The World and Everything in It - July 7, 2022

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Good morning!

Last month an Amtrak train derailed in a small Missouri town. Today we’ll hear how residents jumped in to help out.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Also an update on this year’s annual gathering of the Christian Reformed Church in America.

Plus giving a cup of cold water—or rather barbeque—in Jesus’ name. 

And Cal Thomas on green energy.

BROWN: It’s Thursday, July 7th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

BUTLER: And I’m Paul Butler. Good morning!

BROWN: Up next, Kristen Flavin with today’s news.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, NEWS ANCHOR:  Crimo in court / weapon purchase » The suspected mass shooter at a July 4th parade near Chicago faced a judge on Wednesday before officers transported him back to his jail cell.

Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart …

RINEHART: The judge ruled that Robert Crimo III would be held without bond and there was probable cause at this time to hold him on seven counts of first degree murder.

Before his court appearance, he confessed to raining bullets on the Highland Park parade from the rooftop of a building. He then fled almost 100 miles to Madison, Wisconsin. The suspect told police that he considered attacking an event there, too.

Chris Covelli is deputy chief of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. He told reporters…

COVELLI: His motivation isn’t necessarily clear, I don’t want to go specifically into what he told investigators. However, he had some type of affinity toward the number four and seven and the inverse of that is seven four.

Those numbers correspond to the date of the attack, July 4th.

Police said the alleged shooter passed a background check in 2019 and purchased five guns legally, despite a suicide attempt and threatening to kill everyone in his home earlier that year.

Senate Intelligence Committee challenges Tik Tok » TikTok, the popular social media app, could deliver Americans’ private user data to the Chinese government. That is the concern of the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is calling for an investigation. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown reports.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, REPORTER: The committee asked the Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday to launch a probe of the social media giant and its China-based parent company, ByteDance.

The letter notes a recent BuzzFeed News report that found ByteDance employees in China had a history of accessing U.S. TikTok users’ information.

The Republican co-chair of the committee, Sen. Marco Rubio tweeted that TikTok's claim that it would safeguard user data from the Chinese government was—quote—“laughable.”

He added that “Under Chinese law every Chinese company MUST hand over whatever data [the] govt asks for.”

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

EU calls natural gas, nuclear energy “green” » European Union leaders have taken another step aimed at weaning Europe off of Russian energy.

Officials voted Wednesday to add natural gas and nuclear energy to a list of “sustainable activities.” Labeling those energy sources as more environmentally friendly may encourage more investment in those industries and lessen Europe’s dependence on Russia.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned on Wednesday…

LEYEN: We think it is important to have a European overview and a coordinated approach to a potential complete cutoff of Russian gas.

Many environmental groups oppose the expansion of nuclear energy. Some criticized the EU’s decision and called it “dirty politics.”

The European Parliament and member nations have until Monday to object with the labels set to take effect next year.

8 killed in Ukraine » A new round of Russian airstrikes killed at least eight civilians and wounded 25 more in Ukraine’s Donetsk province as Russian missiles continue to rain down across the region.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared this week…

ZELENSKYY: Russia’s war against Ukraine is not simply an attempt to seize our land and destroy our state institutions or break down our independence. It is a far greater confrontation of outlooks.

Russia recently declared victory in the Loo hansk uhansk province, but Ukraine says its forces still have strongholds in the area and they’re not giving up the fight.

Griner case » The White House remains committed to bringing a WNBA basketball star home from a Russian jail. That according to Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre…

PIERRE: This has been top of mind for the president. He receives daily updates about the status of her negotiations.

Brittney Griner recently sent a handwritten letter appealing to President Biden. She said she feared never returning home.

Pierre said the matter “is very personal to” the president.

Authorities arrested Griner at a Moscow airport in February on charges of possessing cannabis oil while returning to play for her Russian team.

Her trial resumes today. She could face years in a Russian prison.

Boris Johnson faces opposition » British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is vowing to soldier on, brushing off calls to resign.

That after two top ministers and others called it quits, including Health Secretary Sahjid Javid, who said a team is only as good as its captain.

JAVID: Treading the tightrope between loyalty and integrity has become impossible in recent months.

Recent reports have emerged that Johnson knew about a senior official’s alleged sexual misconduct even before he promoted him. Those reports have led members of his own party to question his moral authority.

But the prime minister says he plans to stay the course.

JOHNSON: The job of a prime minister in difficult circumstances when he's been handed is to keep going and that's what I'm going to do.

Johnson survived a no-confidence vote last month following a scandal over COVID lockdown violations within his administration.

