News
Thursday, April 28, 2022
Survey Shows Religious Education Hit Hard by Pandemic
HARTFORD, CT — With summer just around the corner, many churches are gearing up for the return of in-person Vacation Bible School. However, a new study from the Hartford Institute for Religion Research shows that although most surveyed congregations (90%) have already returned to face-to-face
Saturday, March 26, 2022
For Denver Church, Online Worship Is Way to Save For Permanent Building
By Tracy Simmons Computer and bible on a desk at home with a videoconference on the screen/IStock When members of Faith Community Baptist Church of Denver realized the Covid-19 pandemic wasn’t going to budge, they decided to embrace “Zoom church” in an extended way. The 60-member chu
Wednesday, March 16, 2022
Covid, Churches and Community Service
By Patricia Tevington, PhD While we are gratefully observing a decline in cases and an accompanying loosening of safety measures (at least at the time of this writing-- March 2022), the pandemic nevertheless caused damaging effects on many aspects of social life in addition to individual illness
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
How Pastors Became Entrepreneurs by Engaging Technology During the Pandemic
by Sophia Osteen The following guest post was submitted by Sophia Osteen of the Network of New Media, Religion and Digital Culture Studies, one of our collaborating organizations. Interested in submitting your research to be featured? Learn more and contact us! The Tech in Churches During
Friday, February 25, 2022
Can churches be protectors of public health?
The relationship between public health and faith is far older than the COVID-19 pandemic. Fred de Noyelle/Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Andrew Gardner, Hartford International University for Religion and Peace Over the past two years of living with COVID-19, many churches have
Wednesday, February 16, 2022
Bread Breakers: New Jersey Church Finds Creative Way To Do Ministry During Pandemic
By Tracy Simmons Volunteers assemble sandwiches every Friday morning at New Dover United Methodist Church in Edison, New Jersey. Photo courtesy of New Dover United Methodist Church. When New Dover United Methodist Church in Edison, New Jersey, closed its doors in 2020 to prevent the spr
Monday, January 17, 2022
Omicron Causes Churches to Reconsider Online-Only Worship
By Cassy Benefield | SpokaneFāVS.com Reprinted with permission When Pastor Cody Natland’s Moran United Methodist Church community restarted indoor worship in their sanctuary in Nov. 2021, he didn’t even make it all the way to the pulpit at the beginning of the service before he
Friday, January 14, 2022
Despite Pandemic, N.C. Church Comes Together to Buy School District Food Truck
Mac's Diner Food Truck/Contributed By Tracy Simmons First United Methodist Church of Graham has always helped its school district. Providing school supplies and clothing for its students is nothing new. But after reading an article about the difficulty of feeding students over the sum
Tuesday, December 21, 2021
Report Shows Congregations Respond to Pandemic With Extraordinary Social Outreach
HARTFORD, CT — Just in time for the holiday season, the Hartford Institute for Religion Research has released its second report examining how U.S. congregations are navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, and findings this time show most churches are embracing new and innovative ministry opportunities.