CHICAGO (RNS) — Not long into the coronavirus pandemic, the Rev. Sandra Maria Van Opstal, a pastor at Grace and Peace Church on the West Side of Chicago, began to hear from congregants who lost their jobs and were struggling financially as the city closed nonessential businesses to slow the spread of the virus. Some congregants were essential workers who were anxious about their exposure to the coronavirus and staying apart from family members so they didn’t risk bringing the virus to them. Some had lost loved ones to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Others were unable to celebrate births or graduations. And all that was before the nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd, a reminder of the systemic racism that exists in the United States and the trauma that it has caused communities of color. “I don't think we can ever underestimate the level of trauma we're all experiencing,” Van Opstal said. As Americans deal with the impacts of … [Read more...]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled broadly Wednesday in favor of the religious rights of employers in two cases that could leave more than 70,000 women without free contraception and tens of thousands of people with no way to sue for job discrimination. In both cases the court ruled 7-2, with both liberal and conservative justices ruling in favor of the Trump administration and religious employers. In the more prominent of the two cases, involving President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, the justices greenlighted changes the Trump administration had sought. The administration announced in 2017 that it would allow more employers to opt out of providing the no-cost birth control coverage required under the law, but lower courts had blocked the changes. The ruling is a significant election-year win for President Donald Trump, who counts on heavy support from evangelicals and other Christian groups for votes and policy backing. It was also good news for the … [Read more...]

(RNS) — The Rev. Traci Blackmon was at home outside of St. Louis when a local hospital called. It had been sending people with mild coronavirus home to recover, but it didn’t have enough masks to send with them. Now the hospital had a question: Could Blackmon’s church help sew some masks? “That moment still haunts me,” said Blackmon, senior pastor of Christ the King United Church of Christ in Florissant, Missouri, and a registered nurse. She knew how crucial it was for those people to protect others from contracting the disease. She was also ready and able to help. Christ the King is part of a network called Masks for the People that is distributing surgical masks and hand sanitizer in low-income and minority neighborhoods. She told the hospital the church would be happy to help. As coronavirus cases surge again, churches across the U.S. have stepped up, providing medical supplies to help slow the spread of the virus and food to those who have lost their jobs. Still … [Read more...]

CHICAGO (RNS) — The first time the Rev. Lettie Moses Carr saw Jesus depicted as Black, she was in her 20s. It felt “weird,” Carr said. Until that moment, she’d always thought Jesus was white. At least that’s how he appeared when she was growing up. A copy of Warner E. Sallman’s “Head of Christ” painting hung in her home, depicting a gentle Jesus with blue eyes turned heavenward and dark blond hair cascading over his shoulders in waves. The painting, which has been reproduced a billion times, came to define what the central figure of Christianity looked like for generations of Christians in the United States — and beyond. For years, Sallman’s Jesus “represented the image of God,” said Carr, director of ministry and administrative support staff at First Baptist Church of Glenarden in Maryland. When she grew up and began to study the Bible on her own, she started to wonder about that painting and the message it sent. “It didn’t make sense that this picture was of … [Read more...]

(RNS) — A new study examining Americans’ response to COVID-19 shows that with the exception of white evangelicals, a majority of Americans are not comfortable returning to in-person religious services. The results of the survey suggest that despite political pressure to reopen houses of worship — from President Donald Trump as well as leading conservative Christians and religious liberty advocates — Americans aren’t quite ready to take a seat in a sanctuary. The survey from the American Enterprise Institute showed that 64% of Americans said they were “somewhat uncomfortable” or “very uncomfortable” attending in-person worship. Even among those who reported their congregations offered in-person worship in the past week, 56% of respondents said they chose not to go. “We’re seeing among lay people a significant amount of discomfort in going back to formal in-person religious practices,” said Daniel Cox, a research fellow at AEI who led the study. “People are equivocating … [Read more...]

(RNS) — An evangelical research center focused on disaster response has detailed key steps churchgoers might take as they contemplate attending reopened churches. Wheaton College’s Humanitarian Disaster Institute in Illinois released a series of documents this week to augment the guidelines of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The institute previously created a website with coronavirus-related resources with the National Association of Evangelicals. “We are standing in the gap with a series of new resources since the CDC has been suppressed by the current administration on what guidelines it can provide to U.S. faith communities,” Jamie Aten, executive director of the institute, said in a Wednesday (June 10) announcement about “Deciding When & How You Should Return to Church in Person: A Practical Guide for Church Members.” “Many churches including their pastors and church members are struggling to sort through misinformation and divisive voices … [Read more...]