Many churches will stay closed even as restrictions ease

From Virginia-

Even though Virginia will relax restrictions on gatherings at houses of worship, many pews will remain empty this weekend.

Several mainline denominations across the commonwealth are instructing members to hold off on in-person services for the time being, as Virginia begins allowing some business and civic activity to restart during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, which posted a letter on its website Wednesday that acknowledged a “continued fast from in-person worship,” will allow live-streaming of services from inside churches beginning May 24.

More here-

https://www.roanoke.com/news/local/many-churches-will-stay-closed-even-as-restrictions-ease/article_fc5246e6-4f94-5ae7-9941-6581552b69dd.html

You Asked How Faith Communities Are Preparing To Reopen. We’ve Got Answers.

From Indianapolis-

Members of the Indiana 2020 Two-Way asked us how different places of worship and religious organizations are approaching reopening in-person services. To join, text “elections” to 73224.

So, Indiana Public Broadcasting and All IN went to work to answer some of those questions by gathering a panel of experts, including: Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis; Fatima Hussain, president of the Muslim Alliance of Indiana; Rabbi Mike Harvey, Temple Israel in West Lafayette; and Tim Shapiro, president of the Center for Congregations.
What are religious organizations telling faith leaders? 

The Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis is allowing people to return to buildings to live stream services at the end of the month. But Bishop Baskerville-Burrows says she’s encouraging people to stay home and continue to live stream services from home, as they’ve done for the past two months.

More here-

https://www.wboi.org/post/you-asked-how-faith-communities-are-preparing-reopen-we-ve-got-answers#stream/0

Diocese of Wyoming announces slate of nominees for 10th bishop

From ENS-

The Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Wyoming is pleased to announce the slate of two candidates who will be on the ballot for the election of the 10th bishop of the diocese.

The Rev. David L. Duprey returns to Wyoming as a candidate for bishop, having served as an active-duty U.S. military chaplain for the past 12 years. He graduated in 1988 with a master of divinity degree from Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry. David was ordained to the diaconate in St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Laramie, Wyoming, in 1988, then to the priesthood in 1989. Dave served as vicar of St. John the Baptist in Big Piney from 1988 until 1992 and as rector of St. Peter’s, Sheridan, until he answered the call to become a Navy chaplain in 2008.

As a chaplain, Lieutenant Commander Duprey has served the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy. When not deployed, David has enjoyed rich connections with local Episcopal churches; first with St. Anne’s, Jacksonville, North Carolina, then for the past eight years as adjunct clergy with Christ & St. Luke’s, Norfolk, Virginia.

The Rev. Canon Paul-Gordon Chandler is the rector of the Anglican Church in Qatar (the Church of the Epiphany & the Anglican Centre) in the Persian Gulf, a church that hosts over 20,000 people from 65 countries in its building every weekend. Serving as an appointed mission partner with The Episcopal Church, he is an Episcopal priest, author, peace builder and art curator.

More here-

https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2020/05/13/diocese-of-wyoming-announces-slate-of-nominees-for-10th-bishop/

Not all clergymen saying amen to new church protocols

From Jamaica-

Under the new protocol for churches — which were previously required to have a maximum of 10 people in attendance, maintain the required social distancing and required congregants to have hands sanitised before entry — churches must now do a temperature check on everyone entering the sanctuary, have a sanitisation station at the entrance, maintain social distancing of six feet, and have members of the congregation wearing masks. In addition, churches were asked not to assemble a choir.

Custos of Westmoreland Reverend Hartley Perrin, who pastors an Anglican church in the community of Petersfield in the parish, said that while his church is “feeling the pinch” as a result of limitations imposed since the COVID-19 pandemic, he is not in agreement with the reopening of churches at this time.

“My church is suffering as a result of the fact that we are not able to meet as we normally would. However, I am not so sure that the church [should] have got the priority in terms of reopening,” he argued.

