Church and CoVid latest

Jul 1, 2020 by

News and comment, with different points of view on how Christians should respond to further restrictions.

Most recent items at the top:

Coronavirus and the Church of Jesus Christfrom Christian Concern: Tim Dieppe, Head of Public Policy, summarises what was discussed at a recent online forum run by Affinity on the Church’s response to the coronavirus pandemic

On the Relative Importance of Death: COVID-19 and the Hierarchy of Goodsby Joseph Thomas White, Public Discourse

Wales lockdown isn’t only absurd; it denies freedom of religionby Archbishop Cranmer:

Welsh church leaders threaten legal action over ‘firebreak’ lockdownfrom Premier

Church service is stopped by police as worshippers are told they breaking strict lockdown rules in Wales, By James Gant, MailOnline

The rest of the world is watching as freedom of religion is eroded in the Westfrom Christian Concern: Dr Martin Parsons, an independent consultant on the global persecution of Christians, comments on the closure of churches during the coronavirus pandemic and its effect on freedom of religion.

What if the church wasted the COVID crisis by not prepping for a more hostile shutdown? By Stephen McAlpine

Why lockdown is a moral mess, by Giles Fraser, unherd

What Lewis and Chesterton Can Teach Us About Tyranny and Freedomby Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch

How should Christians respond to a new lockdown? by Ian Paul, Psephizo

How do we proclaim good news during the pandemic?by Ian Paul, Psephizo

Christians may be obliged to disobey Government, says FIEC’s John Stevens,from Christian Today

Finally, the church is on the march against lockdownBy Rowina Seidler, The Conservative Woman

The making of Britain’s Covid catastrophe, by John Lee, Spiked

‘We are holding church,’ says John MacArthur after judge agrees to full trial, from Christian Today

Capitol Hill Baptist Shows How to Fight for Religious Freedom in a Pandemic, by Joe Carter, The Gospel Coalition

Letter from Church Ministers and Christian Leaders to UK Prime & First Ministers[Via email]: “This letter is to call on the government to refrain from socially damaging restrictions in the attempt to restrain the Coronavirus, and particularly to call on them not to close churches again.”

Covid-centralising Archbishop excoriates Government – for Covid centralisingby Archbishop Cranmer

C of E Guidance as at 25 September 2020

 

Earlier posts (before mid September)

Switch to online church hasn’t persuaded people to abandon in-person servicesfrom Christian Today

The disembodied brain of Christ [on the dangers of ‘online church’ without physical meeting and community accountability] By Rod Dreher, The American Conservative

Govt pushed on extending number of people at weddings but not budging, by Cara Bentley, Premier

Church pastors facing destitution as tithes dry up in Covid crisisfrom Christian Today

Churches urged to spread hope during pandemic, from Church of England Newspaper

A fair and just balance? from AAC

Court sides with John MacArthur over church servicesby Jennifer Lee, Christian Today. A California judge agrees that the ban on worship gatherings is unreasonable and unconstitutional.

Balancing the risks: lockdown and the Church by Tim Dieppe, Christian Concern

House of Bishops asked to withdraw ban on individual cups at Communion, by Andrew Symes, Anglican Mainstream. A group of senior barristers have written a formal legal Opinion concluding that the Church of England’s decision to restrict communion to bread only is based on a wrong reading of the law.

Eat, drink, and say a prayerfrom The Conservative Woman. The warm welcome he received there led him to float the idea that church communities who are banned from taking Holy Communion in their churches could gather in pubs and celebrate the Lord’s Supper together at their tables.

Drive-in worship and pew booking: how churches are adapting as lockdown eases from the Church of England website

COVID-19: guidance for the safe use of places of worship during the pandemic – updated 9 July

Communion Ban Breaches Human Rights by Jules Gomes, Church Militant

First Sunday back – what we did, by Stephen Kneale, Building Jerusalem

Government, health & safety, the court of public opinion…what about the Bible?by Dave Brennan, Christian Concern:

Even if we are to agree that lockdown is doing more help than harm purely in health terms…Are we going to give up meeting every time ‘pandemic’ is declared? Is this how we propose to spend these last days?

…I am not saying this because I believe… we ought to disregard lockdown entirely. I don’t believe that. But I am concerned that it is what the culture around us thinks that seems to keep us awake at night far more than what the Scriptures command.

Shut Churches Sue State Using Magna Carta by Jules Gomes, Church Militant

The re-opened Church must reform or die by Graham Wood, The Conservative Woman

Magna Carta and church freedom in a world of lockdown, Christian Concern

Christian leaders invoke Magna Carta and sue the government over church lockdown from Christian Concern

Communion: Where should we look? by Marc Lloyd, Church Society

We will fail if the Church returns to business as usual by George Pitcher, Daily Express

Updated guidance for reopening church buildings for public worship

Government sets out guidance for resumption of church services, Christian Today

Congregational singing discouraged but all aspects of church life permitted inside place of worship by Marcus Jones, Premier

God be with you til we meet again (and help us know what to do when we can!) by Stephen Kneale, Building Jerusalem

Church leaders pursue judicial review on church independence, from Christian Concern. The church should resist the normalising of state control over meetings and worship that has been evident during the lockdown, and the recent lifting of restrictions have only come about because of church pressure on government, argues Andrea Williams and others.

What does the government guidance for worshipping safely say? By Tim Dieppe, Christian Concern

Coronavirus: Is The Government Guidance For Places Of Worship A Fundamental Breach Of Our Religious Liberty? John Stevens argues (against Christian Concern) that the state in the UK has always had sovereignty over the church, that Christians should be grateful for the freedom they have, and there is no threat to the church’s activities in this country.

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