📝 Reviewing Parker’s second year | Morning Newsletter

Welcome to a new week, Philly, kicking off with about two seconds more daylight than yesterday. We’ll call that a win.

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker notched big wins of her own in her second year in office. But her administration also saw signs of tension.

And the fallout from a Chester County chaplain’s sermon inspired President Donald Trump’s administration to investigate “anti-Christian bias” within federal agencies.

— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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Philadelphia’s 100th mayor has counted political hits and misses in 2025, from the 76ers’ abandoned Center City arena plans to the unveiling of her signature housing initiative to a bitter municipal workers strike.

Among the takeaways from Parker’s second year in office:

A focus on public safety: Violence is down, and there appears to be progress in tackling Kensington’s open-air drug market. Though some improvement began before her tenure, the mayor can tie recent success to her own policies.

Avoiding Trump: Unlike many of her peers, Parker has rarely in public discussed the president’s threats to Democrat-led cities. The approach has yielded praise from supporters who say she’s saved Philadelphia from Trump’s wrath, and criticism from those who want to see a more forceful rebuke.

City Hall reporter Sean Collins Walsh has the full year-end assessment.

The Trump administration announced the launch of a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ task force that will investigate what it calls “anti-Christian bias” within federal agencies.

The creation of the task force was inspired in part by backlash to a sermon given by an Army Reserve chaplain at the Coatesville VA Medical Center in 2024.

Russell Trubey says he was temporarily removed from his position after he preached to a congregation of veterans from a Bible passage that refers to same-sex relationships as “shameful.” His lawyers took his case to the White House this February, arguing the chaplain had been subject to prejudice against Christians.

Noticeably absent from the VA task force, critics say, is any effort to explore instances of discrimination against other faiths within federal agencies.

Politics reporter Fallon Roth has more on the incident and how religion has become a focus in the Trump administration.

In other federal news: Activists, historians, and officials on Sunday commemorated the 15th anniversary of the President’s House Site on Independence Mall and mobilized resistance amid its uncertain future.

We asked Philly-area grocery workers what it’s really like to work during the holiday season. They say it can be hectic and requires patience to manage both stressed customers and the incessant playing of “This Christmas.”

What is the name of the popular New Year’s Day activity that takes place outdoors and is marked this year by local events from Marsh Creek to the Pine Barrens?

A) First Day Hikes

B) Fresh Start Free Solo

C) New Year, New You Cold Plunge

D) Bird Watching for a Better 2026

Think you know? Check your answer.

🎅 Noting: What Philadelphians want Santa Claus to bring the city this Christmas.

🎨 Admiring: The 1873 painting now on view for the first time in 152 years.

✈️ Tracking: Delays during the year-end travel surge at PHL.

📺 Looking back on: The year of the Philly crime show.

🦮 Considering: Why so few blind Philadelphians have service dogs.

Hint: Township in Delaware County

DIM LETDOWN

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.

Cheers to Catherine Konopka, who solved Sunday’s anagram: Emily Chelsea Jewelry. Emily Phillippy, the name and face behind the popular Philadelphia-based company, showed us how she spends her idea of a perfect day in the city.

Think back to the night that changed your life that could only happen in Philly, a true example of the Philly spirit, the time you finally felt like you belonged in Philly if you’re not a lifer, something that made you fall in love with Philly all over again — or proud to be from here if you are. Then email it to us for a chance to be featured in the Monday edition of this newsletter.

This “only in Philly” story comes from reader Michael Thomas Leibrandt, who describes a historically significant Christmas:

There is absolutely nothing like Christmas in Philly. Think ice skating and lighting a giant tree at Dilworth Park, the Wanamaker Light Show and Dickens Village, holiday lights from the Schuylkill to the Delaware and seemingly everywhere in between. Not bad for America’s oldest metropolis whose founder didn’t even celebrate Christmas.

The holiday is significant around the Philadelphia region for another reason. Each Christmas Day, my family attended the annual reenactment of General George Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River.

Washington’s Continental Army would represent much more that just a surprise attack on unsuspecting British and Hessian forces. His daring military maneuver on Christmas night in 1776 — a plan that included Philadelphia militia units — would lead to patriot triumphs at the Battle of Trenton and the Battle of Princeton.

The Americans’ nighttime voyage was a major turning point in the war and proved they could defeat their opponents, though Philadelphia would fall to the British 10 months later. Seeing reenactors capture the details of that powerful, daring, secret military operation was awe-striking even nearly three centuries later.

Thanks for starting your week with The Inquirer. Happily, I’ll be back with you tomorrow.

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