Nation

A Biden transition team official refused to say which church Biden might attend in the nation’s capital or whether he might return to Delaware for services, at least to start. Washington’s COVID-19 measures restrict large indoor services, and many churches have moved services online.

The Trump administration on Monday moved to loosen restrictions on religious organizations that receive federal money to provide social services. The administration said it was clearing barriers that it claimed make it difficult for religious groups to participate in federal programs.

People reportedly affiliated with the hate group Proud Boys tore down Black Lives Matter signs belonging to churches in Washington Saturday night, setting at least one aflame. The damage to the signs came after supporters of President Donald Trump flocked to the nation’s capital.

Boise police are investigating after the Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial was defaced by swastika stickers earlier this week. The stickers, which included the words, “we are everywhere” as well as the Nazi insignia, were discovered Tuesday (Dec. 8) by a visitor to the memorial in downtown Boise.

Two Republican lawmakers put up a Christmas tree in the Wisconsin Capitol rotunda despite being told they weren’t allowed to do so — a show of defiance after Gov. Tony Evers opted not to display a holiday tree there this year because the building is closed to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic.

An early morning fire Saturday in Manhattan’s East Village neighborhood has destroyed the 128-year-old sanctuary of Middle Collegiate Church, one of the oldest congregations in the city.

During their lives they somehow slipped out of sight to the rest of us, and when death came to these 1,547 residents of Los Angeles County, they had become anonymous to the world. But this year’s annual Ceremony of the Unclaimed Dead was livestreamed due to coronavirus.

The unprecedented pace of developing vaccines for COVID-19 has not jeopardized their effectiveness or safety for Americans, the director of the National Institutes of Health said Thursday (Dec. 3) in a webinar hosted by the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. 

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is urging those attending services at houses of worship to adhere to COVID-19 precautions, like wearing masks and practicing social distancing, particularly for indoor services.

As Georgia becomes the nation’s political hotspot this winter before twin runoff elections Jan. 5 that will determine control of the Senate, faith-based organizing is heating up on both sides. One of the candidates is a Black Baptist pastor.