When His Church Goes Dark, They Talk to His Digital Twin; The New York Times, July 30, 2026

Eli Saslow

Visuals by Erin Schaff

, The New York Times ; When His Church Goes Dark, They Talk to His Digital Twin

To meet the growing needs of his congregation, Justin Lester created an A.I. duplicate of himself. Every day he sees more people using it.

"In the last year, Lester and hundreds of others have brought A.I. into its most human form yet by transferring their thoughts into data and building online replicas of themselves. The digital twins can answer in the real person’s voice and apply their thinking on demand for anyone who wants to chat online or call. Some companies now build twins that sit on Zoom calls for C.E.O.s or manage projects while their owners are on vacation. Professors at Clemson University deploy them to answer student questions at 2 a.m. A sex therapist uses her digital twin to offer individual counseling to hundreds of people at once. A man in Berlin created a twin after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, so his wife could still talk to him before bed...

He told them he’d been finding inspiration lately in the story of Paul, Christ’s first great missionary, who started churches all over the Mediterranean world. Paul was sometimes shipwrecked or imprisoned, so he relied on the cutting-edge technology of the time to continue his work. He wrote letters to extend his presence so his ideas could travel beyond his body.

Now Lester looked out at his congregants and pointed to a quote framed on the wall: “We reach those no one reaches by doing what no one is doing,” it read.

“We have to stop being scared of A.I. and start using it as a tool,” he said. “If we steward this technology correctly, it can bring more people to God.”"

Boy sends 600 holiday cards, nearly 4,000 treats to dad’s National Guard unit in Syria; KCRG, December 25, 2025

Jocelyn Peshia, KCRG; Boy sends 600 holiday cards, nearly 4,000 treats to dad’s National Guard unit in Syria

"Oliver Young hasn’t seen his dad, Sergeant First Class Robert Young, in seven months - that’s when his National Guard unit was deployed to Syria.

It’s Sgt. Young’s second deployment since Oliver was born and his third in his 20 years with the Iowa Army National Guard...

To brighten up the Christmas season, Oliver decided to send cards and treats to his dad’s unit.

Oliver enlisted help at church and went to the Monticello library and local businesses with his grandmother asking for help signing cards and donating money for treats. He wanted to ensure every soldier felt loved.

“He raised his hand and asked if anybody in the congregation would like to help with his cards or any treats that they wanted to throw in the box and that they would ship them off with our stuff,” said Kelly.

The goodies totaled out to 600 cards and 3,800 snacks, which Kelly shipped overseas as two gifts for each service member in the company for Thanksgiving and Christmas...

When they distributed the gifts throughout the company, Kelly said the servicemembers were “shocked.”

“They were not expecting a large gift bag, let alone two,” said Kelly. “If they know people haven’t been getting mail, they’ve worked with the chaplain to make sure those soldiers received a few extra snacks.”

Oliver said it feels good knowing he’s helping make his dad and his dad’s fellow soldiers smile.

“They have been very happy knowing that people care about them,” said Oliver. “We did that so they can have a little bit of Christmas with them, even though they’re not with their families."...

Oliver said he was driven by pride for his father and a need to make all of the service members to know they’re in the hearts and minds of people back home.

His message - after a shy look up at his mom...

“Merry Christmas, soldiers.” 

A Merry Christmas - and another day closer to a family being together again."

Meet chatbot Jesus: Churches tap AI to save souls — and time; Axios, November 12, 2025

Russell Contreras , Isaac Avilucea, Axios; Meet chatbot Jesus: Churches tap AI to save souls — and time

 "A new digital awakening is unfolding in churches, where pastors and prayer apps are turning to artificial intelligence to reach worshippers, personalize sermons, and power chatbots that resemble God. 

Why it matters: AI is helping some churches stay relevant in the face of shrinking staff, empty pews and growing online audiences. But the practice raises new questions about who, or what, is guiding the flock.

• New AI-powered apps allow you to "text with Jesus" or "talk to the Bible," giving the impression you are communicating with a deity or angel. 
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• Other apps can create personalized prayers, let you confess your sins or offer religious advice on life's decisions.
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• "What could go wrong?" Robert P. Jones, CEO of the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute, sarcastically asks. 
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State of play: The U.S. could see an unprecedented 15,000 churches shut their doors this year as a record number of Americans (29%) now are identifying as religiously unaffiliated.

• Megachurches are consolidating the remaining faithful, but even the most charismatic pastors struggle to offer private counseling with such large congregations.
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Zoom in: In recent months, churches have been deploying chatbots to answer frequently asked questions such as service times and event details, and even to share scripture.

• EpiscoBot, a chatbot developed by the TryTank Research Institute for the Episcopal Church, responds to spiritual or faith-related queries, drawing on church resources.
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• Other AI apps analyze congregational data (attendance and engagement) to tailor outreach and communications.
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• And more pastors are admitting that they use AI to assist in creating sermons or reduce writing time."

How Trump sent me to church; The Ink, November 18, 2024

BRIAN MONTOPOLI, The Ink; How Trump sent me to church

"This time, Donald Trump’s triumph cannot be written off as a fluke, or the result of our flawed electoral system. Voters knew exactly who Trump was, and they still awarded him what is poised to be a (narrow) victory in the popular vote. But even if Trump doesn’t have an overpowering mandate, our fellow Americans chose the candidate of division, demonization, and weaponizing the government against his political opponents. Adam Serwer has argued that the cruelty was the point. And we, as a nation, chose the cruelty.

Faced with that hard truth, many may be tempted to write off our neighbors, throw up their hands, and turn inward. We can see evidence of this playing out: Unlike in 2016, people are not pouring into the streets to protest the incoming administration. Instead, they are largely staying in their bubbles, scrolling on their screens, and trying not to think too hard about the potential horrors to come.

But retreating into ourselves will only make things worse.

Which is why, the other night, I decided to go the other way the other day. To go, in fact, to church.

Doing so was my small way of pushing back on trends that are ominous and have the potential to make the next Trump presidency even more dangerous."

First Person: A refuge no more: Gays bars have been safe havens for the LGBT community; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 6/18/16

Walter G. Meyer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; First Person: A refuge no more: Gays bars have been safe havens for the LGBT community:

"It was gratifying to see so many people — gay, straight and of all races — queue up to give blood for the victims in Orlando. It was touching to hear so many voices expressing outrage and solidarity. Equality Florida’s GoFundMe page to support the victims collected more than $1 million on its first day. But all this is not enough.

We need to speak up to shut down hateful rhetoric from any quarter that signals to people that it is somehow OK to kill people in a church or a gay bar.

Pittsburgh’s Fred Rogers was famous for a quote that spread across Facebook after the tragedy in Orlando: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster,’ I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers — so many caring people in this world.”

We all need to be helpers. And become more caring. And end the hate.

I’ve often said that I don’t mind being known as a writer who is gay, but that I don’t want to be known as just a “gay writer.” I didn’t want the adjective to define me.

Today I am a gay writer. And today I will serve my community with my pen and my camera."