More here-

 http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/not-all-clergymen-saying-amen-to-new-church-protocols_194034?profile=1373

Governor green lights churches, but some say they’re sticking to virtual services for now

From Southwestern Virginia-

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam said churches can re-open as part of phase one of his plan to bring the state back from the COVID-19 shutdown — but some churches in southwest Virginia are saying thanks, but no thanks.

After weeks of being locked out, the plan allows churches to re-open as early as this weekend. They’ll be required to follow the same guidelines for businesses, like half capacity and six-foot separation, but Bishop Mark Bourlakas of the Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia has concerns.

“We have parishes that could probably seat five or six hundred people, so if fifty percent of that or even a little less, is that a good number? Should we start up with several hundred people, I don’t think so," Bourlakas said.

His parishes have offered their services online only, opting against drive-in services. And despite the go-ahead, they’re not bringing people back into the building until at least June.

More here-

https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2020/05/13/governor-green-lights-churches-but-some-say-theyre-sticking-to-virtual-services-for-now/

At least 39 dead, scores more infected as COVID-19 devastates Latino parishes in NY Lutheran Church

From New York-

Since late March, Pastor Fabián Árias​ of Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church in Midtown Manhattan has been busy making announcements of the dead, the sick, and comforting the bereaved because of the new coronavirus.

At least 39 people connected to his diverse, predominantly Latino church community, including 5% of his 250-member congregation, have died in the last month. Another 74 members of the church are also currently battling or have battled coronavirus infections.

“In this moment it’s a very, very difficult situation because the family [member] is sick or the family [member] has died,” Árias told The Christian Post in an interview Wednesday.

More here-

https://www.christianpost.com/news/at-least-39-dead-scores-more-infected-as-covid-19-devastates-latino-parishes-in-ny-lutheran-church-236727/?fbclid=IwAR0cjbaczwVelExZ-Avqu3YrsVpPxSijDBPd8S06J_tGC7O2pAKAlBou39I

After surviving wars, pestilence, religions use technology to beat pandemic

From Reuters-

Contrary to some polls showing declines in virtual religious attendance since the virus outbreak, the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in Manhattan has seen an increase in online worshipers for its Episcopal services, said the Rev. Patrick Malloy.

"One of the great things that's happening on Sundays is we have people from all over the world, and thousands of them sharing of worship with us every Sunday," said Malloy.

“For the first time, I heard a confession by Skype," he added. "You know, you have to do what you have to do.”

Like other clerics, Malloy says he has seen more spirituality in the flock during the pandemic.
“When you're locked in your house, and especially when you're locked in a small New York apartment by yourself, day after day after day, you come to think about the bigger questions,” he said.
When the crisis ends, Malloy said he expects to see the church at least as full as it was before because "people really do miss one another.”

More here-

https://wtvbam.com/news/articles/2020/may/12/after-surviving-wars-pestilence-religions-use-technology-to-beat-pandemic/1017112/

Small Churches Are in Particularly Big Trouble Right Now

From Slate-

Founded in the mid-19^th century, New Hope United Methodist Church had been operating on a razor-thin budget for years. Even after renovating the sanctuary recently, Sunday attendance was low, with $300 in the collection plate on a good week. But the church’s small, bustling food bank served 50 people a week in the low-income Starlight neighborhood of Atlanta. Others came to the church for Bible study and a free meal on Thursday nights, where a volunteer made sure everyone went home with an extra plate. 

But the pandemic accelerated New Hope’s struggles. More than half its meager weekly donations came through cash in the Sunday offering basket, and the congregation has not met in person since mid-March. To raise extra money, pastor Abby Norman had recently started renting out the historic church building for documentaries and other film projects, including rap and country music video shoots. (Norman said she mostly stayed out of it but did ask the artists to email her the lyrics first.) The pandemic killed those gigs, too. Last week, Norman told her congregation that the church—and the food bank—would have to close. “We were so close,” Norman said. “It’s not just that we’re losing a church that worships Jesus on Sunday. It’s generations worth of knowledge about how to care for a community.” 

