The Long Read: Virtual reality and livestreams – Why online church will continue post-pandemic
Zoom is just the beginning. JILLIAN CHENEY, in an article first published on Religion Unplugged, reports on how some US churches have embraced the use of virtual reality technology…
Pope ends public audiences, eyes Christmas as virus surges
Rome, ItalyAP Pope Francis is halting his public general audiences and will limit participation at Christmas and other upcoming Masses amid a surge of coronavirus cases in Italy and the Vatican, officials said Thursday. Starting next week, Francis will resume livestreaming his weekly catechism lessons from his library in the Apostolic Palace, as he did […]
Sight Helpdesk: Anxious about speaking in online classes and meetings? Here are seven tips to make it easier
In an article first published on The Conversation, LESLEY IRVINE, of Queensland University of Technology, gives some tips for speaking online…
Sight Helpdesk: Five tips to overcome ‘Zoom fatigue’
Even as coronavirus lockdown and social distancing measures are easing, using technology to connect with others – whether for personal, religious or work-related reasons – remains a way of life for many for the forseeable future. ELISABETH CARTER looks at some ways to combat ‘Zoom fatigue’…
Children’s ministry: From flannelgraphs to Zoom, churches bring Sunday school home
EMILY MCFARLAN MILLER, of Religion News Service, reports on how US churches are keeping Sunday schools running despite lockdowns…
Online church: US black churches use phones and Facebook to bridge digital divide amid COVID-19
ADELLE M BANKS reports for Religion News Service on how black churches in the US are working to help everyone get access to church online…
Postcards: How one Australian church celebrated Easter in a time of social-distancing
Reuters photographer LOREN ELLIOTT captures part of how One1Seven evangelical Anglican church in Sydney celebrated Easter Sunday…
Holy Week: As a pandemic peaks at Christianity’s Easter climax, US churches adapt online
ALEJANDRA MOLINA and EMILY MCFARLAN MILLER, of Religion News Service, reports on how US churches are adapting to marking Easter online…
In the US, black churches, synagogues face racially abusive ‘Zoombombings’
RNS With their eyes closed in prayer, asking God to help the country’s overburdened healthcare workers, members of the Impact Movement ministry group never saw the attack coming. “God is dead, God is dead,” they suddenly heard a young male voice say over their Zoom video conference system. Then other voices joined in, laughing and chanting the n-word. […]
‘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 […]