| Playing God: Pandemic Brings Moral Dilemmas to US Hospitals
Two Christian bioethicists on life or death issues that American doctors may soon face.
Interview by Kara Bettis
|
Medical
professionals across the US are preparing COVID-19 units in a
suspenseful quiet, while others in places like New York are already
overwhelmed with patients. The city has ordered
hospitals to increase capacity by 50 percent, and they are looking at
ways to use temporary facilities, including a recently arrived Navy
hospital ship, hastily built field hospitals, and even hotels.
In the midst of all this, doctors and nurses are preparing to face agonizing ethical decisions as their Italian counterparts ...
|
| Read More |
Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Pandemic Brings Moral Dilemmas to US Hospitals
NoonSong – Concert and Church Service in Berlin
NoonSong has been called “thirty minutes of heaven.” A choral concert
but also a church service. Every Saturday, NoonSong features beautiful a
cappella singing from centuries of sacred Christian music by the vocal
ensemble ‘sirventes berlin’.
Our rituals will change this year
|
By Nathan Kirkpatrick
|
A holy season marked by pandemic can still bear witness to hope, peace and faith.
|
By Paul A. Baxley
|
Because Christ is
alive and has gone ahead of us, the ministry of the church can be
carried out in homes and through relationships, in the smallest of
settings. That is how it was in the beginning -- and how it needs to be
in this moment, writes the executive coordinator of the Cooperative
Baptist Fellowship.
|
By Gretchen E. Ziegenhals
|
The spiritual
practice of "divine seeing" invites us to look deeply and to question.
How might you view the world differently from a place of greater focus
and openness to new perspectives?
|
By A. Trevor Sutton
|
 |
Online church offers congregations the ability to continue being church amid the coronavirus pandemic.
|
By Melissa Florer-Bixler
|
|
Pastors can be tempted to fill this time of fear with overproductivity. We need to resist that urge.
|
Q&A with Peter Hill
|
|
Owning our limitations may not be comfortable, but it can help us be humble, says the Biola University psychology professor.
We update this list
of information from government and media sources at least three times a
week to offer guidance to pastors and other Christian leaders struggling
to respond to the pandemic of COVID-19.
As containment of COVID-19 forces your worshiping community
to implement 'shelter in place' worship and practice social isolation,
the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship offers these resources to help
you plan and cope in ways that encourage and support your community.
In Defense of Saint Corona
In Defense of Saint Corona
Michael Warren Davis
Death by Identity Politics
Jane Clark Scharl
Monday, March 30, 2020
Pope Francis prays for those who weep
| Pope Francis prays for those who weep from coronavirus loneliness or loss |
| “Many cry today. And we, from this altar, from this sacrifice of Jesus -- of Jesus who was not ashamed to cry -- ask for the grace to cry. May today be for everyone like a... |
| 'COVID-19 knows no borders': Pope Francis calls for global ceasefire |
| The pope urged nations in conflict to respond to an appeal made by the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on March 23 for an “immediate global ceasefire in all... |
| So much of this is out of our control’: Pregnancy amid a pandemic |
| Being pregnant during a pandemic isn't easy. These expecting moms are trying to trust God as they prepare for a new baby. |
How does a God-fearing, gun-friendly church recover from a horrific mass shooting?
How
does a God-fearing, gun-friendly church recover from a horrific mass
shooting? Long after the camera crews departed, a Texas journalist stuck
around to find out.
John B. Graeber
Frank
Pomeroy, pastor at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas,
was away for the weekend when he received a text message alerting him
that a gunman had just attacked the church during Sunday worship. Among
the dead was his own daughter, Annabelle.
“By noon,” as Texas journalist ...
|
| Read More |
UMC Split and SBC Votes Wait for Next Year
Besides budget approvals, most denominational business can be rescheduled.
Megan Fowler and Kate Shellnutt
Major
conferences held by the two largest Protestant denominations in the
country have joined the long list of events canceled by coronavirus.
Last
week, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) called off its annual
meeting scheduled for June 9-10, its first cancellation since World War
II 75 years ago. ...
|
| Read More |
Black and Latino Church Planters Hit Hard by Coronavirus Shutdown
Wire story
Black and Latino Church Planters Hit Hard by Coronavirus Shutdown
Because their congregations are less established, they risk losing significant momentum and funding.
