The Kennedy Center Honors, on its 45th occasion, recognized singer and songwriter Amy Grant, marking the first time the top cultural distinction was given to a contemporary Christian musician.
« There are stories of tenacity, stories of faith, stories of unfettered creativity and stories of endurance, » said actress and 2002 honoree Chita Rivera at the Dec. 4 event that highlighted the « queen of Christian pop » along with actor George Clooney, singer Gladys Knight, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Tania León and the rock band U2.
« Tonight, we broaden that spectrum to include for the first time ever a contemporary Christian music artist, Amy Grant, » she said. « In her amazing 40-plus years, Amy has logged success after success without ever compromising her faith or her individuality. »
In a brief red-carpet interview just before the black-tie event, Grant said she hoped to live up to the honor in representing the genre.
« Well, I’m a little bit of a rascal; I hope I do them proud, » she said, laughing.
Her arrival at the Kennedy Center came less than five months after a bike accident and hospital stay — neither of which the musician can remember — that forced her to postpone some concert dates.
Grant, who described herself as « doing well, » said she appreciated being back on tour and at the Kennedy Center, even if it felt a little overwhelming after her extended time of rest.
« I felt like I was feeling really confident on my two-mile-an-hour treadmill and then I merged onto Interstate traffic, » she said. « Just did my first show last week. And this has been such a beautiful way to reengage. »
Grant, 61, has six Grammys and more than 20 Dove Awards from the Gospel Music Association. The Gospel Music Hall of Fame honoree signed her first record deal at age 17.
She became the first contemporary Christian musician to have a No. 1 hit on the pop charts with « Next Time I Fall, » a 1986 duet with Peter Cetera of the band Chicago. Five years later, her fame spread with « Baby, Baby, » a hit from her 1991 platinum album « Heart in Motion. »
Gospel Music Association president and executive director Jackie Patillo, who described Grant as « a Christian music sweetheart, » said it’s a « big deal » that the Kennedy Center has taken this step to honor an artist who crossed over to mainstream pop and served as an ambassador of the Christian music subgenre.
« I think that Amy Grant lives a very holistic life in that her faith is just a part of everything that she does, and so whether her music is being acknowledged or played on pop radio or CCM (stations), she’s, still, consistently Amy Grant, » said Patillo.
« The way God has used her has stretched the industry and the church. »
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Grant, who, like other honorees, sat in an Opera House balcony not far from President Biden, Vice President Harris and their spouses, drank in the praise without having to take the stage to speak or perform.
In the audience of more than 1,900 were actresses Anna Deavere Smith and Julia Roberts, politicians Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, and Dallas megachurch pastor T.D. Jakes and Grant’s first record producer Brown Bannister.
Kennedy Center Board Chair David Rubenstein acknowledged the significance of the recognition of contemporary Christian music.
« We felt that it was long overdue, » he told Religion New Service. « There was only one person who could really fulfill that requirement, and that was Amy. »
Gospel artist CeCe Winans echoed Rubenstein’s comment when she appeared with her brother BeBe on the red carpet shortly before the event began but started with an exuberant « Woo! »
« We’re so excited, » she said. « It’s been a long time coming. But she’s a perfect person to open up that door. And so we’re excited about that. »
Added her brother: « Amen. »
Later on stage, the Winans duo joined to fete Grant in a medley featuring her songs, « Sing Your Praise to the Lord » and « El Shaddai, » as CCM artist Michael W. Smith played the piano and the Howard Gospel Choir added their voices.
When the show opened with the national anthem, singer Tricia Yearwood joined the choir, directed by Kirk Franklin, for an upbeat version of the patriotic tune. The background included a moonlit sky, the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, U.S. Capitol and a waving American flag.
Prior to the event, Smith said he was thrilled to see his longtime friend honored for her role in music, including the subgenre she helped him enter.
« I wouldn’t be standing here talking to you if it hadn’t been for Amy, » he told RNS as he appeared at the event before continuing their joint Christmas tour this week. « I was her opening act in 1982. »
Others in and beyond the music industry spoke of Grant’s influence on and off the stage.
Sheryl Crow, who sang Grant’s « Baby, Baby » in her honor, spoke of how Grant had inspired her as a musician, mother and friend.
