LOUISVILLE (OGA) As he begins his second term, the Reverend Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), is hoping to put words into action over the next four years. The COVID-19 pandemic and social justice challenges currently facing the U.S. have impacted all Christian denominations. The clerk says the current state is forcing churches to do more than merely talk about the problems. “We need to be challenging those who are oppositional to the Holy book we believe and set up a system where we can be nimble and where we can get to the place of greatest resistance to the gospel, as opposed to having 20 meetings before we get there,” he said. “It is the challenge of this age.” … [Read more...]

(PNS) Nearly eight in 10 Americans say houses of worship should be required to follow the same rules about social distancing and large gatherings as other organizations and businesses in their local area, a Pew Research Center survey released Friday states. While left-leaning respondents say they are more likely than those who lean to the right politically to say houses of worship should be required to follow the same social distancing rules as other organizations, a two-thirds majority of Republicans also expressed this view. More than 8 in 10 people who attend religious services said their congregation should either be closed altogether or open only on a modified basis. Among the most commonly mentioned modifications were staying 6 feet apart during worship (51%), requiring masks (44%), limiting the number of worshipers (41%) and limiting singing (29%). Seventy-nine percent of worship attendees surveyed said their house of worship is streaming or recording its … [Read more...]

The Washington Office of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. is calling for Congress to swiftly authorize the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to release Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to help struggling countries combat the coronavirus. The SDR is an international monetary reserve asset that was created by the IMF in 1969 to supplement its member countries’ official reserves. With COVID-19 now topping 19 million cases worldwide, SDRs would be especially helpful to low- and middle-income countries that need to obtain food and COVID-19-related necessities, such as personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical supplies, according to an Action Alert from the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness (OPW). The coronavirus has ravaged the health and economies of many countries and is expected to lead to an increase in world hunger as sickness, lockdowns, job losses, reduced hours, poverty, racism, conflict and other factors contribute to suffering. During this global crisis, “we must … [Read more...]