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The spread of Coronavirus is causing disruptions to so many areas of our lives, including the church. Not only has the virus caused many churches to reconsider when and how they will hold worship gatherings; it has caused many churches to revisit whether or not they will share the Lords Supper.

Far beyond the outbreak of Covid-19, this is something that deserves even more consideration among the people of Christ today.

The following content is a transcription of a video included within this article, so punctuation may be imperfect, as it is a spoken commentary.

Im kind of a germaphobe, anyway. I was in a difficult situation a couple weeks ago in a movie theater the other day when I dropped my bottle of Purell on the floor, and had to reach around on a movie theater floor and find it, and then the question was: what do you do to disinfect a container of Purell?

So, I already sort of have this problem, and then you add to it, the very real alarm that we have going on right now with Coronavirus. Especially with people who are traveling around the world, and as the Coronavirus starts to come into the United States, there have been people who have died already.

And we also have, beyond that, just the sense of public anxiety; and could be even panic, about Coronavirus and related diseases. We had swine flu several years ago, we had the Ebola concern as well, Avian flu, so...these sorts of potential pandemics come up every once in a while.

Photo Credit: GettyImages/Pic2Frames

One of the things that I was thinking aboutin addition to all of the issues of preparing to care for people may come down with Coronavirus and preparing for the potentiality of not having, say, big events, and all of the contingencies that government and non-governmental organizations are going to have to think through iscommunion.

Someone sent me, knowing my concerns about Lords supper, sent to me a tweet that someone had put up earlier this week from, I believe, a Catholic man who was talking about how dangerous it is to be serving communion with a common cup during a time of potential Coronavirus. And someone else had responded and said, well you oughta then become a Protestant because we have the little individualized cups and the little individualized crackers.

And so it really caused me to think about something thats been a concern of mine for a long time. And so, I actually would agree with churches that say were not going to do common cup right now in a time of potential epidemic. But, I think that weve lost something when weve lost the practice of the common cup and the Lords table as a meal in my own evangelical community.

Because I think there are reasons why we do it this way (individualized) that I dont think are good. Now Im not saying that this renders the Lords supper, the way that most of us do it, inoperative. Not at all. The Lords supper is the Lords supper. I just think there are some assumptions behind the very individualized way we do the Lords supper that loses some of what Jesus communicates to us inside the Lords supper: the tearing of the bread, the drinking of the common cup.

Photo Credit: Unsplash/James Coleman

When the apostle Paul talks about our gathering together around the table, it is a sign of the unity that Jesus is establishing, and the fact that Jesus himself is feeding us with his own body and his own blood.

I think that right now, there are all sorts of things that churches may do when it comes to Coronavirus. And it may reach the point where some churches arent able to have a weekly gathering for a while.

But longer-term than that, I think that we need to have a conversation about what does it mean for us to be part of one body: one loaf, one cup? And I think one of the reasons that some of us dont even think about those ancient practices, is not because were concerned about epidemics, but because we just say thats gross to drink after somebody else.

That actually is something that the New Testament takes head-on and says: youre not drinking after somebody else. Youre part of one body. Head, body, in Christ.

And thats worth thinking about when were past the time of sickness.

Russell Moore is president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, the moral and public policy agency of the nations largest Protestant denomination. Dr. Moore is the author of several books, including Onward: Engaging the Culture without Losing the Gospeland The Storm-Tossed Family: How the Cross Reshapes the Home. A native Mississippian, he and his wife Maria are the parents of five sons.

Read this article:
How Coronavirus Sheds Light on Communion and the Body of Christ - Crosswalk.com

Sheriff's Department SWAT officers move in to apprehend a subject held up in the backyard of a home in the 9500 block of Bending Crest on Feb. 9, 2020.

Sheriff's Department SWAT officers move in to apprehend a subject held up in the backyard of a home in the 9500 block of Bending Crest on Feb. 9, 2020.

Photo: Tom Reel, San Antonio Express-News / Staff Photographer

Sheriff's Department SWAT officers move in to apprehend a subject held up in the backyard of a home in the 9500 block of Bending Crest on Feb. 9, 2020.

Sheriff's Department SWAT officers move in to apprehend a subject held up in the backyard of a home in the 9500 block of Bending Crest on Feb. 9, 2020.

Standoff with man accused of squatting in shed ends

A man who was squatting in a Northeast Side backyard storage shed allegedly threatened to shoot deputies who were trying to speak with him Monday afternoon.

At about 4 p.m., Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said deputies were dispatched to the home in the 5900 block of Bending Crest to speak with Jonathan Gutierrez, 28.