I’m Kristen Flavin. Still to come: an update on this year’s gathering of the Christian Reformed Church in America.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: It’s Thursday the 7th of July, 2022.

Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Myrna Brown.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: And I’m Paul Butler. First up: an update on a story we reported a few weeks ago.

In June, the Christian Reformed Church in North America gathered at Calvin University for its annual synod meeting. They faced a decision about their position on human sexuality. Their deliberations included two important considerations: first, whether or not to approve a report clarifying the church’s stance on the issue. And second, whether or not to discipline churches out of line with the statement and church confessions.

BROWN: The delegates answered both those questions in the affirmative. WORLD Journalism Institute graduate Zoe Schimke returns to give us an update.

ZOE SCHIMKE, ASSOCIATE CORRESPONDENT: Kurt Monroe pastors First CRC in Sioux Center, Iowa. He was one of 196 delegates at this year’s annual Synod meeting. Going into the closed session vote, he wasn’t sure of the outcome…

MONROE: Yeah, I think a lot of us were not maybe not thinking 50-50. But we're thinking, you know, yeah, high 50s, maybe a 60, if we're lucky.

Turns out Monroe was way off. When the committee counted the votes, the motion passed 131 to 45.

MONROE: So that kind of supermajority? Yeah, really was overwhelming. Just an amazing confirmation that the vast majority of congregations out there and members of the CRC are actually orthodox on this and seeking to be faithful to Scripture [and seeking to be faithful to live in covenant faithfulness to our confessions as well.] So really, really encouraging to see that happen on the floor of Synod.

The synod declared that the sin of ‘unchastity’ as mentioned in the Heidelberg Catechism includes homosexual practice—among other sexual sins.

MONROE: It has to do with, the confession has already spoken to this. It has always spoken to this, it always will speak to this. And and so that was what Synod actually did.

That’s important because it means that the decisions of this synod don’t have to be ratified by a future synod of the CRC.

MONROE: So this doesn't take effect immediately, but affirms that its effect has been in place already.

In 2019, Neland Avenue Christian Reformed Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan, ordained as deacon a woman in a same sex marriage. That action was the catalyst for the vote this year on the Human Sexuality Report.

Based on the report’s approval, the synod has instructed Neland Avenue CRC to immediately remove the lesbian deacon in compliance with synod’s rulings.

MONROE: Churches like Neland Ave and ministers who are preaching against that understanding of what the word ‘unchastity’ means, and that question and answer being a clear summary of biblical teaching, so they're already, they have been, out of confessional covenant with the CRC.

Not only did the synod declare that homosexual practice is sinful—but it also affirmed that it is not possible to teach otherwise without being in direct contradiction with the church’s confession and catechisms.

MONROE: So we adopted the first recommendation of that committee number two, that synod instruct Neland Avenue CRC to immediately rescind its decision to ordain a deacon in the same sex marriage, thus nullifying this deaconess current term.

This declaration also opens up the opportunity for church discipline to be brought against other churches who teach or preach contrary to this interpretation of the confessions.

LOUTERS: I understand protection of the holiness of the church. But we've lost a little view of grace in this process and that I mourn. So that is going to be a hard thing.

Larry Louters was a delegate to synod 2022 and an elder at Neland Avenue CRC. On the floor of synod, he responded to their decision to discipline the church.

LOUTERS: In our mind, it's a change of the rules a bit because we understood this to be pastoral guidance, and guidance, or is guidance, or, and so we were able to sort of disagree with that. We did not view it as covenant breaking. And we really grieve that this body has ruled as covenant breaking. That's hard to take. We love the CRC. You're gonna have to kick us out.

Last week Neland Avenue’s council unanimously voted to appeal synod’s injunction. They have decided not to remove the lesbian deacon. The decision to appeal may be a first in the CRC’s 165 year history.

If the church won’t change course, and the CRC won’t reconsider, the denomination faces a unique challenge. There are provisions in their guiding documents for churches to leave—or “disaffiliate”—but there is no instruction for how to force a church out.

Synod appointed a committee to meet with Neland Avenue CRC to oversee their compliance to its decision. Here’s Pastor Monroe:

MONROE: I'm personally praying that they'll hear the call of the church to repent, and that they will repent and submit to the teachings of the Church, submit to the teachings of Scripture, that's my prayer. But at the same time, I'm also acknowledging the fact that their immediate response was one of open defiance, [we kind of, most of us assumed that that would be the case.] And so next year's Synod is going to be just as important as this year’s Synod, if not more important, and our delegates next year are going to have to be really solid and well prepared. And we've got a lot of work ahead of us in the year to come and then the years to come.

