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Ferguson followup * Francis trip * Advent calendars: Monday's Roundup

Churches urge both peace and activism after the decision in Ferguson. Pope Francis drew headlines during his trip to Turkey. Plus, 12 Advent calendars to keep you busy.
Ferguson followup * Francis trip * Advent calendars: Monday’s Roundup
Clergy lay on the ground in Clayton, Mo., the morning after unrest on Nov. 24, 2014 in response to the announcement that Ferguson, Mo., officer Darren Wilson would not be indicted. Photo courtesy of Lilly Fowler
Sarah Pulliam Bailey

Hope you all had wonderful, turkey-stuffing-cranberry sauce-filled holiday weekend. Here are 10-ish stories for your water cooler conversations:

Clergy lay on the ground in Clayton, Mo., the morning after unrest on Monday night in response to the announcement that officer Daren Wilson will not be indicted.

Clergy lay on the ground in Clayton, Mo., the morning after unrest on Monday night in response to the announcement that officer Daren Wilson will not be indicted.

Many churches urged healing and activism after last week’s decision in Ferguson to not indict the police officer who shot Michael Brown. Attorney General Eric Holder will speak tonight at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta at a race relations discussion in the wake of Ferguson. Two Florida Baptist churches merge with the hopes of bridging a racial divide.


Pope Francis made some news over the holiday weekend. He prayed in a mosque in Turkey, he demanded the end to ISIS attacks. He also said he is ready to meet with the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church leader but doubt theologians from the two sides find a way to heal a 1,000-year-old schism. Then there was this photo:

 

By the way, Cardinal Timothy Dolan says Pope Francis will likely visit NYC. New York is just 6th of 9 choices in our running survey — well behind the first choice, the Texas-Mexico border. Vote here.

A Supreme Court pregnancy discrimination case has united both abortion rights and anti-abortion groups.

In the upcoming epic “Exodus,” God appears to Moses as a fierce child.

A federal judge ordered Wal Mart to allow a vote on a stockholder resolution from Trinity Church NYC to force more oversight of gun sales and other potentially offensive products

If you were to buy the items from “The 12 Days of Christmas,” it would cost more than $116,000 this year. Counting down to Christmas? Here are 12 Advent calendars, from brilliant to bizarre to totally commercial.

More than 100 people were killed during a bombing of a mosque in Nigeria.

German Pastafarians now have official government-made signs directing people to the nearest Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Finally, today is World AIDS Day. Here’s what HIV can teach us about fighting Ebola.


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