EDITOR’S NOTE: GetReligion veteran Bobby Ross, Jr., wears multiple hats. This post contains four different “Bobby Ross” lists of major religion-news stories from 2020. There is his earlier post about the results of the Religion News Association Top 10 poll: “Coronavirus pandemic touched almost everything.” Then he talked to journalists and asked them to list the top stories that they reported: “Religion-beat scribes select their top journalism of 2020.” Then he offered the top features, in terms of traffic, at Religion Unplugged, a list that contains quite a few bylines by Ross, Clemente Lisi and Julia Duin. Finally, we have the following list of Bobby’s own reporting for various sources, especially The Christian Chronicle, where he is editor-in-chief: “My Top 10 most memorable stories of 2020.” Enjoy!
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A church shooting. Deadly twisters. Racial justice protests. And the biggest news in this tumultuous year: COVID-19.
These were among the most memorable stories that I covered in 2020.
Here is my personal year-end Top 10 list, mostly in chronological order:
• Texas church shooting: A gunman opened fire at the West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, Texas, killing two worshipers before an armed member fatally shot him. While the attack occurred at the end of 2019, it remained an important story in 2020. In the immediate aftermath, I covered a members-only prayer vigil, recounted minister Britt Farmer’s experience and explained why Farmer chose to talk to me. I profiled victims Richard White and Tony Wallace. Later, I moderated a panel discussion on church shootings. And I wrote about the church’s emotional return to its auditorium.
• Women in the church: My Christian Chronicle colleagues and I produced an in-depth package of stories on women’s roles in Churches of Christ. I focused on two distinct congregations: an Arlington, Texas, church that embraces traditional gender roles and a Los Angeles church that has added female elders.
• Tennessee tornadoes: On my last flight before COVID-19 grounded me, I traveled to Middle Tennessee to report on tornadoes that cut an 80-mile swath of death and destruction. I highlighted the leading role that Churches of Christ played in the disaster relief effort. I interviewed a church teen who was serving her community while grieving her 4-year-old friend, Hattie Jo Collins. I covered the funeral for a Christian family killed in the storm. And I reflected on how sadness gave way to gladness on the Sunday after the tornadoes.
• COVID-19: As of this moment, the global pandemic has killed 1.8 million people around the world. My Christian Chronicle colleagues have produced amazing journalism on this challenging time. My first coronavirus story reported on numerous Churches of Christ canceling Sunday services, some for the first time ever. Three months later, I explored the precautions put into place as many congregations returned to in-person worship. Most recently, I noted churches going virtual again as infections surged to record levels. Also, I wrote about “Zoombombing,” post-pandemic attendance fears and a Louisiana couple trying to balance compassion and safety. On a personal note, I reflected on my fears, lamented my son’s canceled college graduation, discovered my great-grandfather died in the 1918 flu pandemic and found comfort viewing the pandemic through the eyes of my 2-year-old grandson.
• Oklahoma City bombing anniversary: The first larger-than-life story of my journalism career came in 1995 when I was a young reporter for The Oklahoman. The April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City claimed 168 lives and remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. At the 25th anniversary, I did a retrospective story for The Associated Press on a prayer service four days after the bombing that began the healing process for Oklahoma and the nation. I also caught up with a victim’s mother I first interviewed in April 1995 for a front-page profile of hope in The Oklahoman.
• Racial justice: The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody galvanized weeks of protests denouncing systemic racism and police brutality. The demonstrations started in Minneapolis and spread, sometimes devolving into rioting and looting. I organized a series of Zoom discussions with Black church leaders and wrote about the role of Christians in the protests. I delved into why the “Black Lives Matter” movement is so controversial to many Christians and described how a civil rights hero’s great-grandson found a way to show courage himself. And I interviewed longtime Tennessee state Rep. John DeBerry, who integrated an all-White high school and witnessed Martin Luther King Jr.’s final speech but was kicked out of the Democratic Party because of his conservative positions on social issues.
CONTINUE READING: “My Top 10 most memorable stories of 2020” at BobbyRossJr.com