Welcome to The Light, your quiet-hour reflection.
A new study suggests that nearly half of Generation Z Americans say Christian support for President Donald Trump is making them less likely to attend church. It is a striking number, and it raises a quiet but urgent question about what witness means, and who is watching the watchers.
That question of witness finds an echo in the world of worship music, where Elevation Rhythm has spent nearly a decade asking what it would sound like to build music for the way teenagers actually encounter sound and longing today. The answer, they found, did not come from data. It came from a moment after a youth service, unplanned and unrepeatable.
And from a very different corner of the world, scientists tracing the genetic roots of avocado diversity in Central America believe that ancient varieties, long overlooked, may hold the key to protecting the crop from disease and climate disruption. What sustains us, it seems, is often found in what we nearly forgot to preserve.
That is this hour's reflection. Carry the light gently.