The effect of this ruling extends far beyond the local church. It also applies to the denomination’s college and seminary.

Before synod, nearly one third of professors at Calvin University signed a letter protesting the Human Sexuality Report—claiming it would impair staff and faculty’s ability to care for LGBT students. Faculty are required to sign a covenant to keep their teaching, speaking, and writing in line with the confessions. This ruling might call into question the future of LGBT-affirming professors at Calvin. Former pastor and church official Lee Christoffels says the CRC must stand on the Word of God.

CHRISTOFFELS: We’re guided by scripture, and we are very thankful that it was that which moved the delegates to Synod to make the decisions that they did. Because they certainly were bucking the traffic, you might say, from the culture, as well as from those that we believe are within the church, but who have been heavily influenced by the culture.

Differing views on human sexuality have recently brought about a seismic shift in many churches. The United Methodist Church split in March over issues of human sexuality. And the Reformed Church in America—the nation’s oldest denomination—faces a mass exodus of biblically orthodox conservatives for the same reason.

Christoffels says this is certainly a step in the right direction for the CRC.

CHRISTOFFELS: So this was a wonderful decision, we think, that isn't to say that we don't have any more to do. There will be - reformation doesn't come easily. And reformation is often a process. And so it's a beginning. But we believe that if we can hold the line on this and make further progress, that will be very significant for the future of the Christian Reformed Church. So we're cleaning up the rooms of the house. And you don't do house cleaning on everything at once, though. Many of us are impatient for that. And pray for it and long for it.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Zoe Schimke.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: a small town comes to the aid of a derailed train. A couple weeks ago, an Amtrak train struck a vehicle and toppled off the rails near a town few people had ever heard of before—the town of Mendon, Missouri.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: What happened next? Well, WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has the story.

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: Eric Hoyt is the superintendent of the Northwestern R-1 school district in Mendon, Missouri. On Monday June 27th, he got a phone call he didn’t expect.

HOYT: The 911 Dispatch, and Sheridan county called and told me what was going on…

A train had derailed nearby.

Here’s Corporal Justin Dunn of the Missouri Highway Patrol

DUNN: Approximately 12:43pm Today the Sherman county 911 Center received a 911 call of a vehicle struck by train on Porsche prairie Avenue in Sheridan County, southwest of men in Missouri. At approximately 1302 First Responders began to arrive on the scene.

The 911 dispatch had a request for Eric Hoyt.

HOYT: …and asked if we could organize transportation to the accident scene to remove non injured and minorly wounded passengers from the scene and get them back to our school as kind of an evacuation and holding zone.

Hoyt’s response?

HOYT: I got off the phone with him and started working on organizing drivers.

The passenger train struck a dump truck at a railroad crossing near Mendon. Four people died, and over one-hundred passengers suffered injuries. The railroad crossing was what Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, refers to has a “passive” crossing.

HOMENDY: There are active crossings and passive crossings. What makes this a passive crossing is there was a stop sign and cross books. There were no arms. There were no warning lights. There were no bells.

Three of the school bus drivers were nearby, so they could get to their buses easily. Hoyt himself wasn’t far off, so he headed over to the school as well—then on to the scene.

He started calling other faculty from the school to get on campus and get things ready. One of the basketball coaches had just gotten back from a basketball tournament. He got to the school gym and started gathering food and water.

Here’s Corporal Justin Dunn again.

DUNN:The train had approximately 207 passengers as well as crew members all injured and uninjured occupants of the train had been transported from the scene

By this point, other people in town had heard as well.

MOXLEY: I was just here at home, I'm a teacher. So I was off for the summer home with my boys. And we have an elementary messenger group, and someone had put it in the messenger group that they had heard that there was an Amtrak that had derailed in the Mendon area.

That’s Whitney Moxley—she teaches 4th grade at the town’s K-12 school.

MOXLEY: I just quickly loaded up my boys and took them to my brother-in-law, and then I headed down there just to see with whatever I could help with.

And so she, like Hoyt, just started helping out—wherever she was needed. For Moxley, that meant helping to set up a triage area—making ice packs, and trying to find anything around the school that would be helpful for tending minor injuries. Mostly, they followed the instructions of the EMTs on-scene.

MOXLEY: We would set them in an area and then all the nurses that it came in EMTs, they would assess them, and then those that were okay. And we would kind of get them to a different area and just try to keep them comfortable. And then there were several that had to be put on school buses or ambulance to take to be checked out further.

