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Articles from the S4 team
One thing we could do is nothing. Close your eyes and imagine what that would look like: large broken-down stagnant spaces on just about every other block, city wide; a few people deep in nostalgia about their house of prayer; a lot of people scratching their heads about the meaning of life and not knowing where to even start looking for it.
When the coronavirus first came to my consciousness, I went shopping. We made a plan: Don’t dip into our pantry until we need to.
The largest churches in America continue to grow, but that growth extends beyond increasing worship service attendance.
At any other time, in a predominantly Christian nation that enshrines freedom of worship in the Constitution, the news would sound absurd or terrifying: “Pastor arrested after holding church services.”But that’s what happened this week when sheriff’s deputies handcuffed a Tampa, Fla., minister for violating municipal stay-at-home orders by gathering hundreds to worship.
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Religious buildings, often at the center of communities, are in danger. Deferred and expensive maintenance along with membership decline has put them in a precarious position. Economic disparity and gentrification in major cities are common threats to congregational membership and overall justice work.