Uganda: As coronavirus toll continues to climb, clergy pressure government to reopen churches
JOHN SEMAKULA reports from Uganda on the battle over church reopenings…
Church v state: US pastor John MacArthur believes the Bible trumps COVID-19 public health orders. Legal scholars say no
ALEJANDRA MOLINA, of Religion News Service, takes an closer look at the battle over church reopenings in the US state of California…
US pastor John MacArthur, Grace Community Church, defy bans on singing, indoor worship
Los Angeles, USRNS Grace Community Church congregants in Sun Valley gathered indoors and sang hymns on Sunday, defying California regulations that aim to limit the spread of COVID-19. “This is a very special day in the life of our church family. It is for us a return to what we love the most, the fellowship […]
Ready to go back to church? 10 things to consider before heading to worship
RNS An evangelical research centre focused on disaster response has detailed key steps US churchgoers might take as they contemplate attending reopened churches. Wheaton College’s Humanitarian Disaster Institute in Illinois released a series of documents this week to augment the guidelines of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The institute previously created a website with coronavirus-related resources […]
In Australia, New South Wales allows as many people in churches as pubs
Sydney, AustraliaAP An Australian state government has announced that as many people will be allowed in churches as in pubs after an archbishop complained of unfair pandemic rules. Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher on Thursday encouraged Catholics to sign a petition calling on the New South Wales government to treat churches the same as pubs by […]
Coronavirus in the US: Meet eight pastors who pushed to keep their churches open
KATHRYN POST, of Religion News Service, reports…
California issues guidelines for church reopenings
AP Religious services in California will look much different under rules unveiled Monday that limit attendance to 100 people and recommend worshippers wear masks, limit singing and refrain from shaking hands or hugging. The state released guidance under which county health departments can approve the reopening of churches, mosques, synagogues and other houses of worship. […]
Slowly, surely, US houses of worship emerge from lockdown
AP For the first time in two months, there was clapping, singing and fellowship inside Stithton Baptist Church in Radcliff, Kentucky, as members of the congregation returned to the sanctuary for Sunday morning services. There also were masks, hand sanitiser and social distancing. On a weekend when President Donald Trump declared houses of worship essential […]
In the US, Rev Barber’s Poor People’s Campaign calls for resistance to reopening plans
RNS The Poor People’s Campaign, a grassroots group with branches in more than 40 US states, is urging resistance to or non-cooperation with state plans calling for the reopening of the economy just weeks after the coronavirus put most of the country on lockdown. In its new slogan, the campaign, co-chaired by two Christian ministers, […]