How do you wash your hands of coronavirus in an African draught? Why is the president of the Philippines giving shoot-to-kill orders during a pandemic? Where do Palestinians get health care while blockaded in Gaza? What can North Americans do to help? Those are some questions and themes emerging from live COVID-19 updates being offered
“I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter shaped it into another pot, shaping it as it seemed best to him.” – Jeremiah 18:3-4 (NIV) Are we more shaped or are
The state of Ohio will begin emerging from under a stay-at-home order on Friday, May 1. But the United Church of Christ national staff will continue its home deployment until at least June 1. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced today he plans to use the month of May to phase in a return to work,
All you servants of the Lord who minister by night in the house of the Lord … may the Lord bless you from Zion. – Psalm 134:1 & 3 (NIV) There are those among us who are within the employment category sometimes referred to as the “night help.” We seldom, if ever, see them. They
A national ministry of the United Church of Christ celebrated Earth Day’s 50th anniversary with calls to protect nurses, African Americans and poor people during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to fix food, health and other systems that have links to the environment – and are now revealed to be broken. Those messages – ranging from
“Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing.” – Luke 10:41-42a (NRSV) For the last 10 days a reminder has popped up every morning at 7 a.m. on my phone. It says simply, “Pray for people!” Setting that reminder was one of my first acts of
Late Monday night, President Trump tweeted that he planned an executive order to suspend all immigration to “protect” the jobs of American citizens, as the numbers of COVID-19 cases continued to climb in the United States. On Tuesday, April 21, as his staff scrambled to write a policy, condemnation came quickly from the faith community
So clean house! Make a clean sweep of malice and pretense, envy and hurtful talk. You’ve had a taste of God. Now, like infants at the breast, drink deep of God’s pure kindness. Then you’ll grow up mature and whole in God. – 1 Peter 2:1-3 (MSG) My spouse and I are considered “essential workers,”
Domestic violence has increased worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stay-at-home orders have also heightened the intensity of mental health issues. Both are areas where pastors and congregations can help by being especially alert, according to United Church of Christ staff specialists. Tips on what to watch for and what to do were shared by national
Death’s ropes bound me;the distress of the grave found me—I came face-to-face with trouble and grief.– Psalm 116:3 (CEB) In an effort to cope under our state’s stay-at-home order, everyone at my house employed self-organizing strategies. Mine included a day of baking three kinds of bread and knitting a shawl in cheerful colors. My wife