RNS Morning Report: Holy Land Houses of Worship Close; Funeral Arrangements; COVID-19 Church Online Summit

Ultra-Orthodox Jews pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on March 15, 2020. Israel imposed sweeping travel and quarantine measures more than a week before, but coronavirus cases have continued to rise. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Need to know: Friday, March 27, 2020

Holy Land churches, mosques, synagogues close for coronavirus

Public religion in the Holy Land has ground to a halt due to the coronavirus.

As coronavirus death toll mounts, faith leaders the world over grapple with funerals

Faith groups are attempting to address the issue of funerals by instituting new policies designed to offer some semblance of comfort for the bereaved while keeping others safe from infection.

Surgeon general, disaster experts advise church leaders in COVID-19 online summit

Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams advised faith leaders: 'Follow the guidance from your local health department and find ways to partner with them.'

Snowstorm didn’t stop this Alaska church from hosting drive-in worship service

A pastor in Alaska donned a parka, cleaned hymnals with Clorox wipes and held church in the snow this week.

Our moral obligation to health during the COVID-19 pandemic

In this national emergency, the government’s program of protecting profits is putting all of us at risk, writes Liz Theoharis.

Want a miracle? Call a Dutch museum’s hotline

Forced by the coronavirus pandemic to shut up shop, the Museum Catharijneconvent in Utrecht is offering a taste of its latest exhibition on miracles and their depiction in art through a phone line.

 


 

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