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A Prayer to God in Anxious Times

Rev. Cornelius Plantinga, Jr. wrote this prayer in March 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

April 2, 2020 | 1 min read
Shaping Worship During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Multicultural Community at Proskuneo Ministries, Clarkston, Georgia

In this edited conversation, Jaewoo "Jay" Kim says that Proskuneo Ministries "deeply holds to theological convictions and practices of embodied worship." Stay-at-home pandemic orders have upended their typical worship gatherings, but virtual worship doesn't fit who they are as a multicultural worshiping community.

April 1, 2020 | 5 min read

Shaping Worship During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Livestream at Christian & Missionary Alliance Churches in Hong Kong

Yvette Lau explains how Christian & Missionary Alliance churches in Hong Kong are deciding whether or how to do virtual worship or even virtual communion. In this edited conversation, she suggests that worship planners consider what will be communal, hospitable, and beneficial to the whole community—during and after COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

April 1, 2020 | 3 min read
Palm Sunday: Another Advent

Noticing and celebrating Palm Sunday’s allusions to Advent can enrich your congregation’s understanding of Holy Week and how Palm Sunday reflects both Christ’s humble first coming and his glorious return.

April 1, 2020 | 7 min read
Church Polity and Online Sacraments in the Christian Reformed Church

Kathy Smith, Adjunct Professor of Church Polity at Calvin Theological Seminary, reflects on the administration of sacraments in the unique context of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. She advises Christian Reformed churches to practice pastoral flexibility while still abiding by church polity, and provides a historical example from World War II, related by her predecessor Henry De Moor.

March 27, 2020 | 4 min read

Streaming Worship Services and Copyrights in a Time of Social Distancing

In an age of social distancing and remote, online worship due to COVID-19, churches are figuring out how to honor copyrights in entirely new ways, and companies are giving special allowances during this time.

March 25, 2020 | 2 min read
Mark L. MacDonald on Gospel-Based Discipleship and Indigenous Christians

Archbishop Mark L. MacDonald speaks and writes about gospel inculturation in Indigenous ministries, especially among First Nations Anglicans in Canada. Churches everywhere can learn from the Indigenous Gospel-Based Discipleship model for worship, governance, and community life.

March 24, 2020 | 4 min read
Trauma-Informed Care in Church Worship and Life

This topic showcase highlights resources to help churches use trauma-informed practices in church worship and congregational life. Faith communities are more effective when they become more aware of adverse childhood experiences, collective trauma, and other tragedy.

March 24, 2020 | 10 min read

Pandemics and Public Worship Throughout History

As the pandemic COVID-19 brings isolation and unprecedented challenges to congregations around the world, it can be of great comfort to reflect and learn about how Christian churches have responded to epidemics and pandemics throughout history.

March 23, 2020 | 9 min read
Holy Week in Uncertain Times

The pandemic of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus, has thrown Lent and Holy Week plans into turmoil. But the remembrances and celebrations of Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday present opportunities for both innovation and stability amid uncertainty.

March 22, 2020 | 2 min read
Funeral Practices during COVID-19: Praying for Wisdom in Pastoral and Liturgical Adaptations

During the COVID-19 pandemic, pastors and churches preparing to conduct funerals face unique challenges, particularly restrictions on public gatherings even for those who grieve.

March 19, 2020 | 1 min read