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Across the country, Christian leaders are wrestling with how to keep their congregations going with fewer people showing up.
The number of churchgoers has steadily dropped in the U.S. over the past few decades. But Covid-19 and its lockdown restrictions accelerated that fall. In-person church attendance is roughly 30% to 50% lower than it was before the pandemic, estimates Barna Group, a research firm that studies faith in the U.S.
While religious leaders expect some rebound once the pandemic recedes, many don’t expect attendance to return to previous levels. That has left churches looking for different approaches to connect with existing members and attract new ones.
In Catholic, mainline Protestant, evangelical and other congregations, many religious leaders are laying plans for a more hybrid future with permanent online services—a shift from the in-person gatherings that have been at the core of worship for centuries.
Beyond technology, some churches are focused on boosting engagement with small gatherings of congregants for discussion groups or community service and putting more emphasis on a one-on-one relationship with God.
Barna Group’s research suggests that tens of thousands of churches are at risk of closing because of membership declines and other long-term problems that the pandemic made worse. A dip in tithes and offerings is forcing some to prepare for permanently smaller budgets, with less real estate, fewer staff members and smaller programs. ...
Some churches expect that worship will increasingly move outside their buildings and expand into new ways to meet in person. That includes so-called micro-gatherings of members of the same church, or at-home events designed to attract those who feel more comfortable in informal settings. ... Read More
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ANNAPOLIS, Md. - A Maryland resident who recently returned from Nigeria has been diagnosed with the virus monkeypox, according to state health officials.
They say the person is recovering in isolation.
The health department did not indicate where the person lives in the state.
READ MORE: What is Monkeypox? What are Monkeypox symptoms? Answers about a rare disease
"Public health authorities have identified and continue to follow up with those who may have been in contact with the diagnosed individual," said MDH Deputy Secretary for Public Health Dr. Jinlene Chan. "Our response in close coordination with CDC officials demonstrates the importance of maintaining a strong public health infrastructure."
Monkeypox is in the same family as smallpox, but causes a milder infection, the health department says.
READ MORE: Tennessee man with coronavirus describes life as ‘patient zero’
The virus can spread through cuts in the skin or through fluids. It can also be carried by contaminated clothing materials, such as clothing or fabrics.
It can also be spread through large respiratory droplets which generally cannot travel more than a few feet, and prolonged face-to-face contact is required. Read More
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Just four days after landmark climate talks in Scotland in which Joe Biden vowed the US will “lead by example” in tackling dangerous global heating, the president’s own administration is providing a jarring contradiction – the largest ever sale of oil and gas drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico.
The US federal government is on Wednesday launching an auction of more than 80m acres of the gulf for fossil fuel extraction, a record sell-off that will lock in years, and potentially decades, of planet-heating emissions.
The enormous size of the lease sale – covering an area that is twice as large as Florida – is a blunt repudiation of Biden’s previous promise to shut down new drilling on public lands and waters. It has stunned environmentalists who argue the auction punctures the US’s shaky credibility on the climate crisis and will make it harder to avert catastrophic impacts from soaring global heating. Read More
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On Thursday, the Israeli government hosted the Fifth annual Christian Media Summit. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, Opposition Leader Netanyahu, and President Isaac Herzog addressed the virtual event titled “Abraham Accords and Abrahamic Religions: Partners in Peace” in pre-recorded videos.
“As the world fights this invisible enemy…here in Israel, we are fighting a very visible enemy, radical militant Islam, that is sweeping across the Middle East,” Bennett said to the virtual conference. “The terror that begins in Tehran seeks to destroy Israel, dominate the world and drive it into a dark abyss,” he continued.
Bennett claimed that the only country in the Middle East that fully protects Christians is Israel, where the Christian community is “growing, thriving and prospering,” he said.
“Israel protects the rights of Christians as we protect the rights of all religions,” he said adding: “Today, more than ever, Christians stand united with Israel,” he said. “And today, more than ever, Israel stands united with Christians.”
Bennett called the Abraham Accords “a new dawn for Israel’s standing in the region.”
“This conference commemorates the signing of the Abraham Accords, which have contributed greatly to regional stability, prosperity, and peace between Israel and her neighbors,” he said. Read More
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SURFSIDE, Fla. - Construction of a luxury building next door triggered the collapse of an already fragile Florida condominium that killed 98 people in June, according to a new lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed late Tuesday on behalf of Champlain Towers South victims and family members, contends that work on the adjacent Eighty Seven Park tower damaged and destabilized a building in dire need of major structural repair.
Champlain Towers, the lawsuit claims, "was an older building in need of routine repairs and maintenance, but it was not until excavation and construction began on the luxury high-rise condominium project next door" that the building became unsafe.
"The collapse was entirely preventable," the lawsuit says.Champlain Towers was in the midst of its 40-year structural review when it collapsed without warning in the early morning hours of June 24. The collapse has triggered multiple federal and state investigations and a flurry of lawsuits by victims, families and condo owners. Read More
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