SIGHT-SEEING: SURVIVING APRIL
In an article first published on Religion News Service, US pastor MAX LUCADO – author ‘Anxious For Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World’ – reflects on the need to adjust our expectations in this time of crisis and remember what we are grateful for…
In the US, president of Central Baptist Theological Seminary resigns due to ‘ethical lapse’
RNS Rev Molly T Marshall has stepped down as president of Central Baptist Theological Seminary due to an unspecified “ethical lapse,” according to a statement from the seminary. Marshall said she offered her resignation effective from 1st March “because of an ethical lapse that betrayed my stewardship of office,” according to her statement the seminary released […]
Coronavirus latest: Infections near 800,000, US has 700 deaths in a single day
Reuters The US Government raced to build hundreds of makeshift hospitals to ease the strain on overwhelmed healthcare systems as the United States marked 700 deaths in a single day from COVID-19 for the first time on Tuesday. • Nearly 800,000 people have been infected across the world and more than 38,800 have died, according […]
No joke – countries threaten jail for April Fools’ Day jokes about coronavirus
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation From Thailand to India, countries have told people not to make April Fools’ Day pranks related to coronavirus, with some threatening jail time as they seek to prevent the spread of rumours which could put lives at risk. Tech giant Google, which is famous for its annual spoofs, has cancelled the […]
Higher attendance, lower giving: New survey shows how US churches are responding to COVID-19
RNS Giving is down, attendance is up and a good number of pastors still aren’t sure what they’re going to do about Easter. Those are some of the big takeaways in a new Barna survey of Protestant pastors from across the United States about their churches’ responses to the current coronavirus pandemic. “The crisis is […]
BOOKS: BEYOND ‘CHARIOTS OF FIRE’ – THE STORY OF ERIC LIDDELL’S LIFE – AND DEATH – IN CHINA
DAVID ADAMS reads the Eric Liddell biography, ‘The Final Race’…
Coronavirus threatens Indian garment workers stranded in factory housing
Chennai, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation The coronavirus pandemic has left tens of thousands of Indian garment workers stranded in cramped accommodation on factory premises where social distancing is difficult to put into practice, labour rights campaigners said on Monday. A three-week nationwide lockdown has left an estimated 300,000 workers in India’s multi-billion dollar garment stuck in […]
“Pavement wars” hit cities as COVID-19 distancing pits joggers against dogs
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation A stroll in the park has turned into a battle for space among residents of crowded urban areas, as rules on distancing from others to stop coronavirus spreading kick in. With lockdowns or restrictions on movement imposed in hundreds of cities, tempers are running short in crowded green spaces, with panting, […]
‘Zoombombing’ comes for houses of worship
Boston, USRNS On Sunday, Alex Merritt was signed in to the Zoom video conferencing app, discussing a Biblical passage with members of his Sunday school young adults group at St David’s Episcopal Church in Austin, Texas. Then the trolls attacked. Some began sharing their screens and drawing obscene images over the text the group had […]
CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK: FIVE DAYS OF WORSHIP THAT SET A VIRUS “TIME BOMB” IN FRANCE
TANGI SALAUN, of Reuters, reports on how a church gathering in Mulhouse, France, was at the centre of an outbreak of COVID-19 in France – and beyond…