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Need to know: Thursday, March 19, 2020
United Methodist Church postpones General Conference amid coronavirus
The announcement came Wednesday (March 18) as the Executive Committee of the Commission on the General Conference was notified the Minneapolis Convention Center is restricting all events at the venue through May 10.
Congregations improvise ways to fight COVID-19’s isolation
Most of the 100 people filling the pews at Calvary Lutheran Church of Federal Way fit the description of those at high risk for COVID-19, making social distancing a pastoral problem.
White House takes low-key approach to churches that ignore coronavirus advice
A senior Trump administration House official said faith communities ‘may not be able to physically gather for the foreseeable future.’
Vatican returns to the past with Easter COVID-19 restrictions
The Vatican has a long history of dealing with plagues and other threats.
How do we weigh a floral designer’s dignity and freedom against state coercion?
A compassionate response to differences in our beliefs is what our society needs, not government officials more interested in shaming those with whom they disagree, writes Kristen Waggoner.
A megachurch has nearly 1,000 people tested for coronavirus in two days
In the span of just two days, doctors in Birmingham tested 977 people from across the state by using the parking lot and volunteers from Church of the Highlands. The drive-through effort at one of America’s largest churches is part of a larger nationwide push for more information about coronavirus as more testing locations began to pop up this week.
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Jentezen Franklin: ‘We’re unplugging everything. We’re going back to the raw gospel.’
(RNS) — In a Q&A, the megachurch pastor talked about preaching during a pandemic, making faith leaders ‘first responders’ and criticism of Trump’s handling of the crisis.
What if Easter, Passover and Ramadan get canceled?
The coronavirus pandemic may disrupt major religious holidays such as Easter, Passover and Ramadan.
As COVID-19 leads to canceled religious gatherings, faith leaders embrace the digital
As in-person worship is banned in many places in the wake of COVID-19, many clergy are scrambling to learn how to shift services online via Zoom, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and other digital platforms.
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While we make the best of a pandemic, coronavirus is making the best of us
(RNS) — The past few weeks have put the lie to our illusions of self-sufficiency. We have always been responsible to one another for everything. We’re just noticing it now.
There are things the Black Death can teach us today
Historians tend to take seriously the contention that Jewish communities were less affected by the plague itself, if not from the hatred it unleashed, because of their ritual hand-washing, writes Avi Shafran.
When a priest and housemate falls ill, the practical becomes spiritual
(RNS) — When a member of my Jesuit community announced he had COVID-19, I could not do the Christian thing and rush to give him comfort. Instead, I updated my power of attorney and wondered who I'd infected.