« Amy Grant’s music had a profound effect on me as a young college student, » said Crow. « Her music was a staple with her deeply soulful voice and her uplifting message of hope and faith, » said Crow. « Amy also taught me that it was possible to be funny, irreverent and Christian all at the same time. »
The segment of the program honoring Grant included video clips of her four children speaking of times when they accompanied her on tour when they were young, inspired a song — she wrote « Baby, Baby » about daughter Millie — or appeared on « The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, » as was the case with daughter Sarah when she was a baby.
A glitch with a guitar caused an awkward pause as country musicians The Highwomen prepared to sing « Somewhere Down the Road » for Grant and the audience.
« We love you Amy, » someone shouted before the program moved ahead after a « technical difficulties » announcement.
Veteran broadcaster Katie Couric, a close friend of Grant’s, added to the chorus of accolades, speaking about lessons Grant had heeded.
« Amy, you once shared the four words your sweet mom said to you, words you’ve never forgotten: Sing something that matters, » Couric said. « Well, you’ve done it and you’re still doing it. »
A two-hour presentation of the Kennedy Center Honors, which lasted more than three hours, will air on CBS at 8 p.m. EST/PST on Dec. 28.
The Supreme Court is hearing the case Dec. 5 of a Christian graphic artist who objects to designing wedding websites for gay couples, a dispute that’s the latest clash of religion and gay rights to land at the highest court.
The designer and her supporters say that ruling against her would force artists — from painters and photographers to writers and musicians — to do work that is against their faith. Her opponents, meanwhile, say that if she wins, a range of businesses will be able to discriminate, refusing to serve Black customers, Jewish or Muslim people, interracial or interfaith couples or immigrants, among others.
The case comes at a time when the court is dominated 6-3 by conservatives and following a series of cases in which the justices have sided with religious plaintiffs. It also comes as, across the street from the court, lawmakers in Congress are finalizing a landmark bill protecting same-sex marriage.
The bill, which also protects interracial marriage, steadily gained momentum following the high court’s decision earlier this year to end constitutional protections for abortion. That decision to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade case prompted questions about whether the court — now that it is more conservative — might also overturn its 2015 decision declaring a nationwide right to same-sex marriage. Justice Clarence Thomas explicitly said that decision should also be reconsidered.
The case being argued before the high court Dec. 5 involves Lorie Smith, a graphic artist and website designer in Colorado who wants to begin offering wedding websites. Smith says her Christian faith prevents her from creating websites celebrating same-sex marriages. But that could get her in trouble with state law. Colorado, like most other states, has what’s called a public accommodation law that says if Smith offers wedding websites to the public, she must provide them to all customers. Businesses that violate the law can be fined, among other things.
Five years ago, the Supreme Court heard a different challenge involving Colorado’s law and a baker, Jack Phillips, who objected to designing a wedding cake for a gay couple. That case ended with a limited decision, however, and set up a return of the issue to the high court. Phillips’ lawyer, Kristen Waggoner of the Alliance Defending Freedom, is now representing Smith.
Like Phillips, Smith says her objection is not to working with gay people. She says she’d work with a gay client who needed help with graphics for an animal rescue shelter, for example, or to promote an organization serving children with disabilities. But she objects to creating messages supporting same-sex marriage, she says, just as she won’t take jobs that would require her to create content promoting atheism or gambling or supporting abortion.
Smith says Colorado’s law violates her free speech rights. Her opponents, including the Biden administration and groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, disagree.
Twenty mostly liberal states, including California and New York, are supporting Colorado while another 20 mostly Republican states, including Arizona, Indiana, Ohio and Tennessee, are supporting Smith.
The case is 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, 21-476.
(Second Sunday of Advent-Year A; This homily was given on December 4, 2022 at the Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia in Rome, Italy; See Isaiah 11:1-10 and Matthew 3:1-12)
« The kingdom of heaven is at hand! »
« In that great gettin’ up morning, fare thee well, fare thee well. »
John the Baptist proclaimed the first of these statements, the second is from a traditional spiritual. Both refer to the coming of God’s chosen redeemer-judge. In third grade, when I learned that the final judgment would reveal all our sins, I agonized over the fact that my teacher would know that I had whispered that I hated her. With images like John’s winnowing fan and unquenchable fire, preaching about Christ’s second coming is generally designed to inspire fear and repentance. I had gotten the message.
