COVID-19 Resources for Faith Communities: Other
Other Resources
What Churches Really Think About Opening Up
Pastors who ignore coronavirus restrictions grab headlines. But most are being very careful about worship during the pandemic.
Guidance for Phasing Forward to In-Person Gatherings
The Southern New England Conference – United Church of Christ (SNEUCC) have been reviewing dozens of documents and websites on next steps for places of worship. This document is an integration and distilling of those resources tailored for their churches.
Sitting shiva via Zoom, it turns out, has its upsides
Some day we will be able to return to traditions currently on pause due to the global pandemic. And I will welcome them. But when we do, I hope innovations like streamed funerals and scheduled shiva calls are not soon forgotten, offering more flexible and meaningful ways for mourners to connect with one another in their grief.
Sikh doctor chooses to shave ‘in this time of need’
The COVID-19 crisis has compelled people around the planet to grapple with all manner of moral dilemmas. For Montreal physician Sanjeet Singh-Saluja, it has forced him into the difficult position of having to reconcile his medical oath with his religious values.
Ringgold church now linked to three COVID-19 cases
Catoosa Baptist Tabernacle announced it would suspend in-person church services because of COVID-19 concerns — just 16 days after church members were allowed to return to the sanctuary for service.
Pastoring in a Time of Pandemic
Solihten Institute and Samaritan Counseling Center of Atlanta present a live interactive webinar “Pastoring in a Time of Pandemic,” a conversation about the intersection of faith and mental health in these unprecedented times.
Mental Health in a Time of COVID-19 Webinar Series: Part 3-Task-Shifting To Address Increasing Challenges
Health and Human Services Partnership Center for Faith and Community Initiatives presents Part 3 of Mental Health in a Time of COVID-19 webinar series, “Task-Shifting to Address Increasing Challenges,”
‘I would do anything for a do-over’-Calgary church hopes others learn from their tragic COVID-19 experience
Members of a Calgary church ravaged by COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic are sharing their stories of grief and healing, after Alberta’s chief medical health officer cited them as a cautionary tale.
Georgia church closes two weeks after reopening as families come down with coronavirus
A Georgia church that reopened after shutting down due to the coronavirus has axed in-person services again in what they describe as “an effort of extreme caution” as several of their families have become infected by the deadly disease.
COVID-19 Ramadan Toolkit
The Family and Youth Institute conducted a needs assessment about the concerns and needs of American Muslims as they prepare for a COVID-19 Ramadan–you can read about the findings here.
CDC-Funeral Guidance for Individuals and Families
Grieving the loss of a loved one during the fear and anxiety about the COVID-19 pandemic can be overwhelming. This guidance is for individuals and families as they work with funeral directors, community and religious leaders, and others to plan and hold funeral services and visitations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As churches consider reopening buildings and resuming in-person worship, what can pastors expect?
Churches are looking toward re-opening buildings and resuming in-person worship. What can pastors expect to encounter as they lead their churches in the weeks and months to come?
A Cry to God Together: Lament in the Midst of Covid-19
The Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing offers a series of webinars exploring the public cry out to God regarding the loss of lives and livelihood during this pandemic each followed by a period of Q & A.
What Interfaith Leadership Looks Like Online
Amanda Quraishi, Rabbi Joshua Stanton, and Dr. Simran Jeet Singh each shared their distinct, yet intersecting approaches to online Interfaith Leadership. Over the course of the Webinar the panelists covered essential elements of online interfaith leadership.
Odyssey Impact: Mass Incarceration, COVID-19, and Milwaukee 53206
Panelist explored mass incarceration during this pandemic and the critical role faith and secular communities play during this challenging time.
Living Your Life in the Time of Corona Virus/ La Vida Durante la Pandemia del Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Los invitamos a usted y a su comunidad a participar en un seminario virtual en español. Los expertos de los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades de Estados Unidos les darán a conocer las ultimas noticias del coronavirus (COVID-19).
It’s time to address the unprecedented grief surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic
Our understandings were designed to address a wide variety of experiences, but the kind of global grief we are experiencing — and our inability to physically gather together in its midst — is truly unprecedented.
I Conducted a Funeral Service All Alone: A Brooklyn rabbi on what it’s like to hold a burial service over Zoom
A member of Rabbi Rachel Timoner’s congregation had died at home of COVID-19, and because they were quarantined, his immediate family members — his wife and their two adult sons — were not able to travel to the cemetery.
French Muslims Face a Cruel Coronavirus Shortage: Burial Grounds
For many immigrant families, the pandemic has halted the tradition of repatriating bodies to their country of origin, and finding a plot in France has become ever more difficult.
Dial-a-Priest
Dial–a–Priest is available to health care professionals and families in hospitals and nursing homes around the country through a single number that connects callers to an Episcopal clergyperson for prayer, especially before intubations or surgeries, or last rites when needed – no matter a patient’s faith tradition or absence of faith tradition.
A global call to prayer
A prayer initiative sponsored by the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity (HCHF), which is composed of Muslim and Christian religious leaders called for May 14 to be a day dedicated to fasting, works of mercy, prayers and supplications for the good of all humanity, so that God will end the pandemic.
15 Funerals a Day: The Pace of Death Stuns Brooklyn Muslims
Since the coronavirus took hold of New York in March, burial rituals in the city have become more complicated. Funeral homes everywhere are backed up and overwhelmed.
Securing and caring for your buildings during the COVID-19 pandemic
The archbishops and bishops of the Church of England have advised all churches to close completely during the government lockdown to both to reduce travel and to help to model best practice in maintaining social distance.
Safe Ramadan practices in the context of the COVID-19
Countries around the world are taking different measures to control the spread of COVID-19. This document highlights public health advice for social and religious practices and gatherings during Ramadan that can be applied across different national contexts.