Salazar said the homeowner and Gutierrez knew each other, but could not immediately define their relationship.

Gutierrez yelled at the deputies and made threats using foul language as he told them not to approach the shed, investigators said.

The suspect made some threats toward officers. ... He was armed, he was going to come out shooting, Salazar said.

Deputies shut the roads surrounding the home and surrounded the shed during the standoff.

After an hour and a half of negotiations, Gutierrez came out of the shed and complied when a SWAT team ordered him to the ground, deputies said.

Salazar said investigators did not know how long the man had been squatting in the shed.

Gutierrez was to be booked into the Bexar County Jail on a warrant for possession of a controlled substance.

Deputies said Gutierrez has an extensive criminal history that includes evading arrest.

He will most likely face charges for terrorist threats made against the deputies, as well as other charges should investigators find a weapon in the shed, Salazar said.

Jacob Beltran is a reporter covering San Antonio and Bexar County. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | jbeltran@express-news.net | Twitter: @JBfromSA

See the original post here:
Standoff with man accused of squatting in shed ends - mySA

One of the Coasts most notable eateries celebrated the reopening of some popular offerings Saturday.

The Shed Barbecue and Blues Joint marked the opening of the saloon and seasonal opening of the Crawfish Shack Out Back for customers.

Patrons have the chance to eat hand-selected mudbugs and listen to live music in an outdoor setting this crawfish season or hang out in a wild-west style saloon with a wide selection of drinks.

The Shed Owner Brad Orrison says it is exciting to see more growth at the facility. Well weve been successful at doing beer, barbecue, and blues, and its a natural step for us to do crawfish and celebrate crawfish season. Also were frying catfish and of course all the barbecue staples, but now weve added some high-end liquors and hand-selected bourbons and a bigger playground!

Crawfish are available at the Shed every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11 a.m. until supplies last. You can also reserve them over the phone.

Originally posted here:
New offerings at The Shed BBQ and Blues Joint - WXXV News 25

As the COVID-19 crisis unfolds one of its unique dynamics is the surge of new medical studies being rushed into print because of the extenuating circumstances of a global pandemic. To be crystal clear, these are studies produced using expert, scientific methodologies and conducted by credentialed epidemiologists and clinicians. But many have relatively small sample sizes and theyre being performed many in China under crisis conditions. So they dont necessarily prove things even in the limited way that larger, more organized studies can. But theyre giving us key information.

Let me point your attention to a few of them.

Because Im not an expert on these matters in any way, I will keep my descriptions very general. If you want more information you can review the studies. In most cases, if youre not a specialist, its easiest just to read the abstract.

*** One of the big questions about COVID-19 is its effect on children. The evidence is overwhelming that its impact on children is dramatically less than it is for adults, especially for elderly people. (Heres a Times story on the general issue.) In general, young, healthy people do better with most diseases than older people. But the apparent disparity goes way beyond the general robustness of youth and appears to extend even to the very, very young who are often more vulnerable to diseases like the flu.

The question has been: do children actually contract the disease at a much lower rate or are they infected just as much or at similar rates to others but consistently present with much milder or even subclinical versions of the disease?

The difference may not have a major impact on the threat to children (here talking about under 20) but it could make a major difference in the degree to which children are a vector for the spread of the disease. This study published earlier this week, based on surveillance from Shenzhen, China suggests that children are just as much at risk of contracting the disease as adults. They are just far less likely to get severe cases. Key sentence from the abstract. We further show that children are at similar risk of infection as the general population, though less likely to have severe symptoms; hence should be considered in analyses of transmission and control.

Again, small sample sizes, rushed to print. None of these individual studies should be treated as definitive. But they are important pieces of the puzzle.

*** Another critical question is how deadly the disease is. People really want to know the answer to this question, for obvious reasons. As I noted on Wednesday there was a lot of bad reporting on the WHOs announcement of a 3.4% death rate from COVID-19.

This number was not presented as an estimate of someones chance of dying as a result of COVID-19. We dont know that answer yet and probably wont in any definitive way for some time. It was the current percentage of identified fatalities per identified cases. That is a more specific and technical datapoint, highly influenced by the amount of testing.

On Wednesday a new study was published based on the epidemic in Hubei from January 1st through February 11th. This study takes the official data and does additional modeling to try to get a handle on underreporting, transmission rates, etc. They came up with a 1.6% fatality rate. This was from an intense period of the epidemic in China. Fatality rates have been higher in Hubei than in the rest of China. Knowledgable experts have suggested we shouldnt place too much focus on the 1.6% fatality rate there are too many uncertain variables. What is more important is the age breakdown, which really drives home the threat to older people. See this chart.

