Chabad attacked * Black church * Outlaw saints : Tuesday’s Roundup

An Israeli man is stabbed in a Brooklyn synagogue by an apparently anti-Semitic suspect, who is shot and killed by police. What is the role of the black church post-Ferguson? And meet Argentina's outlaw saints.

Image of Gauchito Gil, an
Image of Gauchito Gil, an "outlaw saint," painted by Louis Danjou and photographed by Skaycito via Flickr.

Image of Gauchito Gil, an “outlaw saint,” painted by Louis Danjou and photographed by Skaycito via Flickr.

Good morning. The day broke with a stabbing at Chabad’s main synagogue.

Stabbing, suspect killed at Chabad world headquarters

A witness said Calvin Peters was yelling “kill the Jews!” as he entered the synagogue at the Chabad movement’s world headquarters in Brooklyn early this morning. Peters stabbed a 25-year-old Israeli man who had come to Chabad to study for the rabbinate. Video shows police ordering Peters to drop the knife, and Peters hanging on to it.


Police shot him in the stomach. He died hours later at a Brooklyn hospital. The Israeli man is in stable condition with wounds to the head and neck.

Hit-and-run killing of Muslim teen a hate crime?

The Kansas City  man charged with murdering 15-year-old Abdisamad Sheikh-Hussein last week, by mowing him over with an SUV, made his first court appearance Monday as police released details of an earlier incident involving suspect Ahmed H. Aden and the same vehicle, which was then painted with an anti-Islamic statement. The FBI is determining whether the death of Sheikh-Hussein should be labeled a hate crime. Aden’s mother says her son is Muslim, and that he was not motivated by prejudice but is mentally ill.

Homeless LGBT youth reclaim their spirituality

A new retreat helps homeless LBGT youth re-discover their spiritual sides. Sponsored by the Reciprocity Foundation, the brainchild of a Buddhist and a contemplative Christian, the retreat uses yoga to help these young people feel accepted after many had concluded that religion offered them nothing but rejection, RNS alumnus Caleb Bell reports.

Ferguson and the black church

NPR’s Michel Martin sparks a fascinating conversation with two prominent African-American religious thinkers on police brutality and the response of the black church. The Rev. Raphael Warnock preaches from Dr. King’s pulpit at Ebenezer Baptist in Atlanta. Eddie Glaude Jr. is a religion professor at Princeton, chair of its Center for African American Studies, and the author of the controversial essay: “The Black Church is Dead.”

B-team saints

Ever hear of Gauchito Gil, who stole from the rich and gave to the poor? Or La Difunta Correa, who supposedly was able to breastfeed her infant after she died? These are but two of Argentina’s “folk saints,” unrecognized by the Roman Catholic Church, but revered by many as if they were the real thing. The Week offers an interesting profile of these outlaw saints, and a great photo of a trivet depicting La Difunta and another revered Argentinian: Pope Francis.

Jesus and hot wings

An Alabama pastor next Sunday plans to hold church at a Buffalo Wild Wings franchise outside Birmingham in hopes of enticing the unchurched, writes our friend Greg Garrison at The Birmingham News. “We believe there’s a population that would attend a service there that wouldn’t go to a church,” said the Rev. Wesley Savage, minister of young adults for Riverchase United Methodist Church.

In other fast food/church news

Here’s an update on the McMass project, which aims to place Mickey D’s in churches, as you may have first read about in this roundup two weeks ago. People aren’t lovin’ it.


Evangelical Sex

“This may be the first book I’ve read that connects mutual orgasms to Christian witness,” writes Christine J. Gardner, reviewing “Saving Sex: Sexuality and Salvation in American Evangelicalism,” religion professor Amy DeRogatis’ new sex book. Stocking stuffer?

It would be good if . . .

Iran would free Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian, who holds Iranian and U.S. citizenship and has been in jail since July 22.

Do’s and Don’ts

Do take a gander at this highly tattooed Brazilian Santa.

Do not, even accidentally, put a swastika on Hanukkah wrapping paper.

Do peruse the RNS 2014 Holiday Gift Guide. I know you have 14 Lands’ End catalogues but you get only one of these babies!

Best of the rest from RNS

Some church leaders say the “Ebola remake” of “Do They Know It’s Christmas” includes some lyrics demeaning to Africans.

The Supreme Court considers license-plate speech, which often includes religious sentiments.

5 takeaways from Pope Francis’ recent blockbuster interview.

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