pandemic – Page 9 – Faithroots

Why we should care about protecting each other from COVID

We probably are not quite out of the woods yet with the COVID-19 pandemic. The encouraging news is that we have fully vaccinated over 50% of the adult population and over 75% have received at least one dose. However, there are other pressures that are not such good news. First of all, the “Delta” (Indian)… Continue reading Why we should care about protecting each other from COVID

What to do about the fact that June 21st re-opening has been thrown into doubt

The possibility of full re-opening from lockdowns hangs in the balance at the moment. The primary cause for concern is the newer B1.617.2 variant first noticed in India. It appears that the variant has a higher transmission rate and there is the possibility that it may not be quite as responsive to vaccines. The positive… Continue reading What to do about the fact that June 21st re-opening has been thrown into doubt

Another red herring – the timing of lockdowns

In my opinion, the other red herring to be brought into play over the past 24 hours through the Dominic Cummings interview has been the question over whether or not the lockdowns, particularly the first one in March 2020 and the autumn one just after half term should have been earlier and whether that would… Continue reading Another red herring – the timing of lockdowns

A herd of red herrings

The big political dispute over the past few days has been as to whether or not the UK pursued a herd immunity strategy during the early stages of COVID-19. It’s a red-herring because the answer is of course we were and still are following a herd immunity strategy. The alternative to herd immunity is to… Continue reading A herd of red herrings

Returning to in person church after lockdown – how can we look after one another?

Whilst many churches have re-opened the doors over the past few months, actual in person attendance has in most cases been unavoidably limited. What we can do in person has been extremely restricted and social distancing has limited capacity. Some churches have not been able to open at all due to renting their premises. Therefore,… Continue reading Returning to in person church after lockdown – how can we look after one another?

We need to do better at deep and charitable theological engagement (another lesson from COVID)

You are a church leader and you’ve just been told by the government that due to a pandemic ripping through the population, you will now need to suspend public services as part of a national lockdown. You know that schools, pubs, restaurants, theatres and sports stadia are being closed. You know that people are being… Continue reading We need to do better at deep and charitable theological engagement (another lesson from COVID)

What lessons should Christians be learning from the pandemic? (1) What has God been teaching us?

The other day, I wrote about the lessons that the UK as a country needs to be looking at if it’s to learn from the pandemic for the future. What about the church? What lessons are we learning as Christians from the pandemic? Well, someone of those lessons are not really going to become clearer… Continue reading What lessons should Christians be learning from the pandemic? (1) What has God been teaching us?

How should we respond to local/regional COVID-19 hotspots?

Over the last few days attention has begun to focus on a few towns and places where Coronavirus cases are on the increase again. Bolton is increasingly making it into the headlines but there are other places where this is causing concern including Bedford. The other concerning factor is that these increases tend to be… Continue reading How should we respond to local/regional COVID-19 hotspots?

Complying with COVID measures did not imply a lack of faith

One of the nastiest lies put about through the last year is that anyone who sought to comply with COVID-19 measures such as wearing face masks, social distancing and co-operating with restrictions on church gathering were somehow lacking in faith. If they had enough faith in Jesus, then they would not be worried about death… Continue reading Complying with COVID measures did not imply a lack of faith