Churches & Religion

Downtown Seattle and mostly empty streets are shown, Wednesday, May 27, 2020, as viewed from the Space Needle. Many workers continue to work from home due to stay-at-home orders intended to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Ted S.

Washington issues new guidelines for religious services

May 27, 2020, 4:13pm Churches & Religion Free

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced Wednesday that churches, mosques and synagogues can resume in-person services, with those in counties in the second stage of the state’s COVID-19 reopening plan allowed to have smaller in-building services and the remainder limited to outdoor services with no more than 100 people. Read story

2 more churches sue Oregon governor over virus gathering restrictions

May 27, 2020, 8:20am Churches & Religion

Two additional churches are suing Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, saying her social gathering restrictions because of the coronavirus pandemic violate their constitutional right to the freedom of religion and assembly. Read story

FILE - In this May 22, 2020, file photo, the Rev. Nicolas Sanchez Toledano poses among pews adorned with portraits of his parishioners at St. Patrick's Catholic Church during the coronavirus outbreak in the North Hollywood section of Los Angeles. California says churches can resume in-person services but the congregations will be limited to less than 100 and worshippers should wear masks, avoid sharing prayer books and skip the collection plate. The state Department of Public Health released a framework Monday, May 25, for county health officials to permit houses of worship to reopen. (AP Photo/Mark J.

California lays out pandemic rules for church reopenings

May 26, 2020, 8:55am Churches & Religion

Rabbi Shalom Rubanowitz looks forward to reopening his synagogue doors — if his congregation can balance the laws of God and California during the coronavirus pandemic. Read story

Charlie Raetz, from left, a longtime member of St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Washougal, offers communion to Camas resident Tanya Fritz with the help of Pastor Robert Barber on Sunday morning. St. Matthew Lutheran Church, a small church in Washougal, offered its first drive-in church service that also included music, a message and cookies to-go for those in attendance.

St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Washougal offers first drive-in service

May 26, 2020, 6:05am Churches & Religion

Posters that said “welcome to drive-in church” hung from the eaves of St. Matthew Lutheran Church and flapped in the wind. People pulled into the parking lot and sat on the trunks or hoods of their cars or set out lawn chairs as the 10:30 a.m. service was about to… Read story

A family looks out from their vehicle during an Eid al-Fitr drive through celebration outside a closed mosque in Plano, Texas, Sunday, May 24, 2020. Many Muslims in America are navigating balancing religious and social rituals with concerns over the virus as they look for ways to capture the Eid spirit this weekend.

U.S. Muslims try to balance Eid rituals with virus concerns

May 25, 2020, 5:00pm Churches & Religion

With no congregational prayers or family gatherings, Salsabiel Mujovic has been worried that this year’s Eid al-Fitr celebration will pale. Still, she’s determined to bring home holiday cheer amid the coronavirus gloom. Read story

Pandemic will alter Communion rituals for many Christians

The Rev. William A. Mentz, pastor of the Scranton, Pa.-based St. Francis and Clare Progressive Catholic Church, wears a mask and gloves March 22 while distributing prepackaged communion to the faithful attending Mass while sitting in their cars in the parking lot of a shopping center in Moosic, Pa.

Holy Communion will have a different look when in-person worship services resume at the end of May in the Catholic Diocese of Knoxville, Tenn.: The wafers signifying the body of Christ will be placed in the hands of parishioners by priests and deacons wearing face masks and safety glasses. Read story

St John Paul II honored as Poland sees new abuse allegations

Pope Francis celebrates a Mass for the 100th anniversary of the birth of Pope John Paul II, in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican Monday, May 18, 2020. The Pope held the morning mass in the chapel where is located the grave of John Paul II.

St. John Paul II was honored on the centennial of his birth Monday with special Masses at the Vatican and in his native Poland, an anniversary that comes as the Polish church finds itself confronted by new allegations of clerical sex abuse. Read story

Pastors with virus keep the faith

The first week of April, the Rev. Kenneth Flowers had a slight dry cough, body aches and a bad headache. His 90-year-old mother he helped take care of had tested positive for the coronavirus a few days earlier, and so he asked his doctor whether he should get a test. Read story

Poll shows a partisan split over virus-era religious freedom

FILE - In this April 12, 2020 file photo, Pastor W.R. Starr II preaches during a drive-in Easter Sunday service while churchgoers listen from their cars in the parking lot at Faith City Christian Center in Kansas City, Kan. As the nation's houses of worship weigh how and when to resume in-person gatherings while coronavirus stay-at-home orders ease in some areas, a new poll conducted April 30 - May 4, 2020 points to a partisan divide over whether restricting those services violates religious freedom.

As the nation’s houses of worship weigh how and when to resume in-person gatherings while coronavirus stay-at-home orders ease in some areas, a new poll points to a partisan divide over whether restricting those services violates religious freedom. Read story