Alejandra Molina – RNS
|
Pastor
Kerlin Calderon knows that if the coronavirus shutdowns continue for
another three months, it’s possible his church in the Bronx could be in
trouble.
Weekly offerings keep dwindling. He worries that the church may have to dip into its savings to pay its rent. But he remains hopeful.
“You
always have faith that you are going to make it, that God is going to
provide because if God called you, then he will sustain you,” said
Calderon, 35, pastor of Tabernáculo de Gracia ...
|
| Read More |
Towards a Conservatism for the Common Good
Retreat and Engage: Towards a Conservatism for the Common Good
Emile A. Doak
Louisiana Supreme Court Case Shows Abortion Clinics to be Houses of Horror
Fr. Frank Pavone
Rabbi Romi Cohn, born in 1929 rescued 56 families from the Nazis
The religious right's hostility to science is crippling our coronavirus response
New York Times: Trump's response to the pandemic has been haunted by the science denialism of his ultraconservative religious allies.
New York Times: Trump's response to the pandemic has been haunted by the science denialism of his ultraconservative religious allies.
Christianity offers no answers about the coronavirus. It's not supposed to.
TIME: This is a stillness, not of rest, but of poised, anxious sorrow, N.T. Wright says.
TIME: This is a stillness, not of rest, but of poised, anxious sorrow, N.T. Wright says.
Schools, libraries and gyms are shut down. Why are some churches still open?
Deseret News: More than 1 in 10 regular churchgoers say in-person services at their house of worship are still happening, according to new research.
Deseret News: More than 1 in 10 regular churchgoers say in-person services at their house of worship are still happening, according to new research.
As coronavirus keeps parishioners homebound, Christian clergy debate online Communion
Religion News Service: Is Communion appropriate for cyberspace?
Religion News Service: Is Communion appropriate for cyberspace?
Rabbi who rescued 56 families from the Nazis dies of coronavirus*
Washington Post: Rabbi Romi Cohn, born in 1929, was 10 when the Nazis invaded his native Czechoslovakia.
Washington Post: Rabbi Romi Cohn, born in 1929, was 10 when the Nazis invaded his native Czechoslovakia.
Only Catholic Church in Afghanistan Closes
Be Ashamed of Being a Sinner But Trust in God’s Great Mercy, Suggests Pope Francis (Full Text of Morning Homily)
Deborah Castellano Lubov
At Casa Santa Marta, Reminds the Church Is the Mother of AllNeither Pope Nor Closest Collaborators Have Coronavirus
Deborah Castellano Lubov
After Carrying Out Large
Scale Testing, Vatican Confirms 6 Total Cases to Date, Including One at Pope’s Residence, Casa Santa MartaLetter to the Pan-American Committee of Judges: Pope Warns against ‘Virosic Genocide’
LARISSA I. LOPEZ
And
the Social Consequences of the PandemicThe Pope on Italian Television: Of the Wisdom of Wrinkles
Anne Kurian
A Beauty and a PromisePontifical Academy for Life Issues Note on Pandemic
ZENIT Staff
‘Pandemic and Universal
Brotherhood’Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development Releases New Document
ZENIT Staff
‘Aqua fons
vitae. Orientations on Water, symbol of the cry of the poor and the cry of the Earth’Holy Father Names New Bishop of Jalapa, Guatemala
ZENIT Staff
Reverend José Benedicto Moscoso MirandaElection of Exarch for Syrian Faithful in Jerusalem, Palestine,and Jordan
ZENIT Staff
Reverend Camil Afram
Antoine SemaanHoly Father Appoints Titular Bishop of Arethusa of Syrians
ZENIT Staff
Also Names Counselor of Apostolic
PenitentiaryMore than 100,000 Volunteers from Polish Dioceses Help Those in Need
ZENIT Staff
Response to Coronavirus
PandemicCardinal Tagle Calls for Covid-19 ’Jubilee’
ZENIT Staff
Need to Forgive Debts of Poor NationsOnly Catholic Church in Afghanistan Closes Due to Covid-19 Emergency
ZENIT Staff
Priest Continues to
Personally Celebrate Eucharist in Church Inside EmbassySunday, March 29, 2020
Saturday, March 28, 2020
Putin´s pride: Cossacks and the church
Another pillar of support
for Putin is the Russian Orthodox Church. It has resurged under Putin,
and exercises considerable political influence - an alliance that
benefits both sides. Article 14, paragraph 2 of the Russian constitution
defines the separation of church and state. But the Russian Orthodox
Church sees itself as a bulwark against outside influence and supports
the Kremlin, for example in its annexation of Crimea. It sees itself as
the protector of Russian values, and views homosexuality as a sign of an
impending apocalypse. The filmmakers show how nostalgia for "Glorious
Russia" and the values of the tsarist period are playing out in modern
day Russian politics.