Uninjured passengers gathered in groups on the bleachers in the school’s gym. Meanwhile, volunteers packed goodie bags to give to the passengers who were leaving for hotels or other places where they’d stay for the night.

Moxley stayed into the night, doing what she could to help out. And that was what a lot of other people from Mendon did that day as well, doing whatever first responders told them to do. Clergy and mental health professionals showed up to talk with distressed passengers. Amtrak workers also began helping passengers find travel accommodations.

MOXLEY: I think that's just what our community does. I just feel like the people in our area, that's how they would respond, they see someone that is in need, and they don't hesitate at all.

The town was laid out in 1871. It shifted locations about a decade later, when the railway came through. The population then was about 350 residents. Currently, it has about 270.

Here’s Eric Hoyt again.

HOYT: I think everybody is just used to helping. It's just a normal response for them. I don't, I feel like everybody around here looks at these instances with a lot of humility. They don't expect notoriety, they don't expect recognition. They just, it's something that they, you know, is in their personalities to do and help and once the event is over with, they'll just go back to life as usual.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Today is Thursday, July 7th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Paul Butler.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: comfort food.

In May scores of people offering aid descended on Uvalde, Texas in the wake of the school shooting there. Among them were those offering food as comfort—much of it barbecue. They fed the families of the victims, first responders, and the town shrouded in grief.

BUTLER: While covering the tragic circumstances in Uvalde, WORLD reporter Bonnie Pritchett asked the grill masters why they came. Here’s what she found out.

WOMAN’S VOICE: Yeah, we have leg quarters, rice, beans, corn, green beans…

REPORTER, BONNIE PRITCHETT: If love had an aroma, it might smell like barbecued chicken leg quarters—served with generous sides. Or pulled pork sandwiches—enough to feed several hundred people.

In the days immediately following the deadly shooting that left Uvalde residents stunned, love was dished onto countless Styrofoam plates and covered with foil and prayer.

Clifford Archer was among those rolling into town with his barbecue trailer in tow. He came offering comfort the best way he knew how.

CLIFFORD ARCHER: I think it's pretty simple. There's three ways I love people. I pray for them. I can hug them. Or I can feed them. And I can't hug these families. I can pray for them, which we will forever. So that leaves me my third option. We're going to feed them. And we're going to cook good food that's comforting to the heart…

Archer sat with fellow barbecue enthusiast Laura Davis in the parking lot of Templo Cristiano Tree City Church as his two 55-gallon barrel smokers slowly transformed pounds of pork roast into dinner. The pair usually compete against each other in barbecue cooking contests across the state. Not this time. This was a team effort.

ARCHER: So, for lunch, we were able to get out 44 plates of pork tenderloin, green beans mashed taters. And for dinner, we're going to do pulled pork, country beans, corn and bread. But tomorrow, it's going to be a smorgasbord…

Archer asked his fellow competitors to join him in Uvalde.

ARCHER: These are families and individuals that are going to go to HEB tonight, load up on meats and sides and whatnot. And they're gonna drive all the way down here, cook meals and serve them. I've told all the teams that are coming down, cook whatever is on your heart, whatever you can afford, and just come love…

They did come. The cook-off competitors grilled and smoked enough meat to feed 800 people, including families whose children died in the school. Plenty of leftovers were frozen for future distribution.

The human impulse to comfort the grieving is a testimony to God’s grace. That comfort is often offered as a meal.

GIVLER: I think it's biblical. We, our response to [a] suffering person is to try to meet their needs as this as those people did, so many people who poured into Uvalde were doing…

That’s Amy Givler, a family physician at an indigent care hospital in Monroe, Louisiana. She said offering meals to grief-stricken people is not just loving—but necessary.

GIVLER: What happens in the time of crisis is so often not eating, you know. The last thing you think you can spend the time doing is to prepare a meal…

Barbecue restaurant owner Anthony Cubit hoped his offering of barbecue fed a deeper hunger.

ANTHONY CUBIT: I just, you know, small bit of peace, you know. I only I really tried not to imagine. But just a small bit of peace, you know, just for a moment, you know, just to take their minds away from everything that's going on…

So, Cubit and his friend Tyrone Polk and their families loaded the portable wood-fired grill and a food truck and drove 85 miles west from San Antonio to Uvalde. The men own separate barbecue restaurants, but for years have cooked together to feed the city’s homeless.

For these families, cooking for others is more than a business. Valerie Polk explains.

