a demand for justice for the vulnerable (James 1:27), it is simply a performance — when our reciting of the words sound more like clanging cymbals.
-Nicola, Managing Editor
ICYMI 👀 — Historic Investment in the ‘Cathedral of African Methodism’
Presiding Bishop J. Drew Sheard of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) announced a $1.2 million federal grant for the restoration of the Historic Mason Temple in Memphis. Known as the site where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his final “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, the grant will fund technology modernization and facility sustainability. This investment ensures that what was once the largest Black-owned worship facility in the U.S. continues to serve as a beacon for the legacy of civil rights and global Pentecostalism. Read more here…
Around the Web
At least three babies a minute are being born in Sudan into conditions “no child should ever face”, Save the Children has warned, as a ruinous conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces hits its third-year mark. (Al Jazeera)
The Trump administration has canceled an $11 million contract with Catholic Charities to shelter and care for migrant children who enter the U.S. alone — amid rising tensions between the administration and American Catholics over the president’s heated criticism of the Vatican’s first American pope, Leo XIV. (Miami Herald)
Israeli forces shot a nine-year-old Palestinian girl in the head while she was in class with about 40 other students in a designated “safe” area for displaced residents in northern Gaza. No reason has been given for why Israel forces targeted Ritaj Abdulrahman Rihan. (Middle East Eye)
Headlines
Black megachurch pays off $1 million in debt for hundreds of families in public housing
US has let in 4,499 refugees since October — all but three were White Afrikaners
Republican lawmaker refers to Trump as ‘almost a second coming’ of Jesus Christ
🗓️ Free Virtual Events
National Faith + Climate Forum - April 25, 12–5:30 pm ET - Register
“The Other Side of the Wall” with Palestinian Christian theologian the Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac - April 29, 1pm ET - Register
On Our Radar
Ecumenical Advocacy: Leaders like Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson (UCC) and Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie (NCC) are gearing up for the 2026 Ecumenical Advocacy Days starting Monday, April 20. The theme is “Protecting People, Peace, and Planet.” It D.C. event isn’t free, but as of publication, full scholarships were still available to students and attendees with limited income. Learn more here.
The Black Church Crawl: It’s a little late and hyperlocal, but the Historic First Baptist Church of Williamsburg and others along the NC coast are hosting a “Church Crawl,” highlighting cultural landmarks like St. Stephen AME Church and Chestnut Street Presbyterian Church. Learn about the event here.
Parting Shot(s)
“Behold Thy Son” - Among the new items on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, is this oil painting by artist David Driskell done in tribute to 14-year-old Emmet Till. Till was murdered in 1955 by two White men who accused him of flirting with a White woman. Driskell was deeply affected by Till’s death and felt compelled to create a memorial to the murdered teen.
“Conceived as a visual allegory, Driskell’s modern-day pietà makes connections between Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection and Till’s murder and funeral, invoking the religious foundations that undergirded many of the struggles for African American rights.” - NMAAHC
Costumes of Authority - This years-long project investigated how clothing expressed secular and religious authority in Christian Nubia (ninth–fourteenth centuries). Involved were experimental reconstruction of five representative costumes (two kings, two royal mothers, one bishop) based on iconographic and textile evidence highlights the physical impact and visual effect of these garments. - Antiquity
