Posts tagged pandemic
Americans Are In A Mental Health Crisis — Especially African Americans. Can Churches Help?

(OPINION) For a variety of reasons, many African Americans face barriers to mental health care. But as a sociologist who focuses on community-based organizations, Brad Fulton finds that strengthening relationships between churches and mental health providers can be one way to increase access to needed services.

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A Photo Exhibit By New York Catholics Honors Heroes Of The COVID-19 Pandemic

(ANALYSIS) The Sheen Center for Thought and Culture’s new series called “Portraits of Grace: Honoring Heroes of the COVID-19 Pandemic” offers a space for New Yorkers and Christians to reflect on the pandemic with an eye toward the hopeful.

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‘Running For A Higher Purpose’ Highlights The Need For Physical And Spiritual Health

(REVIEW) A quick read at 148 pages, ‘Running For A Higher Purpose’ is the type of book perfect for a world that has been plunged into a pandemic since February 2020 and for those in need of both physical and spiritual assistance.

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U.S. Catholics will look back at Cuomo’s tenure for decades to come

(OPINION) The three-time governor leaves behind a mixed legacy among Roman Catholics. Like his father Mario (who also served three terms as New York governor and was for years on the short-list of lawmakers who could be president), Cuomo represented a new generation of liberal Catholic politicians in this country.

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What Happens to Faith When Religious Leaders Die From COVID?

(OPINION) The continued death of pastors, imams, rabbis and other spiritual leaders across all religions from the Coronavirus has a devastating effect on the faith of those who took up to them.


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The United Methodist Church Must Tackle Its Looming Real Estate Crisis

(OPINION) While The United Methodist Church debates societal issues — LGBTQ rights, Black Lives Matter, welcome of refugees and the like — its congregations’ real estate is eating away at the denomination and threatening its viability.

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New book with a Catholic perspective on the pandemic looks at the church’s future

(REVIEW) One sure sign that the pandemic is fading may be the steady stream of books about it that have started to trickle out. It’s true that COVID-19 affected the planet like nothing else in our lifetimes. In fact, the fallout from what has transpired over the last 15 months could be felt for years, if not decades, to come.

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Virtual Reality and Livestreams: How Online Church Will Continue Post-Pandemic

CDC guidelines and relaxed regulations have allowed many houses of worship in the U.S. to return to in-person worship. But these churches will maintain a virtual presence even after the pandemic is over, from a hybrid church to a developer creating virtual reality church buildings.

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How India’s Covid-19 Surge Has Left Dalits Even More Vulnerable

The pandemic has exacerbated the discrimination and social isolation Dalits face. And while many Dalits are on the forefront of essential sanitation work, they are also struggling to survive. Even without contracting COVID-19, many Dalits say with irregular wages and employment uncertainty, they’re concerned about feeding their families.

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In India, Muslims are performing last rites for Hindus who died of COVID-19

In the midst of a deadly second coronavirus wave and medical care shortage, Moin Mastan and his team of 25 volunteers have been working round the clock to perform the last rites, cremations and burials of 40 to 50 Indians every day who have died with COVID-19 infections in the central Indian state of Maharashtra—all while fasting daily for Ramadan, a holy month in Islam for tightened devotion in spiritual reflection, worship and prayer.

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The urgent role of congregations in the post-pandemic world

(OPINION) When in the foreseeable future will there be a better chance for church goers to demonstrate that they’re more than the anachronisms that the skeptics and demographic trends portray them as—that their faith can bring hope to where darkness and pain persist after the pandemic is “over”?

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Biden's faith a news-media talking point, but a survey about it isn't

(ANALYSIS) The culture wars have been on full display during the first two months of the Biden presidency. It isn’t so much that Joe Biden is fueling the wars — he’s actually steered clear of many of these recent battles that brew on Twitter and cable TV news. How the press covers his faith, however, isn’t helping matter.

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'Jesus the Essential Worker' And Other New Sacred Music Inspired By COVID

The pandemic has prompted composers to create new sacred music of all kinds — hymns, liturgical music, prayers, praise music and more. These are not limited to one religion, but have cropped up in Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Catholic and Protestant circles.

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Baylor’s basketball success rooted in Christian motto: ‘Jesus, Others, Yourself’

The secret to Baylor’s success this season wasn’t limited to its great defense and a hail of three pointers. The secret for the Baptist school on the road to the NCAA men’s basketball championship lies in a culture the players and coaches call “Jesus, Others, Yourself.”

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Gonzaga's namesake saint inspires NCAA Tournament run during the pandemic

Gonzaga (the saint) and Gonzaga (the basketball team) are two different things. Nonetheless, the patron saint of Christian youth (who also died in a pandemic) can help inspire the school to capture its first national championship.

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PPP loans and volunteers kept these faith-based non-profits afloat

Religious non-profits lost 10% of their workforce during the pandemic, according to a recent report. Faith-based groups like the Logan Baptist Church daycare and Convoy of Hope say PPP loans allowed them to keep serving essential workers and people in need.

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