Responding to COVID-19 Pandemic: Toolkit for Emotional Coping for Healthcare Staff
Frontline healthcare staff are facing unprecedented stressors as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds. The Toolkit for Emotional Coping for Healthcare Staff (TECHS) is a set of concrete tools healthcare staff can use during these challenging times.
COVID-19 Guidance for Ramadan 1441/2020
Guidance document for mosques, Muslim community centers, and individuals to continue physical distancing measures during Ramadan, and provides clear action-based recommendations.
Coronavirus in Minnesota: Call to Prayer To Be Broadcast 5 Times Daily in Minneapolis During Ramadan
The city of Minneapolis worked with leaders in the Muslim community to have the call to prayer broadcast by speaker five times a day. The broadcast will be generated from the Dar Al-Hijrah Mosque and organizers expect it will reach thousands of residents, from sunrise to shortly after sunset.
American Muslim Health Professionals: COVID-19 Resources
The American Muslim Health Professionals (AMHP) brought together over 30 national Muslim led non-profits with expertise in the healthcare, social services, faith and fiqh, and policy to compile resources and address the unique needs of American Muslims across the country.
A New Way to Mourn
An interview with a retired United Church of Canada pastor whose wife recently died. They discuss the process of arranging an online funeral for her, the technical difficulties he encountered, and how people are creating new rituals during this crisis.
Four ways to Leverage Digital Platforms for Congregational Communications in a Pandemic
Synagogues and houses of worship are in a difficult spot of keeping connected with their congregants and providing content to the community. The article provides ways to ensure that the content made by houses of worship are accessible to as many people as possible during the pandemic.
Wearing a face mask? You’re doing a mitzvah. Make a brachah!
A blessing for wearing a face mask fills a gap in tradition, giving an inexplicably blessingless commandment a benediction like other sacred deeds.
Pastor Who Defied Social Distancing Dies After Contracting Covid-19, Church Says
A Virginia pastor who defied warnings about the danger of religious gatherings during the pandemic and vowed to keep preaching “unless I’m in jail or the hospital” died after contracting Covid-19.
In Ohio, the Amish Take On the Coronavirus
A famously traditional community has mobilized to help hospitals with medical supplies, even as it struggles with reconciling its communal way of life with the dictates of social distancing.
In India, Coronavirus Fans Religious Hatred
Indian officials are blaming an Islamic group for spreading the virus, and Muslims have been targeted in a wave of violence.
G.R.A.C.E for nurses: Cultivating compassion in nurse/patient interactions
The practice of nursing is grounded in clinical competence, but it is also deeply embedded in the experience of relationship and the cultivation and expression of compassion.
Covid-19: Pope establishes emergency fund
Pope Francis establishes an emergency fund to aid those being “tragically impacted” by the Covid-19 virus.
COVID-19, Religion and the Importance of Effective Leadership
This article highlights the unique challenges faced by developing countries and the pressing need for a coordinated global response that recognizes and utilises religion’s social capital.
A West Virginia church spends Easter making masks, other PPE using 3-D printers
The church is trying to help a local hospital in an economically depressed area of West Virginia that has struggled with the opioid epidemic.
Spiritual Practices for Spiritual Leaders During COVID-19
Faith leaders joined in a Zoom meetup during which they explored spiritual practices and patterns of action and reflection that they can adopt.
Spiritual Care Resources for Religious Holidays during the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Chaplaincy Innovation Lab developed a resource guide with ideas for celebrating the holy days of Easter, Passover and Ramadan even when coming together in person isn’t possible.
Nearing Anniversary Of Devastating Fire, Notre Dame To Host A Good Friday Service
April 15 will mark the first anniversary of the fire that ripped through the cathedral. The Paris archbishop says he wants to send a “message of hope” through a small Good Friday service.
Coronavirus: What Mesothelioma Cancer Patients Should Know
The Mesothelioma Center provide information and resources for mesothelioma cancer patients regarding coronavirus.
Coronavirus keeping you away from church? Here’s how you can watch an Easter or Passover service this weekend
Churches and synagogues across Australia are offering their services online and many are live streaming. The ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) News has compiled a list of the major services around the country for Easter and Passover.
States Consider Whether Religious Services Qualify As ‘Essential’
Some see Government bans on large public gatherings as attacks on religious freedom when they are applied to houses of worship.
Religion, Public Health and COVID-19: Tips and Tools for Teaching about Religion Remotely
On April 9, 2020 at 12PM (EST), the Religious Freedom Center of the Freedom Forum Institute will host a webinar to offer advice, historical context, and collegial support for scholars impacted by the COVID-19.
Solo Seder: A OneTable Guide
OneTable, a website designed for young adults to find Shabbat dinners in major cities, developed a guide to assist with reflection for those conducting individual Seders.
Spiritual/Moral Dilemmas in COVID-19: How Might Spiritual Care Help
Co-presented by Odyssey Impact and Chaplaincy Innovation Lab this webinar will be a conversation with a panel of top chaplaincy practitioners with expertise and lived experience with communal trauma, and moral dilemmas in the context of spiritual care.
Days After a Funeral in a Georgia Town, Coronavirus ‘Hit Like a Bomb’
Six siblings fell ill after attending their brother’s funeral in Albany, Ga., and the rural county now has one of America’s most intense clusters of the coronavirus.
Coronavirus: UAE Fatwa Council lays out regulations for Muslims amid Covid-19 outbreak
United Arab Emirates issued a fatwa that bans congregational prayers and provides alternatives for public prayers.
Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia asks Muslims to delay Hajj bookings
Saudi Arabia has asked Muslims planning to take part in the Hajj pilgrimage to delay booking amid uncertainty over the coronavirus pandemic.