RICHARD A. CHAPMAN/CHICAGO SUN-TIMES Homeless Jesus
A bronze sculpture of a homeless Jesus sleeping on a bench by Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz has made its way to several cities, including this one recently unveiled in front of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago headquarters. Inspired by Matthew 25:40 (“Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me”), the statues haven’t all been met with acceptance. The artist, who presented the original 5-foot model to Pope Francis last year, decided to do the piece after seeing a homeless person wrapped in a blanket in downtown Toronto. He cre- ated it to “bring awareness of the spiritual responsibility we have … toward helping [society’s] most marginalized.”
as Emil and Elfrieda Jochum Chair at Valparaiso [Ind.] University. Speck- hard is currently a senior adviser at Palantir Technologies and a non- resident senior fellow at the Brook- ings Institution. He has held diplo- matic roles for both Republican and Democratic administrations, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Atlantic Council. He attends the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in McLean, Va.
Humanist prevails Army Maj. Ray Bradley, Fort Bragg, N.C., can now be known as a human- ist in the U.S. military. “I’m able to self-identify the belief system that governs my life, and I’ve never
been able to do that before,” he said. The “preference code for human- ist” became effective April 12 for all members of the Army. This may help humanists organize within the ranks; military brass have better informa- tion to aid in planning a deceased soldier’s funeral; and it could lay the groundwork for eventually add- ing humanist chaplains. The change comes against a backdrop of persis- tent claims from atheists and other nonbelievers that the military is dominated by a Christian culture that is often hostile to unbelief.
Refugee Sunday 6-22 Refugees are people who fled their countries of origin to escape persecu-
tion—people Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service has helped reset- tle for 75 years. On June 22 (or near), World Refugee Day, individuals, con- gregations or groups are encouraged to celebrate “Refugee Sunday.” For a free resource kit with worship sug- gestions, activities, a video, sermon notes and more, visit
http://lirs.org/ newam75.
ELCA gives $1 million In April the ELCA awarded 401 grants totaling nearly $1 million through its ELCA World Hun- ger program to its congregations, social ministry organizations and community-based nonprofits for
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