More here-

https://slate.com/human-interest/2020/05/small-churches-struggling-coronavirus.html?fbclid=IwAR1yhf-yUW9TjpXlxG8jwdycrEh6S_-K7kXV5roVc3O3JG7ygP83n2QtsYw

One small KY church has survived through pandemics, many crises and today

From Kentucky-

Because of COVID-19, schools and universities are empty. Businesses and restaurants are shuttered. Hospitals face shortages. Churches have closed.

When looking at our history, the story of one Kentucky church reveals that institutions can thrive after enduring tragedy and illnesses. It also reminds us that historic buildings can teach important lessons.

Built in 1830, Trinity Episcopal Church stands on Main Street in downtown Danville. Located across from the county courthouse, its sharp steeple and bright red door make it a visible community landmark.

Calamity soon struck the congregation. In 1833, cholera swept across the commonwealth, killing hundreds. Few communities were immune. Lexington, for example, lost more than 500 people. Smaller towns, including Maysville, Somerset, Paris and more, also suffered.

Read more here: https://www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-ed/article242601111.html#storylink=cpy

More here-

https://www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-ed/article242601111.html

Read more here: https://www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-ed/article242601111.html#storylink=cpy

The Allure and Danger of Anti-Modern Religion

From New York Magazine-

Similarly, Burton mentions the pleasures of the “liturgically elaborate” Episcopal Rite I Eucharist, which I loved in my days as an Anglo-Catholic Episcopalian. Only gradually did I comprehend that for all its gorgeously archaic language, Rite I was less “Catholic” than the modern Rite II, and was loaded with signs of its principal author Thomas Cranmer’s desire to move the Church of England toward what his era considered “modern” and “individualistic” worship practices. “Traditional” or “old” doesn’t necessarily mean more faithful to the kind of rigorous or meaningful religion “Weird Christians” seek.

There is no question that for contemporary millennials, the usages of pre-modern Christianity can become a means of rebelling against liberal relativist culture and its distant cousin, capitalist economics. But if the revolt again modernity is undertaken seriously, you can’t pick and choose like those “Cafeteria Catholics” whom Tradpunks likely despise. For every Latin Mass fancier who looks to pre-capitalist Christianity as an inspiration for left-wing solidarity with workers and immigrants, there’s someone who just as authentically finds refuge in pre-Enlightenment attitudes toward women, homosexuality, class privilege, and the fate of lesser breeds. Some Weird Christians may be Christian Socialists, but others are undoubtedly proto-fascists — both viewing capitalism as the work of the devil.

More here-

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/05/the-allure-and-danger-of-anti-modern-religion.html

St. Pete church hands out 'church-to-go' bags for members to hold church at home

From Florida-

We’ve seen the online and drive-in church services, but one local church wanted something a little more personable for each of its members.

St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in St. Petersburg has been putting bags together that include their weekly sermons, then handing them out to members so they can hold their own church services at home. They call it "church-to-go!"

“Just drive through, hold down the window side and hand them the bag, and the plus side of that is we have a nanosecond to say ‘hey, you’re still alive, it’s great to see ya,’” said Gigi Conner, priest in charge at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church.

St. Alban’s is a church with a congregation of anywhere from 40 to 80 people.

https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-pinellas/st-pete-church-hands-out-church-to-go-bags-for-members-to-hold-church-at-home

Coronavirus: Churches may not be back to normal by end of year

From The BBC-

The Anglican Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Sarah Mullally, said churches might not return to normal services before the end of the year. 

Mosques, churches and temples in the UK have been closed for almost two months. 

The prime minister is due to make a statement about the lockdown restrictions later. 

It is not clear if the government will change its guidance for places of worship. 

But senior religious leaders have told the BBC that faith communities will have to endure long-term changes to their worship in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus. 

Ibrahim Mogra, a senior imam in Leicester, warned the prime minister not to ease restrictions on places of worship before the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month. 

"I am not convinced that we can maintain social distance," he said.

More here-

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52600707

Local W.Va. churches, funeral homes take pandemic precautions

From West Virginia-

Rev. Chad Slater, pastor of the Christ Episcopal Church in Bluefield, says their church will also not me opening its doors for services today.

