The post-COVID return to church has plateaued, according to new nationwide data from Pew Research. After most houses of worship closed to in-person gatherings in mid-March 2020 due to the initial threat of coronavirus, there has been a slow return…
Here’s another form of Long-COVID: Progress against global poverty and hunger sent backward by decades
The COVID-19 pandemic has undone decades of progress in addressing global poverty and hunger and made the world an altogether harder place to live for millions of people, according to a new report by World Relief. “From 1990 until 2015,…
Optimism returning to Americans as they see pandemic threat fading, but some sober realities remain
Americans are feeling a whole lot better about the COVID-19 pandemic and are more willing to venture out to places they shied away from for the past two years, according to new data published by both Gallup and Pew Research…
A pediatric chaplain offers five tips for talking with children about death and loss
Beneath the intensity of the fluorescent lights, the pediatric intensive care unit felt even more garish at 3 a.m. as I stood in the hallway with a patient’s dad who was tearful and afraid. His daughter’s nurse had called me…
Former Surgeon General Jerome Adams, now teaching at Purdue, still thinks about the pandemic every day
Former U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams found himself at the center of American history in dealing with a once-in-a-century pandemic. Now he wants Americans to understand that while things are improving, the pandemic is still with us. “I do think…
What I learned from delivering freshly baked cookies to 155 households in my church
In May 2020, I visited 155 households in my church. And dropped off thousands of homemade cookies. I had (some) help and (many) cups of flour to get the job done. And while I enjoy baking, even I hit my…
Charitable giving bounces back in 2021 but more for secular than sacred causes
Americans’ giving to charitable causes bounced back in 2021 after a dip at the start of the pandemic, but most of the recovery was in the secular nonprofit world, not the religion sector. New data from Gallup show 81% of…
Is it time for another Gettysburg Address?
Our nation lives in suspended grief over 900,000 dead from COVID. Every day we go to the funeral home, the graveyard. Every day the bells toll for those who keep dying from COVID. Where are words of comfort? Is there…
Leaving church, part 3: ‘Opposition to leadership’
In the face of opposition to leadership, successful leaders never give up or walk away. At least, that is what leadership experts tell us. Instead, these experts suggest persistence and dogged determination as appropriate responses to opposition. This viewpoint is…