Opinion

I must acknowledge that this year has not turned out the way that I had hoped or prayed. And unfortunately, we do not have any idea when life will begin to look like we thought it would. The only thing we can be certain of for the near future is … uncertainty.

Recently, at one of his daily news conferences, Gov. Andrew Cuomo addressed the question that has haunted so many of us lately: How much is a human life worth? 

I don't know of a person who isn't outraged over the killing of Ahmaud Arbery. But check the social media posts of our African American brothers and sisters in Christ and the overall message is something different from before. They're asking for the help of Caucasian Christians to speak out and help put a stop to these tragedies.

Masks have been used for various purposes throughout history. With the spread of COVID-19 slowing, questions regarding mask-wearing are increasing.

We’ve become used to scenes of people applauding the workers who are on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis. There’s another group that needs our attention too — and that’s our faith leaders — who provide connectedness, foster resiliency, and offer hope to those whose lives have been disrupted.

I am afraid.  This is not a confession pastors are supposed to make. 

Slogging through the COVID-19 pandemic is a daily exercise in perseverance and improvisation. So it probably wouldn’t surprise you that a few days ago I found myself crying as I drove alone in my Camry. No, the tears were not about the latest coronavirus report -- it was Luciano Pavarotti.

As a child, I imagined the bandits who beat and robbed the man in Jesus’s parable about being a good neighbor wore masks. Now, I’m pretty sure the Samaritan who helped the man was the one really covering his face.

The World Health Organization has designated 2020 as “Year of the Nurse,” marking 200 years since the birth of Florence Nightingale, who “will forever be linked with modern nursing — and rightly so.”

Preachers periodically inform congregations that the Ten Commandments are not the Ten Suggestions. As part of its coronavirus reopening plan, the CDC came up with a few dozen suggestions for faith communities. The White House has rejected them as commandments that infringe on religious rights.