“We are still not open for public worship and we probably won’t be for a few Sundays,” he said. “We want to make sure when we are able to come back that its a safe venue for those that feel that they can venture out.”

The 100-year-old church closed in March like other churches in response to the pandemic for the health and benefit of their members and the community.

On Easter Sunday, the church did hold a drive-in service for members.

“People could drive by and wave and receive a blessing at the church,” Slater said. “We just tried to make the best out of an unusual Easter.”

Along with the Easter drive-in service, the church has held worship services and Bible studies online.

More here-

https://www.bdtonline.com/news/local-w-va-churches-funeral-homes-take-pandemic-precautions/article_381de4e6-9256-11ea-bde4-1b240a85fe42.html

First 5: You might have the right to gather, but you can choose otherwise

From Kansas-

The COVID-19 pandemic is not under control in the United States. The disease is still deadly, especially for those who are elderly or immunocompromised. The Trump administration projects deaths per day will nearly double in the United States between now and June 1. Yet some states are starting to lift restrictions on in-person gatherings for religious communities.

In Texas, for example, an order by Gov. Greg Abbott allows in-person religious services to resume at 25 percent capacity — though congregants have to wear masks and practice social distancing. About 250 congregants gathered on Sunday, May 3 at a church in Houston to celebrate communion. (That Sunday was the fourth straight day that Texas saw more than 1,000 new confirmed coronavirus cases).

In other parts of the country, members of religious communities are challenging state stay-at-home orders in court. Last week, for example, a New Jersey Catholic priest filed suit to challenge New Jersey’s stay-at-home order, which has prohibited in-person religious gatherings. (On Sunday, New Jersey had more than 3,000 new confirmed cases and 129 deaths).

More here-

https://salinapost.com/posts/5eb6be83eb7f170536049533

Attacks on Nigerian Christians persist despite pandemic lockdowns

From Nigeria-

Minutes before 9 p.m. Tuesday, Anglican Rev. Canon Bayo James Famonure was praying with his wife and two sons in the family’s sitting room when at least three armed herdsmen stormed into their home in Nigeria’s central Plateau state. 

The latest in a string of attacks on Christian leaders in central Nigeria began with the gunmen demanding money. Famonure said he had no cash, and the intruders shot him in the head and leg. Then they shot his wife, Naomi, in the back, and their two sons in their legs. 

As the assailants fled, neighbors carried the family to a hospital in Jos, the capital of Plateau state. Famonure’s wife underwent surgery on Wednesday, reported Mark Lipdo of the Stefanos Foundation in Jos. Doctors removed a bullet from her back that narrowly missed her spine. Doctors treated the rest of the family and all are in a stable condition, Lipdo said.

More here-

https://world.wng.org/2020/05/attacks_on_nigerian_christians_persist_despite_pandemic_lockdowns

Despite Gov. Ricketts’ OK, some churches to stay closed

From Nebraska-

Nebraska Episcopal Bishop J. Scott Barker has said his parishes, including North Platte’s Episcopal Church of Our Savior, will stay closed through June 28.

The websites for First Evangelical Lutheran and Messiah Lutheran churches indicated Friday that COVID-19 suspensions of public worship remained in place. Both are congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Masses won’t resume before the last weekend of May at any of North Platte’s three Catholic parishes.

More here-

https://www.nptelegraph.com/news/local_news/despite-gov-ricketts-ok-some-churches-to-stay-closed/article_a34b11e2-91b3-11ea-8fe2-33e317736241.html

Despite visit from Vice President, Iowa faith leaders urge against in-person services

From Iowa-

DES MOINES -- With Vice President Mike Pence slated to visit Des Moines Friday to reopen churches for service, 21 denominational religious leaders will continue to urge Iowa congregations to refrain from in-person worship.

The faith leaders had made similar recommendations when Gov. Kim Reynolds lifted a ban on in-person worship due to COVID-19 concerns on April 28.  