VALERIE POLK: It definitely is a ministry. Because, you know, bringing people together to eat together as one at the table is a ministry in itself. Once you give people the food, they will sit in eat and talk…

Some Uvalde residents expressed gratitude and shared their stories. Others had no words.

VALERIE POLK: We had several people get their plates and just walk away from the line and begin to cry. You could see tears fall in several of them. We requested prayer for them and prayer was given.

Pastor Russel Howelton prayed with several Uvalde residents. He’s pastor of Skybridge Community Church in San Antonio and often accompanies the pit masters when they serve outside their restaurants. He prayed with first responders shaken by what they witnessed inside the school. And a father whose daughter was injured inside the classroom where her friends were killed.

RUSSELL HOWELTON: By faith, we’ve got to pray. But after prayer, we have to do something as a church. I was blessed to be able to get the phone numbers of several people here, so that they would know it's not gonna be a one and done in the sense that we ministered to you today and we forget about you tomorrow. They're still hurting. And we got to let them know that they're not hurting by themselves.

Those reminders will come in phone calls, prayers and deliveries of leftover meat by members of Templo Cristiano Tree City Church.

And at the end of a long hot evening of grilling and serving almost 2000 plates of barbecue, Tyrone Polk is exhausted and grateful.

TYRONE POLK: It means a lot. Um, yeah, everything really because just to see a tragedy happen, and you're here with food and just help, able to help them smile and, and get it off their minds for a few minutes. It's it's really life changing for us. It's the simple things.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Bonnie Pritchett in Uvalde, Texas.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Thursday, July 7th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: And I’m Paul Butler. Here’s commentator Cal Thomas.

CAL THOMAS, COMMENTATOR: With apologies to Kermit the Frog, it’s not easy being green.

The Supreme Court last week diminished the power of unelected bureaucrats to effectively make law. A 6-3 majority ruled the Environmental Protection Agency—or the EPA—does not have the power to set standards on greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants. It said that’s up to Congress.

Responding to the court ruling, Marc Morano wrote on his website climatedepot.org: “That's one small step for climate sanity, one giant leap for democracy. (The) ruling reigning in the power of the unelected bureaucracy to essentially regulate every aspect of the American economy under the guise of 'climate change'—has been mercifully laid to rest. CO2 is not a pollutant, humans inhale oxygen and exhale CO2.”

Even the EPA acknowledges a decline in greenhouse gasses (GHG) without the additional regulations the Biden Administration wants to impose. Two years ago, the EPA said: “…between 2018 and 2019 total reported GHG emissions from large facilities fell nearly 5%. These most recent data are consistent with the decade-long trend in which total reported GHG emissions from large facilities decreased by more than 14% from 2011 to 2019…

Despite these figures, the administration is presiding over record high gas prices, hoping they will force us into electric cars. Electricity doesn’t fall from the sky. It must be created by something, such as coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, wind, or solar power. The latter two are not available in sufficient quantities to drive 289.5 million American cars.

The Wall Street Journal carried a story last week about the rising cost of electric vehicles. General Motors has added $6,250 to the price of its Hummer electric pickup truck. That vehicle now costs between $85,000 and $105,000. Tesla and Ford have also increased prices on their EVs.

There are less expensive electric cars, but challenges remain. These include the availability of batteries. The Lithium in them comes mostly from China. Do we want to underwrite more of the Chinese economy and its military at a time when Beijing is a threat to American interests? The last time I filled up my tank with gasoline it took me about two minutes. While there are several variables, the time it takes to charge an electric vehicle is much longer. According to Carfax.com it ranges from less than an hour to twelve hours—depending on which of three charging levels one chooses.

Suppose you are stuck in traffic during an evacuation from a hurricane and your battery runs out of juice? If there is no charging station nearby, what do you do? If your vehicle stalls, a massive backup is likely to ensue and your plan to flee the hurricane will be thwarted with potentially disastrous results.

Technology should precede ideology, not the reverse. The Biden Administration and its green allies want to force us into electric cars before most people can afford them and before they become as practical and convenient as gas-powered cars.

Politicians should reverse this imposition of green energy ideology, return us to energy independence, allow technology to catch-up and, more importantly, allow us the freedom to choose how we wish to transport ourselves.

I’m Cal Thomas.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Tomorrow: Culture Friday.

And, Collin Garbarino reviews the latest Marvel offering—Thor: Love and Thunder.

That and more tomorrow.

I’m Paul Butler.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio.

WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

Jesus said: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets. (Matt. 22:37-40 ESV)

Go now in grace and peace.

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