Thursday's News & Ideas - 4/23/2020
- Why church giving is down
- Is church changed permanently?
- Christian churches & socialism
- Spiritual counselors in pandemic
- Can we mourn over Zoom?
- In praise of robots
Church giving down more due to COVID-19 than during recession, survey shows
Religion News Service: Sixty-five percent of churches have seen a decline in giving since mid-March as congregations have halted in-person services due to the coronavirus, according to a new survey.
How social distancing may change the way we do church
National Catholic Reporter: When you think about the mechanics of Sunday Eucharist, it’s difficult to imagine a system better designed to spread contagion.
Are Christian churches the next bastion of American socialism?
Literary Hub: Jack Jenkins on the religious left’s attempts to fight poverty
Spiritual counselors adapt to serve faithful in pandemic
Associated Press: As the coronavirus claims tens of thousands of American lives, spiritual counselors are facing an already daunting job, rendered life-altering by the pandemic: bringing faith and connection to the sick and bereaved and honoring the dead.
Can we mourn properly over Zoom?*
The Atlantic: Will these videochat funerals be anything more than empty containers for unshed tears?
The Spark
The unsung heroes of the COVID-19 crisis? Robots
Robots have been used for everything from disinfecting hospitals to walking the stage for graduation. Importantly, they’re not replacing people -- they’re doing work people can no longer do safely, Fast Company says.
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