The Rev. Ian McMullen, General Presbyter of the Presbytery of Northern Iowa, and the Rev. Lorna H. Halaas, Bishop of the Western Iowa Synod, ELCA, were among the Western Iowa denomination leaders to sign statements that was released on Thursday.

Other faiths included The Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, Catholic Diocese of Davenport, Southeastern Iowa Synod-ELCA, Northeastern Iowa Synod, ELCA, Christian Church in the Upper Midwest, Mid-American Baptist churches of Iowa and Minnesota, Church of the Brethren, Ecumenical Connections of Iowa, Presbyteries of Des Moines and North Central Iowa, Presbytery Missouri River Valley, Presbytery of Prospect Hill, Presbytery of East Iowa, John Knox Presbytery, and Central Plains Mennonite.

More here-

https://siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/briefs/despite-visit-from-vice-president-iowa-faith-leaders-urge-against-in-person-services/article_e60dd983-8cae-52e5-87b3-cf0f153e666a.html

James Turrell Named Dean Of The School Of Theology

From Tennessee-

Vice-Chancellor John McCardell announced the appointment of the Rev. Canon James F. Turrell, Ph.D., as dean of the School of Theology at the University of the South. Turrell is the current Norma and Olan Mills professor of divinity, professor of liturgy, associate dean for academic affairs and sub-dean of the Chapel of the Apostles. He will assume his new duties on July 1.

“I am delighted that Jim Turrell has accepted this appointment,” said Vice-Chancellor McCardell. “Not only is he well acquainted with the School of Theology and its mission, but he is also a respected scholar and participant in the life of the wider Church. I know that the Sewanee family will join me in welcoming Jim to his new duties with great enthusiasm.”
  
More here-

https://www.chattanoogan.com/2020/5/7/408746/James-Turrell-Named-Dean-Of-The-School.aspx

Many Southern Indiana churches won't open this week

From Indiana-

It will be at least another week — if not a month — before many of Southern Indiana’s largest churches resume on-site worship services.

Gov. Eric Holcomb announced May 1 that places of worship could reopen for in-person services beginning today, May 8, as guidelines were provided by the state to encourage safety practices with the spread of COV-19 still a concern.

However, some churches are taking more time before resuming on-site worship to form plans and provide direction for those attending services.

The Rev. Mark Feather of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in New Albany said the likely earliest date for a return to in-person services for the congregation will be June 14. But he emphasized that the work of the church never ceased.

“The church is open, it’s our building that’s closed,” he said. “We have never closed as a church, the church is the people.”

More here-

https://www.newsandtribune.com/coronavirus/many-southern-indiana-churches-wont-open-this-week/article_35bdcdbc-90a6-11ea-b811-7ba6d104239d.html

Kaziimba to Government - Clergy Are Essential Workers

From Uganda-

Church of Uganda Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba has asked government to recognise the clergy as essential workers and allow them to perform their spiritual duties during the lockdown.

In his pastoral letter to bishops and clergy, Archbishop Kaziimba yesterday said for many Ugandans, the impact of lockdown has been much harder than the coronavirus pandemic itself, and urged church leaders to continue offering pastoral guidance to Christians.

"The need has increased because of the fear and uncertainty many are experiencing. I call upon government to recognise the clergy and lay readers as "essential employees," to provide psycho-social services to Ugandans," the Archbishop said.

More here-

https://allafrica.com/stories/202005060604.html

Why won't the timid bishops let us mourn our dead at funerals in church?

From The Daily Mail-

The other day I learnt that an old friend had died. But although I can accept this as a matter of fact, I can’t really take it in because there has been no shared recognition among those who knew her that her life is over. 

There hasn’t been a funeral. Tens of thousands of people have died in recent weeks, many from Covid-19, some from different causes. 

Because of lockdown, and the prohibition of more than 10 mourners at a graveside, their deaths have barely been marked in the public sphere. 

And yet one of the most important functions of a funeral is to help us come to terms with the earthly passing of a person we have loved. 