The spiritual, « In That Great Gettin’ Up Morning, » celebrates a joyous alternative to God’s impending wrath. Perhaps because it springs from the heart of people who had been treated unjustly, the song proclaims judgment day as a day of jubilation.
For the singers, Isaiah’s shout of, « On that day! » refers to the « great, great gettin’ up morning, » when God will tell Gabriel to blow the horn loud enough to awaken the nations but not to frighten God’s people. The words, melody and rhythm of the song harmonize in a proclamation that God’s people will rejoice on the day of judgment. The contrast in images between a day of wrath and that gettin’ up morning invites us to think anew about the coming of God’s reign and to let renewing images inspire us.
Isaiah unites images of past and future to inspire our present moment. He envisions the advent of a redeemer whose ancestral roots include the pagan widow Ruth, her son Jesse, and her grandson, King David. (See the Book of Ruth and 1 Samuel 16.) Isaiah says that God’s envoy will perceive what lies deep behind every facade or humiliation. He will rectify injustice, unveiling the depths of each person. Tenderly loving the afflicted, the savior will call the wicked to account.
Isaiah wants to inspire dreams. He wants us to envision universal peace: a time when all creatures — from widow to queen, from lion to lamb — will have evolved beyond aggression because we enjoy and share everything necessary for genuine thriving. That’s what life will be like on God’s holy mountain.
The question is, how do we get there? Enter John the Baptist. Before we dwell on Isaiah’s mountain, John draws us into the desert. John’s desert isn’t primarily a place of fear or want. In Israel’s collective memory, the desert was an in-between space, a time and place of growth. While in that desert, they accused God and Moses of leading them out to die of thirst. They complained about missing the good food of Egypt. They spent some time practicing idolatry and they trembled at the signs of God’s presence. Gradually, the former slaves became a people of God. In the austere and strangely fertile setting of the desert, a locale matched to his clothing and diet, John summoned his people to metanoia.
Metanoia, translated here as repentance, is quite distinct from being sorry and making a firm purpose of amendment. Metanoia is an exciting, life-giving shakeup and shift of outlook. John summoned his people to metanoia, not because they are sinners, but because the kingdom of heaven was at hand. Sorrowful repentance and metanoia propose quite different approaches to change. Repentance concentrates on self: myself as perpetrator and my offense. Metanoia is a response to an invitation that focuses on God’s promise that something new is in the offing. It is an invitation to a conversion of mindset. It is so radical that we don’t seem to have an English word capable of communicating it. Nevertheless, practicing it will change our lives.
John preached a message about God’s future. He called it the kingdom of heaven; Isaiah described it as life on God’s holy mountain. In his letter to the Romans, Paul spoke of it as the internal and collective harmony that flows from life in Christ Jesus.
John summarized his message with the proclamation: « Prepare the way of the Lord. » He heralded something new. He did not belittle the temple and synagogue, but warned his audiences that membership in a religious tradition made them no holier than pavement stones. For John, belief necessarily included the zest for life that comes from the fire of the Holy Spirit.
John tells us to prepare, to ready ourselves for the coming of God’s reign. Isaiah tells us that « the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. » Now is the time to envision what that can mean and to begin to act as if it were true. Now is the time to allow that great, great gettin’ up morning to inhabit our imagination and inspire our activities. Let us prepare the way of the Lord!
We often know how « Star Wars » stories will end well before they begin.
Remember in 1999 when we all rushed to see « The Phantom Menace »? We met a young Anakin Skywalker — but even before he showed up onscreen, we knew he’d fall to the dark side, becoming the eventual dark lord himself: Darth Vader.
Remember how cool it was to see Yoda fighting Chancellor-turned-Emperor-slash-secret-Sith-Lord Palpatine with that buzzing green lightsaber in 2005’s « Revenge of the Sith »? It didn’t matter how strong he was, that little green guy was destined for exile on Dagobah.
Even as recently as « The Mandalorian » and « The Book of Boba Fett, » we see Jedi Master Luke Skywalker in all his Force-wielding glory. Wow! Amazing! Think of the action figures! And yet, pretty soon he’ll be throwing back green milk all alone on that porg-infested planet, Ahch-To.
