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Renowned biblical scholar, Walter Brueggemann, encourages us to believe that God is with us, bringing comfort, strength and hope in the midst of this pandemic, despite, as some might say, evidence to the contrary.

In his recent book, Virus as a Summons to Faith, Brueggemann looks at several biblical texts from the Hebrew Bible that speak of deep faith in the empowering love of God in the lived experiences of our ancestors who often found themselves in the midst of terrible circumstances.

When I moved to New England, I soon became a fan of Maritime music and sea chanties. New England has always been a seafaring area drawing from our British, Spanish and Portuguese roots.  The shipping industry is always fraught with impending peril but in the early days, if you had trouble on the seas, you were pretty much doomed. There was no Coast Guard to look for you. No airplane searches. Many a widows and orphans have been made from storms on the open seas.

In the harbor of Rockport Massachusetts on Bradley Wharf stands a little red fishing shack. There isn’t much to it, a small two story section at the end of the wharf attached to a shorter addition heading towards Bearskin Neck. This quaint little building stands at the entrance to the inner harbor that is home to the remaining lobstering and fishing boats in town.

In a normal summer, our children’s church school program would constrict a bit. There is nothing normal about this summer, in the grips of COVID-19, when laissez-faire could get you or someone else seriously ill or worse.

I had a Southern country upbringing. Neighbors were important to my family. We helped each other. We cared for each other. Many a time I heard my father say he had to go help someone because they were “a neighbor with an ox in the ditch”. If a neighbor was hurting, you would do anything to help. Physical labor was offered, money given and food cooked and delivered or sometimes a loving presence was needed. But as I look back on this, I know that one qualification of a neighbor was that they looked like us.

Rev. Shawn M. Fiedler tells of his experience officiating a wedding during COVID-19.

In an effort to re-frame our work the Climate Change Task Force is re-branding as the Climate Crisis Task Force. With this move we acknowledge the seriousness of the global climate crisis, and our commitment to engage everyone in the effort to address it.

As Director of Children & Family Ministries at Old South, I have the ability to direct and produce all sorts of programs on whims and tangents – wherever the spirit leads me -- and this was one “special project” that I decided our children should attempt during our stay-at-home time.

Worship, weddings, concert rehearsals, book groups, and 12 step meetings– Old South Church is not just a center of worship in Boston, but a focal point where community gathers.

It is the responsibility of white people to educate themselves about racism and how they can actively become anti-racist. We've compiled a list of resources to get started.