How wrenching it was at the beginning of last month to see photographs of the funeral of 13-year-old Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab, who died from Covid-19. 

More here-

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-8294415/STEPHEN-GLOVER-wont-timid-bishops-let-mourn-dead-funerals-church.html

Archdiocese of Baltimore, Episcopal bishops release coronavirus reopening guidelines

From Maryland-

The Episcopal dioceses are taking a similar approach. The bishops of Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., pledged to coordinate their reopening efforts as the political leaders of the region have been doing, and announced a phased reopening plan for when services are allowed to resume.

“The hard truth is that we will not be able to welcome all people into our places of worship for the foreseeable future,” the bishops wrote in the announcement. “Thus we must prepare for different stages of regathering, following the guidelines of civic leaders.

"Moreover, the process of regathering may not be uniform, but vary according to county or region, and we must also prepare for the possibility of suspending in-person gatherings again should cases of infection rise.”

Phase one, while stay-at-home orders and other crowd restrictions are in place, consists of virtual worship, bible study and other activities.

More here-

https://www.capitalgazette.com/coronavirus/bs-md-archdiocese-baltimore-coronavirus-parishes-20200505-xqyyfli3mff5hpvfoeyy6vjaxi-story.html

Pandemic puts some bishop retirements on hold, delays elections, alters dioceses’ consecration plans

From ENS-

Calling a new bishop isn’t a simple task under normal conditions. Add a global pandemic to the timetable, and most Episcopal dioceses have had no choice but to adjust or freeze even their best-laid plans for leadership transitions.

“We didn’t want to stop the timeline if we could possibly do it,” said the Rev. Linda Anderson, who co-chairs the Diocese of Wyoming committee that is reviewing candidates to replace Bishop John Smylie, who is retiring in early 2021. The search committee had scheduled a retreat last week with the semi-finalists, and “there were some panicky moments when we thought, this can’t possibly happen,” Anderson told Episcopal News Service.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the committee’s retreat proceeded mostly as planned – not in person, but as a two-day online video conference. For now, the Diocese of Wyoming remains on track to announce its slate of nominees this month in anticipation of an election at the diocesan convention in September.

More here-

https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2020/05/05/pandemic-puts-bishop-retirements-on-hold-delays-elections-alters-dioceses-consecration-plans/

DC-area episcopal bishops set plans for resuming public worship

From Washington D.C.-

Episcopal churches in the D.C. area, including the Washington National Cathedral, are making plans for an eventual return to public worship, based on guidance from civic leaders and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Episcopal bishops of Maryland, Virginia and D.C. said there will be a phased regathering, requiring 6 feet of physical distancing between congregants, and all congregants will have to wear masks.

There’ll also be restrictions surrounding the celebration of communion. And the bishops said the regathering plans could be suspended if there’s a rise in coronavirus cases.

More here-

https://wtop.com/coronavirus/2020/05/church-leaders-plan-a-phased-regathering/

British public turn to prayer as one in four tune in to religious services

From The Guardian-

A quarter of adults in the UK have watched or listened to a religious service since the coronavirus lockdown began, and one in 20 have started praying during the crisis, according to a new survey.

The findings of the poll reinforce indications of an increase in the numbers of people turning to faith for succour amid uncertainty and despair.

The Church of England has said that unexpectedly high numbers of people are tuning into online or broadcast services, and 6,000 people phoned a prayer hotline in its first 48 hours of operation. Other faiths have also reported surges in people engaging with online religious activities as places of worship have been closed during the lockdown.

The survey of more than 2,000 people, commissioned by the Christian aid agency Tearfund and carried out last weekend, found that a third of young adults aged between 18 and 34 had watched or listened to an online or broadcast religious service, compared with one in five adults over the age of 55.

