CHICAGO, IL (May 29, 2015) — Many Covenanters routinely share links to social media articles and videos with one another that Covenant News Service believes may be of interest to others. Each Friday we post five of them. Following is a sample of those submissions—their inclusion does not represent an endorsement by the Covenant of any views expressed.

Minnesota: Land of 10,000 Dessert Salads

I’d never heard of this: “Snickers salad is not a creation of just one family, but a Minnesota standard, just one of a surprisingly large variety of ‘dessert salads’ which maintain their place in the pantheon of Minnesota cuisine.” There are unique cultural reasons that dessert salads are so ubiquitous in the state, including religion: “In those parts of Minnesota, Lutheran church events are the major gathering places for the entire community, and to feed a large group of people, it’s not that surprising that people would lean towards products that can be easily obtained, that are easy to prepare, that don’t go bad, and that are extremely cheap and filling.” The influx of new cultures also impacts the growth in variety of dessert salads.

What’s the Prime of Your Life?

It all depends on what measure you’re looking at. The good news is there always seems to be another prime coming—if we let ourselves see them and not merely lament what is past or try to live in our glory days.

Beyond Repair: Does America Need to Reinvent Its Transportation Infrastructure?

This one is for any preacher or speaker looking for an illustration of what happens when we don’t take care of the infrastructure of our lives. Simply, if you don’t take of the infrastructure, the country literally falls apart. Rosabeth Moss Kanter doesn’t just decry the state of our country’s roads, bridges, and rail systems, she says we need a new way of thinking: “We should be thinking not just about repair, which tends to be the conversation. We should be thinking about reinvention. I’m arguing for more technology, better connections, and understanding how to design a system in which the parts augment and enhance each other.” That’s something that just might be applicable for the whole church—and not just in sermon illustrations.

Rigging of Foreign Exchange Markets Makes Felons of Top Banks

If you get caught stealing a car, you can be convicted as a felon, go to prison, find it mighty difficult to get a job, and get barred from obtaining safety-net benefits. Mess with the global economy, you go to Spago’s. From the article: “For the banks, though, life as a felon is likely to carry more symbolic shame than practical problems.” The Securities and Exchange Commission has given “waivers that allow the banks to conduct business as usual.”

Back at Base

National Public Radio and several local public radio stations “chronicle lives of U.S. troops, where they live.” Several installments focus on the role of women in the military. One of the takeaways—women find it is slightly more difficult to become Army Rangers than to become senior pastors.