As you can see, very low rates of mortality (relatively speaking for the young) up to very high ones for people over 80 and a steady slope from 1% on up over age 50. We have a great deal of evidence that for the great majority of people who are young or relatively young and in good health COVID-19 is a manageable disease. But for the elderly and those in fragile health it is very dangerous and deadly in a significant percentage of cases.

*** Another issue is smoking. Its not a huge surprise that smoking might be a contributing factor to severity in a respiratory illness. But theres significant evidence that smoking is significantly associated with COVID-19 progressing toward severe or critical disease. See this study from February 28th. There is also this study from February 26th which focuses on a gene expression found in smokers which is associated with COVID-19 a receptor of virus. These findings may suggest that smokers are also more susceptible to infection. Key quote from the abstract: In conclusion, our findings may indicate that smokers, especially former smokers, and people over 60 have higher risk and are more susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Note particularly here the may indicate phrasing. This second study is more tentatively connected to evidence from the course of disease in specific patients and should be treated as suggestive rather than dispositive.

I was struck in this case that this may apply even more to former smokers than current ones. But again, if youre wondering about that all I can suggest is reading the study.

Read more:
New Studies Shed Light on Impact and Vulnerability to COVID-19 - TPM

Posted March 07, 2020 09:37:44

Social isolation is a growing problem in Australia and is even more difficult to overcome when you do not have spare money for outings or activities.

A group of women in Adelaide's north hope they have found a solution, after noticing many women sitting alone in shopping malls and having nowhere to get together.

Raelene Wlochowicz retired from the youth justice system last year and wanted to learn new skills and make new friends, but realised the only option in the area was a men's shed.

Men's sheds are community-based, non-profit, non-commercial organisations that provide a safe and friendly space for men to work on projects.

The Australian Men's Shed Association said a major objective of the sheds is to advance the well-being and health of their members.

However, despite Adelaide's northern suburbs having some of South Australia's highest rates of older women living alone along with high rates of unemployment and many newly-arrived migrants there is no men's shed equivalent for women.

Ms Wlochowicz said many people in the area do not have the cash to spend at cafes, movies or even buying a book and that social isolation was a "massive" problem.

"A lot of women often stay in domestic violence relationships because they are isolated, they don't have a support network, [or] people they can go to for advice and help," she said.

"When you're retired money is minimal, you don't have a lot to spend and if you're a young mum, you don't have a lot to spend either."

Using donations and a $1,000 grant, Ms Wlochowicz and a volunteer committee have turned a donated, disused school building in Davoren Park into the Playford Women's Shed.

It is a social hub for women of all ages, backgrounds and cultures.

It has taken five months to clean the building, which has been vacant for six years and to remove knee-high weeds from the courtyard.

"From the moment I spoke women's shed, it's taken on a life of its own, it's grown exponentially," Ms Wlochowicz said.

"It just seems that whatever we've needed it's come to us because I think the essence of a women's shed is just so necessary, the community's gone 'yep, we want to be there'.

"We are the first women's shed in South Australia. We hope that this will become a place that's renowned."

The shed has been created as a casual drop-in space that will also offer craft workshops, cooking classes and opportunities for migrants to speak English.

An op shop has also been set up on the site and it will provide packs for vulnerable women in need of clothing and supplies.

For Cynthia Bubner, it has given her "a new lease on life".

"I was pretty much reclusive up until a few weeks ago when we started all this up. I'd moved house and I'd hit a bit of a plateau of just feeling a bit bland," she said.

"I just feel all yippee inside all the time now.

"It's a ripper of a thing you know, fair dinkum it's just bloody totally, totally rapt in the whole thing.

"It's very serendipitous because we kind of bumped into this person and that person, so it's all come together like a melting pot of dreams."

Topics:community-organisations,charities-and-community-organisations,community-and-society,community-and-multicultural-festivals,volunteers,adelaide-5000,sa,australia

Read more here:
Women's shed to open in Adelaide's north to combat social isolation - ABC News

OnTheWight always welcomes a Letter to the Editor to share with our readers unsurprisingly they dont always reflect the views of this publication. If you have something youd like to share,get in touchand of course, your considered comments are welcome below.

This from a reader who would prefer to remain anonymous, Ventnor. Ed

On thinking about the partial collapse of the retaining wall in Belgrave Road, it occurred to me that the road is below an area where a large number of trees were removed in the winter of 2019 by the developers of a site at the top of Grove Road.

