Loneliness as a phenomenon is nothing new — nor is loneliness unheard of within the life of a congregation, especially among single adults and those who are housebound or in nursing homes. But with the new norms of social distancing, loneliness has taken on a new level of intensity for many Americans. In the United States some 35.7 million people live alone, or approximately one-third of households. This number has nearly doubled in the past 50 years.
In the Republic of Niger, there is roughly one nurse or nurse midwife for every 10,000 people, and the country is not alone in its need. By 2030, the World Health Organization estimates there will be a projected shortfall of 18 million health workers worldwide, mostly in low- and lower-middle income countries.
For three social justice-focused Presbyterian churches in Orange County, California, Ash Wednesday will look different this year. But its meaning may be even more profound and deeply felt than in pre-pandemic times.
As the country continues to struggle under the physical and financial weight of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Washington Office of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is calling on Congress to support President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan.
According to a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, “Mental Health & COVID-19,” one in four people aged 18-24 has seriously considered death by suicide in the last 30 days.
The Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, the Rev. Dr. Diane Moffett, and about 20 other faith leaders were in the Rotunda at the state Capitol Building in Frankfurt, Kentucky on Thursday to receive their vaccination against COVID-19 and encourage others in their faith communities to do the same when it’s their turn.
Serge is a young boy in Congo who lost both his parents. He started living with his grandmother, but when Serge misbehaved, his grandmother accused him of being a sorcerer. He was kicked out and forced to live on the street.
Some of the best worship and most meaningful preaching the Rev. Landon Whitsitt has seen and heard during the pandemic has come from preachers and other worship leaders willing to share themselves in an authentic way with those attending the online services they’re creating each week.
It’s nearly time to celebrate “Mr. Rogers’ Day” in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and what better day to do so than March 20, the birthday of one of the most well-known ordained Presbyterian ministers of all-time, everyone’s neighbor — Fred McFeely Rogers (1928–2003).
