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For lectionary Year A, Good Shepherd Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Easter, includes a reading from 1 Peter. New Testament scholar Dennis R. Edwards explains why Peter’s first letter is especially relevant as people deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
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In observance of the Good Shepherd Sunday, the fourth Sunday of the Easter season, Michael Hawn, professor emeritus of church music at Southern Methodist University, shares his ten favorite hymns on Psalm 23.
Carlos Colón demonstrates and talks about three songs for Easter and Pentecost, as part of the series "Songs from the hymnal / Cantos del himnario 'Santo, Santo, Santo / Holy, Holy, Holy.'"
Many Christian traditions mark the fourth Sunday of Easter as Good Shepherd Sunday, centering worship around the compelling image of Jesus Christ as our Good Shepherd as found in John 10, and complementing that with reading or singing Psalm 23 and other texts that unfold the beauty and power of this image.
Wendell Kimbrough led a festival of psalms at the Calvin Symposium on Worship in January 2020.
Drawing from her past experience of shelter-in-place in Central African Republic, Ann Plantinga Kapteyn offers insights and resources for coping with trauma during COVID-19 pandemic.
The Aeolians of Oakwood University led a festival of songs at the Calvin Symposium on Worship in January 2020.
A Bilingual Easter Prayer in the time of COVID-19 pandemic
In a time of fear, uncertainty, and isolation because of COVID-19, ancient prayers of protection can remind us of God’s sovereignty and care. Here, Debra Paxton-Buursma, professor of education at Calvin University, explores St. Patrick’s Prayer of Protection, set to music by a modern composer who himself faced danger and exile.
Greek Orthodox Christian worship is consciously embodied. Christopher Flesoras, a Greek Orthodox priest, discusses pastoral discernment for serving the faithful when public health needs require social distancing, also known as physical distancing.
Carlos Colón demonstrates and talks about three songs of lament and hope, as part of the series "Songs from the hymnal / Cantos del himnario 'Santo, Santo, Santo / Holy, Holy, Holy.'"
Not every church has the capacity to move worship online when pandemic public health directives require social and physical distancing. Pastor Constance Cherry explains how her small rural Methodist congregation is drawing on its Wesleyan heritage to help members worship and disciple each other.
In this edited conversation, Herbert Tsang shares how to use a mix of digital and old-fashioned ways to help worshipers and community members stay connected. He suggests good questions to think about regarding how technology and COVID-19 will form churches and worshipers.
