houses of worship
Survey shows faith can prosper in online services
By Ryan Burge — May 13, 2020
(RNS) — A recent Pew survey also allayed fears that there are large demographic disparities when it comes to accessing streaming services.
Just because the economy is reopening doesn’t mean churches should
By Jamie Aten and Kent Annan — May 4, 2020
(RNS) — Unless we run into a close friend, we don't normally shake hands or hug someone in the grocery store or movie theater.
Survey numbers chart evangelical defiance against the states
By Paul A. Djupe — April 17, 2020
(RNS) — It appears that only through viral infection do holdout congregants finally get the public health message.
COVID-19 could end church as we know it. And I feel fine.
By C. Christopher Smith — March 27, 2020
(RNS) — With the restrictions forced on faith communities, which technological tools can best help us understand and reshape our identity and mission?
‘Beyond the mosque’: Seeing Islam’s diversity reflected in worship spaces
By Aysha Khan — November 4, 2019
(RNS) — Rizwan Mawani uses diverse sacred spaces as lenses through which to offer readers a primer on the expansive histories, architectures and ritual practices of Muslims around the world.
For synagogues, High Holidays welcome is complicated by security needs
By Holly Lebowitz Rossi — September 24, 2019
BOSTON (RNS) — At a time of year when people who rarely attend show up, or when people show up for the first time, balancing friendliness and safety becomes especially tricky.
Police: No sign that Duluth synagogue fire was hate crime
By Associated Press — September 16, 2019
(AP) — Police are recommending that prosecutors charge Matthew James Amiot, 36, of Duluth, for arson in the fire that destroyed the 118-year-old Adas Israel Congregation last week.
Churches arm, train congregants in wake of mass shootings
By Jake Bleiberg — August 19, 2019
(AP) — "Ten years ago, this industry was not a thing," said David Riggall, a Texas police officer whose company trains churchgoers to volunteer as security guards.
Boy’s removal from church service spurs debate in UK on welcoming those with autism
By Catherine Pepinster — June 21, 2019
LONDON (RNS) — According to the National Autistic Society in the U.K., more than a quarter of people with autism and their families have been asked to leave a public place because of behavior linked to their autism.
New report urges congregations to aid family caregivers
By Adelle M. Banks — June 17, 2019
(RNS) — The report recommends that houses of worship provide volunteers who can help care recipients navigate their health decisions or give respite to caregivers.
At 87, ‘disaster deacon’ opens his heart — and church — to flooding victims
By Bobby Ross Jr. — June 17, 2019
TULSA, Okla. (The Christian Chronicle) — Across the Midwest, 28 Red Cross and community shelters in five states have tended to the victims of flooding, tornados and other natural disasters. Many of those shelters are at houses of worship.
In St. Louis, former houses of worship are retooled to meet the city’s needs
By Bill Motchan — June 6, 2019
ST. LOUIS (RNS) — Many retired but architecturally significant houses of worship are surviving by converting to new uses that benefit their neighborhoods or cities in ways their original congregants might approve but never imagined.
Churches wipe out millions in medical debt for others
By Roxie Hammill/Kaiser Health News — June 5, 2019
(KHN) — Churches have been teaming with RIP Medical Debt, a nonprofit that arranges no-strings-attached retirement of people's medical debt, with 18 places of worship payoffs in the past 18 months alone.
New Haven mosque struggles to resume Ramadan rituals after arson attack
By Rhonda Roumani — May 22, 2019
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (RNS) — A week after the blaze, with the cameras and politicians gone, the members of a tightly knit Turkish community began to feel the weight of their loss and the reconstruction effort ahead.
How safe is your place of worship?
By Christopher P. Scheitle — April 30, 2019
(The Conversation) — Many local police departments will conduct a security assessment for specific congregations or offer a workshop for multiple congregations.