Catholic priest in US dies of coronavirus
| Brooklyn pastor is first Catholic priest in US known to die of coronavirus |
| A Brooklyn parish announced Friday the death of its pastor, Fr. Jorge Ortiz Garay, who died of coronavirus. The priest is the first in the U.S. known to have died from the virus. |
| Mass. bishop 'suspends' sacramental anointing while rescinding controversial policy |
| After rescinding a controversial policy concerning sacramental anointing of the sick, the bishop of Springfield, Massachusetts told priests Friday afternoon that anointing of the... |
| USCCB liturgy chair: No cell phones for confession, no delegation of sacramental anointing |
| The chair of the U.S. bishops’ committee on liturgy wrote to U.S. bishops Friday, to clarify issues related to the sacraments of penance and anointing of the sick which have... |
| How CRS is helping refugees amid coronavirus |
| There are nearly 700,000 refugees living in close quarters in the world's largest refugee settlements in Bangladesh, making them vulnerable as the coronavirus (COVID-19)... |
| House passes coronavirus relief bill, Trump signs into law |
| The House on Friday passed the $2 trillion relief package in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the third major piece of legislation advanced by Congress in response to the... |
Faith, God and Politics with Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert, the host of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” joined his old friend Father James Martin, S.J., for an open and candid conversation about faith, God, politics and how his Late Show family is helping him survive in the age of Trump.
Pope blesses the world during pandemic
Pope blesses the world during pandemic: "By His cross we have been saved"
Ventilators are worth it: Life Legal Defense advises you check your will and your advance directives
Vatican approves new options for Extraordinary Form: Saints canonized since 1962, when the old Missal was promulgated, may now be included in celebrations using the EF
Ventilators are worth it: Life Legal Defense advises you check your will and your advance directives
Vatican approves new options for Extraordinary Form: Saints canonized since 1962, when the old Missal was promulgated, may now be included in celebrations using the EF
Friday, March 27, 2020
Facebook Live Bloopers: Church Edition
Church leaders are navigating new digital waters, with some hilarious results.
Emily McFarlan Miller - Religion News Service
Megan
Castellan has been livestreaming morning prayer from home every day
through the coronavirus pandemic for her parishioners at St. John’s
Episcopal Church in Ithaca, New York.
But Thursday’s prayer (March 26) was an “epic disaster,” Castellan told her followers on Twitter.
|
| Read More |
Evangelism Isn’t a Chore. It’s a Joy.
When Jesus changes our lives, it’s only natural to invite others along.
Sam Chan
I
am rhythmically challenged. I can’t dance, rap, or do high fives. I
miss the other person’s outstretched palm every time. I also don’t know
what to do when someone approaches me to greet me. I never know if I am
supposed to do a handshake, bro-hug, or curled-fingers hook. Last month
...
|
| Read More |
Screwtape’s Practical Advice for Dealing with the Present
 |
|
Screwtape’s Practical Advice for Dealing with the Present
What C. S. Lewis’s senior devil would recommend in response to COVID-19.
Gary S. Selby
|
What
you should do is imagine all the bad things that could happen. Picture
each awful possibility as you lie awake at 3 a.m., letting image after
image flood your mind. Think about how you would bear it if you were
sick from the coronavirus, or if COVID-19 struck someone you loved.
That’s
what Screwtape would advise. A lot of people are looking for practical
counsel at the present and one excellent resource is a series of letters
written by Screwtape and published by C. S. Lewis. Of course ...
|
| Read More |
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
