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Pastor Traci Blackmon poses inside the closed Christ the King United Church of Christ in Florissant, Mo., May 22, 2020. REUTERS/Lawrence Bryant
When Traci Blackmon, the senior pastor for a predominantly black church in the suburbs of St. Louis, Mo., is finally able to open the doors for service again, one of her main concerns is the collective sorrow her congregation will experience.
Staff at Casa del Migrante prepares food for migrants still houses at the shelter during the pandemic with a facemask on. Photo courtesy Casa del Migrante
“The big, big risk in Tijuana is that somebody comes, and if they're sick, where do I send them? There is no option,” he said. “The general hospital won't take them unless they're a certain level of sick, they have to be severely sick, so there is no structure here.”
Image via Chris Dobens/We ACT for Environmental Justice
“The communities that suffer environmental injustices that affect their underlying illnesses have higher rates of pulmonary diseases, which render them more at risk of dying from COVID-19,” said Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., who authored legislation upon which the provision is based. Ruiz said the environmental justice grant programs need to be codified because “you never know” which administration will neglect or defund the programs.
The politics in ‘Mrs. America,’ evangelicals in Brazil, and finding joy right now.
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro adjusts his mask as he leaves Alvorada Palace in Brasilia, Brazil. May 13, 2020. REUTERS/Adriano Machado
Even while Brazil is a COVID-19 global hot spot, some pastors flout social distancing.
First Baptist Church of Lexington, Va. will open its doors for services this Sunday.
This Sunday, churches in parts of Virginia will be permitted to open their doors for services as part of phase one of Gov. Ralph Northam’s reopening plan.
It’s a moment many pastors in the state have been eagerly anticipating.
Learning from Octavia Butler, pandemic changes for seminary students, mystery at Oxford, and more.
When campus life shuttered in March to slow the spread of the coronavirus, more than 14 million students across the nation were forced to adapt to new routines. Campus lawns speckled with students gave way to uniform rows of faces on video calls. The now coined “Zoom fatigue” replaced “pulling an all-nighter” at the library.
While the pandemic has strained students from all academic disciplines, seminary and divinity students have felt unique pressure as they discern calls to enter positions and spaces of worship that may not resemble what they did before the virus took hold.
Four students shared with Sojourners what their studies look like amid the pandemic and how this moment is shaping their call.
Pope Francis holds weekly general audience virtually from the Library of the Apostolic Palace due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at the Vatican April 15, 2020. Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS
Pope Francis praised the work of nurses around the world on Tuesday, saying the coronavirus crisis had shown how vital their service is, as he appealed to governments to invest more in health care.
Mother’s Day grief, spiritual care on the front lines, essential workers, and more.
A member of the medical staff sends a message at the Clinique de l'Estree private hospital in Stains, April 2020. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
“When there’s a code blue or a stroke — when there’s pandemonium and crisis — everyone goes running,” Canosa said. “We joke that chaplains don’t run. Part of what we do is offer that calm and compassionate presence.”
Why Zoom leaves us unfulfilled, churches addressing financial distress, food hospitality, and more.
Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash
The threat to churches across the country, especially churches in low-income areas, caused Justin Giboney, President of the AND Campaign, to start the Churches Helping Churches Challenge. The goal: raise $500,000 in the month of April from financially secure churches, and distribute one-time grants to small churches with financial hardship.
10 ways to do online church, flattening the curve of xenophobia, these ‘Malthusian’ times, and more.
Pope Francis greets members of the media after leading a Mass and the Regina Coeli prayer in Rome's Santo Spirito in Sassia church, in Rome, April 19, 2020. REUTERS/Remo Casilli
Pope Francis made an impassioned plea for protection of the environment on Wednesday's 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day, saying the coronavirus pandemic had shown that some challenges had to be met with a global response.
Photo by Harrison Moore on Unsplash.
It’s the first time that a majority of Protestant pastors have according to a new survey by LifeWay Research.
A woman sells fried chicken at her open stall along a street, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Nairobi, Kenya April 19, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File Photo
The number of people facing acute food insecurity could nearly double this year to 265 million due to the economic fallout of COVID-19, the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday.
Image via REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Antoniette Holt, director of the Office of Minority Health for the Indiana Department of Health, pointed to lack of reliable transportation as a challenge faced by some in African-American communities across the country, making it difficult for people to be on time for doctor’s appointments, often unforgiving when it comes to tardiness. This point is especially important during the pandemic, as social distancing practices are nearly impossible to maintain on public transit.
The Supreme Court is expected to make final decision on future of DACA soon.
The One Trillion Trees Initiative, launched by the World Economic Forum and led by led by the U.N. Environment Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization, is, as its name implies, an afforestation/reforestation effort. It was designed to support the U.N. Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030 announced in March 2019, offered as a “proven measure to fight the climate crisis and enhance food security, water supply and biodiversity.”