By Melissa Wuske

High School Experiences & Inequality

Carla Shedd, part of Columbia University’s sociology and African-American studies departments, studied high schools in Chicago—several segregated and several more diverse—to discover how students’ school experiences shape the way they see themselves and how they view experiences of inequality. She found that black and Hispanic students in segregated environments had less perception of inequality. For example they found it much more normal to be searched by the police. Students in diverse schools often feel stress from inequality but are also more aware and perhaps prepared to deal with inequality later in life. Her findings are published in Unequal City: Race, Schools, and Perceptions of Injustice. 

Parisian Ministers Request Prayer

In the wake of terror attacks in Paris, and the outpouring of concern from around the world, ministers in Paris shared prayer needs that continue to be relevant even in the months after the attacks.

Jason Procopio, of Église Connexion, asked for faith for his family and church: “Pray that my wife and I might faithfully remember the hope we have in Christ, and wisdom to be able to boldly communicate that hope to others. . . . Please pray that our congregation (mostly young singles) would remember their hope in Christ, and that they would have wisdom to respond to their unbelieving colleagues and friends about what has happened.”

Matthieu Sanders, of L’Église évangélique baptiste de Paris-Centre, wants the events to impact the city for Christ: “Many French people are responding to these terrifying events with misguided relativism. We pray God would give us the courage and clarity to remind our people that sin is a deep human problem and not just the stuff of extremists, and that the only true hope for our city and nation is found in Christ.”

Trévor Harris, of Eglise Protestante Evangélique de La Garenne-Colombes, hopes that both atheists and Muslims see Christ: “Pray that as Parisians are confused, angry, and hurting we would be able to lead them to God’s Shepherd King who has compassion on them. As radical Islam fights our secular and largely atheistic society, pray that many might see the emptiness of both worldviews and discover the Good News of Christ.
. . . Pray that many of these Muslims might turn to Christ and find through him a loving heavenly Father.”

Fighting Parkinson’s

A surprising therapy is bringing hope for many who experience the progressive neurological damage of Parkinson’s disease. Rock Steady Boxing is a noncontact boxing program designed with stretching, footwork, and punching that address the stiffness, lack of balance, and tremors of Parkinson’s.

“When I first started coming in,” said Les Mills, a teacher in New York City who has Parkinson’s, “I was not able to walk straight to the ring. I would have to wobble to the ring. It was very hard to walk. Now it’s a piece of—I don’t wanna say a piece of cake, I don’t wanna sound cocky! But physically, it made a big difference.” 

Stephanie Combs-Miller of the University of Indianapolis College of Health Sciences studied the program and had similar findings. “We studied people over a two-year period who participated in boxing and we didn’t see any progression of the disease in the people that boxed. . . . In some cases, they were better.”

Free Rides for Veterans

Transportation is a major hurdle for many veterans, especially the 50,000 who are homeless. Now two ride-sharing companies, Uber and Lyft, aim to address that problem. They’re offering free rides to veterans going to work, job interviews, and other important appointments. The rides will be offered through veterans’ organizations working with the Labor Department’s Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program.

Melissa Wuske is a freelance editor and writer. She and her husband, Shawn, live and minister in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Find her work online (melissaannewuske.com).