More here-

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/03/british-public-turn-to-prayer-as-one-in-four-tune-in-to-religious-services?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other&fbclid=IwAR3rhgPsd3Jx-E_fxh85lE6cxtugY-VZQsxSsj02xACNeFBcw4o0Q2m1qNE

Catholic, Episcopal churches release plans to phase in worship

From Baltimore-

The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland's plan also follows the governor's vision for reopening. The diocese has four phases, with the first phase being the current situation.

|| Episcopal Diocese of Maryland's plans for reopening ||

Phase two is similar to the Catholic Church in resuming in-person gatherings with limited attendance.
Phase three would see larger gatherings, youth groups and other classes resuming.

Phase four, which wouldn't take place until there's a vaccine, would resume gatherings with no limitations, no facial covering requirement and no restrictions on sacraments.

More here-

https://www.wbaltv.com/article/catholic-archdiocese-of-baltimore-episcopal-diocese-of-maryland-church-plans-phase-in-worship/32368588#

Anglican Bishop warns priests against allowing worshippers without face masks into church

From Nigeria-

The Bishop of Anglican Communion, Aba Ngwa North, Rt. Rev Nathan Kanu, has threatened to sanction any priest that allows members to attend church service without face mask.

The Anglican Bishop also decried negligence of the government’s directives on COVID-19 lockdown put together by governors of the affected states in containing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Kanu made this known while delivering sermon attended by our correspondent on Sunday.

He said church leaders in various denominations in Abia State assured to take personal responsibility for the enforcement of the rules on social distancing and face masks during service.

More here-

https://dailypost.ng/2020/05/03/covid-19-anglican-bishop-warns-priests-against-allowing-worshippers-without-face-masks-into-church/

Interfaith effort collecting, donating diapers and personal hygiene products

From Springfield Mass.-

Sometimes women have to choose between diapers for their babies or tampons for themselves. Sometimes those items are sacrificed to pay the rent or electric bill.

“Given the shut-down of many non-profits and take-away centers during this COVID-19 pandemic, food banks are allocating their available space for food items. This means that families may have to choose between food, paying their electric bill or buying personal care products like diapers,” said the Rev. Charlotte H. LaForest, rector of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Longmeadow. “An inadequate supply of these items can lead to health issues.”

So when a concern was raised about the need for diapers, feminine products and incontinence supplies, LaForest and church members formed Longmeadow Loves, a supply drive throughout the month of May.

More here-

https://www.masslive.com/living/2020/05/interfaith-effort-collecting-donating-diapers-and-personal-hygiene-products.html

Staten Island pastor welcomes homeless people into church amid coronavirus

From New York-

Rev. Terry Troia refuses to be cowed by the coronavirus.

The Episcopal pastor and her 15 volunteers are helping more than 250 homeless people per day, using a loyal network of faith-based emergency shelters on Staten Island that she has cultivated for nearly 40 years.

It’s a relationship that has remained resilient during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic as most churches and houses of worship in the rest of the city shut down their emergency homeless programs in March when the contagion started to spread.

“For years there was no place for homeless to go to on Staten Island,” said Troia, 62, who heads up the non-profit, interfaith Project Hospitality. “But necessity really is the mother of invention because since 1984, we have forged a strong relationship with these churches.”

More here-

https://nypost.com/2020/05/02/nyc-pastor-welcomes-homeless-into-church-amid-coronavirus/

Let’s Care For Our Brothers And Sisters Behind Bars

From Hawaii-

We, as members of the faith community, write to express our strong support and compassion for all members of our communities across Hawaii Nei during these uncertain times.

The novel coronavirus – COVID-19 — is a serious public health crisis that requires everyone’s kokua if we are to paddle our canoe forward through these rocky shoals.

We express our concern for our brothers and sisters who are living and working in Hawaii’s jails and prisons.

Dr. Pablo Stewart is a licensed clinician who trains psychiatric residents at John A. Burns School of Medicine to provide psychiatric care to people detained at Oahu Community Correctional Center.

His deep concerns were articulated in an April 8 letter to the Hawaii Correctional Oversight Commission about what he has observed working at OCCC four times a week.

More here-

https://www.civilbeat.org/2020/05/lets-care-for-our-brothers-and-sisters-behind-bars/