What is it about « Star Wars » that draws us back to stories that have already concluded?
The most recent installment in the franchise, « Star Wars: Andor, » wrapped its first season on Disney+ last month. And though the second and final season is already in production, those of us who have seen 2016’s « Rogue One » know how it will end: Cassian Andor is killed by the Death Star after successfully stealing that same superweapon’s plans and beaming them up to the waiting Rebel fleet. (Further spoilers for 1977’s « Star Wars »: Those are the very plans Luke Skywalker relies upon to destroy the Death Star.)
« Andor » might just be some of the very best « Star Wars » out there. As a storytelling endeavor, « Star Wars » does a masterful job adding layer upon layer to supposedly settled canon. We learn more, we see more, we hear the story from a new perspective and change, ever so slightly, what we thought we knew.
In « Andor, » we see a new side of the burgeoning Rebel Alliance. And it isn’t always pretty.
In Genevieve O’Reilly’s portrayal of the legendary senator-turned-Rebel leader Mon Mothma, we see the heartbreaking choices and daily risks taken to fund rebellion behind the scenes.
In Stellan Skarsgård’s Luthen Rael, we struggle with the ethics of sacrificing people for the greater good — just as the cause may be, evil as the enemy may be.
And in the relationship between Faye Marsay’s character, Vel Sartha, and Varada Sethu’s Cinta Kaz, we glimpse the interpersonal struggle to build something intimate while fighting for something galactic.
And those are the good guys!
We see a new side of the Empire, too, one that doesn’t shy away from torture, slaughter, brutal imprisonment and callous disregard for any and all life.
But ultimately, we see Cassian Andor, vividly portrayed once more by Diego Luna. We see him go from casual thief to mercenary to prisoner to full-throated rebel. We see him edge closer and closer to the hero we’ve already met in « Rogue One. »
The path is a bumpy one. There’s blood on his hands — lots of it — and not all of it necessary. His actions lead to others’ deaths, and he seems to abandon his family in their hour of need for a pleasure planet. He dupes his friends and allies; he steals.
« Andor » does undoubtedly give us a darker take on « Star Wars. » And while we know how it ends, we see more vividly the suffering, death and difficult decisions that ultimately got us to Luke’s fateful run through the Death Star trenches way back in 1977.
But dark as « Andor » is — with its grisly killings, its traumatic torture, its contempt for prisoners and its wayward heroes — I believe it’s a story of hope and redemption. How can it not be? Hope and redemption are at the very core of « Star Wars. » We’ve just never seen the stakes so brutally played out.
We know how the story ends: We know Andor sacrifices himself for others, for the greater good.
And I wonder, for those of us of a Christian persuasion, if we might glimpse something of the Gospel story here. Because we know how that story ends, too. We know Jesus sacrifices himself; God wins the day. And yet, we know that story is still unfolding; we write our own chapter daily.
Do we struggle with suffering and death and difficult decisions? Do we always get it right? Cassian Andor is not Jesus — and neither are we. But the call Andor responds to is the same call Christ issues each of us: Keep going, keep muddling through, keep doing your best for the good of all.
That’s the call of hope — and the manifestation of that hope in the daily, mundane, nitty-gritty reality of our everyday life is the work of redemption. That’s where the Holy Spirit comes to us, in those dark moments when we could just as easily give up. Instead, we turn back to the light, again and again and again.
(Spoiler ahead.) Cassian Andor mutters the final words of the season: « Take me in. » He’s talking to Luthen Rael, a plea to join the Rebel cause.
But those words could just as easily find their way to our lips as we wrestle with hope and redemption and the working of the Spirit in our lives. We know how the story ends, but we don’t yet know fully the part we will play.
All we can do is throw ourselves at the Spirit and mutter, « Take me in. » And then, we muddle on.
As a deadline nears for new lawsuits in sexual abuse cases, 66 Catholic clergy and religious accused of sexual abuse have been identified in 116 lawsuits filed in Northern California. Of those, 14 have been publicly identified for the first time.
These new accusations have come to light under under a 2019 California law that extended the statute of limitations for abuse cases. Assembly Bill 218 provided for a three-year window that began on Jan. 1 in 2020. The deadline to file new lawsuits is Dec. 31.
