In an effort to encourage Chattanooga's faithful through the ongoing global pandemic and its economic fallout, the Very Rev. J. David Carter of the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul visited people at their homes on Wednesday.

The Vatican said Wednesday that Pope Francis has created a new commission of experts to examine whether women can be deacons, an ordained role in the Catholic Church currently reserved for men.

Less than a week after being highlighted for finding an innovative way to gather and worship during the COVID-19 pandemic, Chapel Hill United Methodist Church's drive-in services are canceled indefinitely.

Despite state and local limits on public gatherings, some faith leaders have persisted in holding in-person services -- a matter of religious freedom, they say, as the nation approached its fourth Sunday battling the coronavirus pandemic.

For nearly two years, Eilat Lieber, director and chief curator of the Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem's Old City, has been excited for this April, when Passover, Easter and Ramadan — touchstone holidays of three major religions — would collide for the first time in nearly two decades.

If you were to ask me what goji berries taste like, I would have to truthfully answer, "I have no idea." Nor do I know what pawpaws taste like. What I do know is that we Wagners now have two goji bushes, three blackberry bushes, two raspberry bushes, four pawpaw trees, two fig trees, two pecan trees and two plum trees planted in various spots on our property.

Praise the Lord, I am feeling better and beginning to regain some of my strength.

While the snooty meteorological literalist would likely eschew the phrase, the truth is that, from our perspective, the sun continues to come up day after day.

We aren't the first Christ followers to face times of plague and pestilence.

Like you, I'm hearing about acts of kindness during this time when the virus is causing so many problems.

The house of God needs help.

Pope Francis named a new bishop of the Diocese of Birmingham, Alabama.

Perry Stone, a millionaire televangelist in Cleveland, Tennessee, who claims to be a prophet, is using his platform to spread conflicting information about the coronavirus to his hundreds of thousands of followers.

As in-person worship services are canceled or downsized amid the coronavirus outbreak, some churches across the U.S. are bracing for a painful drop in weekly contributions and possible cutbacks in programs and staff.

A contagion stalks the land, and we play at not being afraid.

Rocks and minerals are rather ubiquitous at our church, being found everywhere from the name of the church to a loop off of the driveway to the watercourses and all the way into my office.

Fear and anxiety are negative byproducts of modern life that, unfortunately, attempt to influence us every day. Our jobs are often stressful, our relationships and finances, and even our children struggle with social pressures we hardly faced when we were their age.

For the last time in what could be weeks or months, those gathered at the Basilica of Saints Peter & Paul approached the altar rail. They knelt to receive communion. They bowed their heads together in prayer. And, for the last time in what could be weeks or months, they filled the Roman Catholic church with song.

As Chattanooga's residents continue to mobilize to help one another and workplaces, city buildings and restaurants shut down over COVID-19 concerns, a new effort is making a space for those most at risk of the virus to help their neighbors, as well.

Jeffress, who had called for "a fearless church," said on Tuesday that Christians should take "common-sense approaches" to protect their health.

A group of people in recovery who credit their faith as an important part of their journey are advocating for local houses of worship to join the nationwide struggle against addiction and stigma surrounding it.

Some Chattanooga Catholics hadn't even heard the news before they made it to mass Sunday morning.

Doug Plumlee stepped to the podium on Sunday, as he has each week for decades. He prayed. He read from his Bible. He delivered his sermon. He encouraged the faithful.