Our brother, Peter Beckwith, Assisting Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes and retired bishop of Springfield, entered into Glory today. O Lord, may his soul, and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

— ArchbishopFoleyBeach (@ArchbishopFoley) October 4, 2019

America needs a Yom Kippur—a day to reflect on our guilt, however defined, and take steps, however small, to make amends. Belief in God is helpful but not necessary for the country to establish a day when Americans can grapple with sin and restore others’ faith in them. Such a day may already exist, though few know it.

Eisenhower’s call for Americans to “confess their sins” came from his proclamation designating a National Day of Prayer. Eisenhower called it a “National Day of Penance and Prayer.” But like “sin,” over the years “penance” disappeared, too. Those words ought to be brought back.

“Women at Work: Changes in Sexual Harassment between September 2016 and September 2018”—a PLoS One journal article from May—found that the most egregious forms of sexual harassment decreased in 2018. Given heightened fear of the legal repercussions, this makes sense. Yet reports of more ambiguous “gender harassment” increased. How could a widespread reckoning with sin influence these numbers?

Imagine a day on which Americans recounted their sins and strived to repent—without concern for legal admissions of guilt, without advice from counsel to invoke the Fifth Amendment. Maybe a spouse would finally apologize. Maybe a supervisor will reflect on how the workplace culture could be healthier. And maybe Americans would, for a moment, move beyond cycles of accusations and outrage and ask what would repair the country’s tattered social fabric.

Read it all.

#MeToo Should Include #SinToo https://t.co/TtyPbap1TZ

— Living Without Lust/Jay Haug Executive Director (@LWLorg) October 4, 2019

But many have likely missed footage from the rest of the family, including these words from Botham’s mother, Allison Jean.

“Forgiveness for us as Christians is a healing for us, but as my husband said, there are consequences. It does not mean that everything else we have suffered has to go unnoticed,” Mother Allison told the court.

What went unnoticed? According to Botham Jean’s mother, the crime scene was contaminated by Dallas police. High-ranking officials deleted evidence. Police officers turned off body cameras and vehicle cameras.

“You saw investigations that were marred with corruption,” Mother Allison said. “While we walk as Christians, we still have a responsibility to ensure that our city does what is right.”

Listening to the entire Jean family offers us a fuller picture of Christianity. In their words and posture towards Guyger and the criminal justice system, we hear calls for both forgiveness and justice. But if we elevate the words of one family member at the expense of another, we run the risk of distorting the gospel.

Read it all.

In Brandt and Allison Jean’s words towards Amber Guyger and the criminal justice system, we hear calls for both forgiveness and justice.

But if we elevate the words of one family member at the expense of another, we run the risk of distorting the gospel https://t.co/Vqioyjq3Ce

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) October 4, 2019

This is a pretty extraordinary prayer.

(and is believed to be one of the first, if not the first, works of literature written in the Italian language) pic.twitter.com/KVyuGAb7dY

— Jeremy Zipple (@jzipple) October 4, 2019

Most high, omnipotent, good Lord, grant unto thy people grace to renounce gladly the vanities of this world; that, following the way of blessed Francis, we may for love of thee delight in thy whole creation with perfectness of joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

On this feast day of St Francis of Assisi, a prayer from the Franciscan Prayer Book: “O God, may we live in faith, walk in hope and be renewed in love, until the world reflects your glory and you are all in all. Amen” 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/cC1EyBkhmr

— Helen-Ann Hartley (@h_ahartley) October 4, 2019

O Lord, heavenly Father, in whom is the fullness of light and wisdom: Enlighten our minds by thy Holy Spirit, and give us grace to receive thy Word with reverence and humility, without which no man can understand thy truth; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.

–John Calvin (1509-1564)

Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezeki′ah saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Your prayer to me about Sennach′erib king of Assyria I have heard.

–2 Kings 19:20