“This public data collected is believed to be a small percentage of what attorneys (and) advocates anticipate the final number of lawsuits filed under this historic legislation to be,” according to a statement from Jeff Anderson and Associates, which is handling many of the cases under the bill.
Attorney Mike Finnegan, in a statement, urged the public to come forward with information about the clergy’s current status and whereabouts. Without knowledge of their current location, or “if they are dead or alive, and whether they have access to children, there is a great public risk,” Finnegan said.
According to the lawsuits, those publicly identified for the first time, listed with locales where alleged abuse took place, are John A. Lynch, Christian Sandholdt, Robert Gemmet and Joseph Watt, all in San Francisco; John Francis Scanlon and Domingos S. Jacque in Oakland; James Corley in Santa Rosa; Sidney Hall in Sacramento; Benedict Reams in Moraga; Sr. M. Rosella McConnell in Berkeley; Elwood Geary in San Jose; Henry Hall in Monterey County; William Dodson in Fresno; and Robert H. Lewis in Dinuba.
Jacque died in 2016, according to the Bay Area News Group. And, according to The Sacramento Bee, Hall also died in 2016.
The Catholic Church has instituted reforms to address cases of sexual abuse by clergy, including issuing guidelines for dioceses for reporting abuse. Dioceses across the country, including the dioceses of San Jose, Oakland and Sacramento, have released lists of priests credibly accused of abusing kids.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests has criticized the Archdiocese of San Francisco for not releasing its names. The organization has also called on the Diocese of Sacramento to expand its list. Hall’s name is not on the list, the Sacramento Bee reported.
In a statement to Religion News Service, the Archdiocese of San Francisco said it “publishes on its website names of priests and deacons in good standing who have faculties to minister here in the Archdiocese. Those with questions about a priest or deacon can refer to this list.”
“The Archdiocese addresses allegations related to lawsuits through appropriate legal channels. Other than allegations that are facially not possible, investigations are initiated for any claims received. Any priest under investigation is prohibited from exercising public ministry in accordance with canon law as well as Archdiocesan and USCCB policies,” according to the statement.
Pope Francis’ much anticipated and twice delayed trip to South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo is back on, the Vatican announced on Dec. 1.
Francis will travel first to the Democratic Republic of Congo capital of Kinshasa on Jan. 31, 2023 and then will visit South Sudan from Feb. 3 to 5, where he will be joined by the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the moderator of the Church of Scotland, Iain Greenshields.
The historic ecumenical trip will mark the pope’s third visit to sub-Saharan Africa. The journey will mark the first time a pope has visited the world’s youngest nation of South Sudan and only the second papal visit to the Congo, which is home to Africa’s largest Catholic population.
Plans for the three faith leaders to travel to the war-torn nation of South Sudan have been underway since 2017, when the visit was first canceled due to the country’s violent conflict and deteriorating conditions.
In the years that followed, the leaders of the three Christian churches sought to encourage South Sudan’s delicate peace process, meeting together with the South Sudanese president and the country’s rebel leadership at the Vatican in 2019.
In a now memorable scene from that encounter, Francis knelt down and kissed the feet of the five-member leadership delegation, begging both the president and the rebel leadership not to return to civil war. Nearly 400,000 people have been killed since the war began in December 2013 and an estimated 4 million people have been displaced.
The visit was rescheduled for July 2022, but less than one month beforehand the pope was forced to cancel, citing ongoing knee problems.
Following this summer’s postponement, the Vatican’s secretary of state, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, visited both countries in July, pledging that Francis would make the trip as soon as possible.
« I come, like John the Baptist, to prepare his arrival, » Parolin said during his time in the South Sudan capital of Juba.
Although the 85-year-old pope continues to struggle with mobility issues and knee pain, in recent months he has traveled to Canada, Kazakhstan and Bahrain, using both a wheelchair and a walking cane when necessary.
During a virtual dialogue with students from across the African continent last month, one Congolese student asked the pope when he would visit to comfort those who are suffering.
« When will you come to meet all of those women and mothers who have suffered rape to express God’s compassion to them? » she asked, citing the violence caused by rebel groups in the country.
At the time, Francis hinted that he hoped to travel there in February 2023, which will mark his 40th international trip since being elected pope in 2013.
