Looking beyond COVID: Australian churches look to continue “hybrid” model with greater focus on lay involvement
DAVID ADAMS speaks with researcher Mark McCrindle about the findings of a new report considering the future of the church in Australia as the nation looks beyond the coronavirus pandemic…
Asia becomes second region to exceed 10 million coronavirus cases
Reuters Asia surpassed 10 million infections of the new coronavirus on Saturday, the second-heaviest regional toll in the world, according to a Reuters tally, as cases continue to mount in India despite a slowdown and sharp declines elsewhere. Behind only Latin America, Asia accounts for about one-fourth of the global caseload of 42.1 million of […]
Masked Pope, faith leaders pray for peace and pandemic’s end
Rome, ItalyAP A masked Pope Francis welcomed religious leaders to a socially-distanced interfaith peace prayer Tuesday, appealing for a unified international effort to work for peace and an end to the coronavirus pandemic. Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Sikh and Hindu leaders stood for a minute of silence to pray for all the victims of COVID-19 […]
Traffickers profiting as pandemic makes crime harder to crack, UN warns
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Human traffickers are capitalising on the coronavirus pandemic to target people ranging from jobless migrants to out-of-school children, two United Nations specialists said, warning that the fallout from COVID-19 had driven the crime further underground. The global economic slowdown has left countless people jobless, desperate and at risk of exploitation, while […]
In the US, Christian nationalism may determine whether you wear a mask say academics
RNS The divisions that the coronavirus pandemic has caused in the United States – with some viewing social distancing restrictions as sensible and altruistic while others decry them as infringements on our freedoms – have been blamed on everything from political parties to toxic masculinity. But a group of academics say there may be an even […]
Locked up during COVID-19: Costly phone calls strain families
AVI ASHER-SCHAPIRO, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how the high costs of communications out of US prisons is taking a toll on inmates during the coronavirus pandemic…
Sight-Seeing: Whipsawed by 2020
MAX LUCADO, in an article first published by Religion News Service, says that while we may be “whipsawed” by 2020, God is not…
Global coronavirus cases to soon surpass 30 million – Reuters tally
Reuters Global coronavirus cases are expected to pass 30 million on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally, with the pandemic showing no signs of slowing. India was firmly in focus as the latest epicentre, although North and South America combined accounted for almost half of the global cases. Iraqi men carry the coffin of a […]
Fear of more coronavirus-like pandemics as land rights ‘under siege’
Nairobi, KenyaThomson Reuters Foundation Governments’ failure to recognise the land rights of indigenous communities and their role in protecting biodiversity could lead to more coronavirus-like pandemics, researchers said on Tuesday. A study of more than 40 countries found many local people’s land claims were being ignored, amid increasing deforestation and wildlife exploitation, which may be […]
Isolation
It might surprise you to find that I’m actually an introvert – I like time to myself. PICTURE: Jon Eric Marababol/Unsplash So the beginning of the pandemic, and associated isolation, didn’t seem too much of a problem to me. Working from home, with ideas not people, wonderful. But after about three days of not leaving […]