This area had the trees removed, I believe, due to the concerns they would undermine the wall.

My concern however is the impact that this large number of trees being removed has had on the ground in an already unstable area of Ventnor.

Roots help to keep the soil stable I have a masters degree in Building Surveying and the importance of trees and ground stability was something I remember well.

The roots help to keep the soil stable and also absorb large amounts of water.

In my viewI can only imagine that this removal of such a large number of trees has caused additional instability to the soil and also allowed a lot more water than would normally flow, down toward the shore; coupled with the large amount of rainfall, this has made the land where Belgrave Road stands unstable and slippage has occurred.

This water would bypass under the properties on the edge of the road if they are built on solid foundations on stone, and accumulate in the already unstable area on which the road is built.

Continued here:
Letter: Could retaining wall collapse be related to large number of trees being removed? - On The Wight

FRANKFORT Replacement of the Hilltop Bridge tops the list of projects to be undertaken in the village of Frankfort as a result of the Halloween flood and Mayor Richard Adams hopes to advertise for bids on it soon.

The village is currently waiting for the engineers bid packet on the project, according to village Clerk Karlee Tamburro.

The storm also damaged the West Main Street Bridge, which is due to be replaced. The state Department of Transportation red flagged it, but the village hired Tioga Construction in December to make emergency repairs and the DOT has since removed the red flag designation, Adams said Thursday evening.

Tamburro met with Federal Emergency Management Agency officials earlier in the day to review the work for which the village will be seeking reimbursement.

We have 10 different projects. The biggest is going to be the Hilltop Bridge, she said, adding that it is referred to as the Swimming Road Bridge on the DOT listing. I dont think people realize we cant just fix the bridge; the structure needs to come down.

The new bridge may not be built until next year, said Tamburro.

Were not going to be able to just replace it the same way it was. The whole creek corridor has to be studied for hydraulics. Everything is going to have to work together with the West Main Street Bridge, she said.

The village will working with the New York State Canal Corporation, which owns the creek banks through a portion of the village, and engineers from Barton & Loguidice, to coordinate the work, said Tamburro.

Most of the damage occurred along the Moyer Creek corridor, she said. That includes the retaining wall behind Streamside Manor and Litchfield Manor apartments, which was eroded and scoured by the flood waters.

The Lehman Park embankment failure that had been repaired was also damaged.

There is also concern about a power pole that holds a transmission line that feeds the entire village.

That embankment was severely eroded as well, said Tamburro. The storm also damaged floating docks and ramps at the village marina.

Debris removal and culvert damage were among the projects listed. The village Department of Public Works handled some of this work and the village will seek reimbursement from FEMA for the costs.

As for the repairs to the West Main Street Bridge, reimbursement will be handled through the Federal Highway System, Tamburro said. The Bridge NY replacement project is a federal project through the DOT.

Engineering reports have shown the opening under the West Main Street Bridge is too small hydraulically; there is not enough room for a heavy flow of water such as came down through Moyer Creek as a result of the Halloween storm.

The report issued by Milone & MacBroom after the 2013 floods states that the West Main Street Bridge constricts the flow of water during flood events and is prone to ice jams, which exacerbate flooding. Stone masonry walls up and downstream of the bridge also constrain the creek. Utilities, including natural gas, a water supply main, a sanitary sewer line and electrical/communications conduits cross the bridge.

Read more here:
Frankfort reviews flood projects with FEMA - The Times Telegram

Here's a recap ofour live coverage of tonight's Evanston City Council Planning and Development Committee meeting. The committee has three items on its agenda, including a request to grant a one-year extension of time to start construction on a planned development at 910-938 Custer Ave.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:45 p.m.

A packet with information on the agenda items is available online.

Meeting called to order at 6:52 p.m.

Alderman Eleanor Revelle, 7th Ward, is chairing the meeting. Only four of the seven committee members are present.

P1 - Time extension for planned development at 910-938 Custer Ave.

Alderman Don Wilson, 4th Ward, says one of the developers died recently. Says seems like a reasonable request for an extension.

Related stories

Committee votes to approve.

P2 - Map amendemtn to remove 2044 Wesley Ave. from the oWE West Evanston overlay district

John Cleary, would-be developer of the site, says the property is a former railroad site.

Related stories

Says wants to build townhouses and a three-and-a-half-story apartment building on the property.

Alderman Don Wilson, 4th Ward, says given that the property hasn't been developed under the existing plan, making the proposed changes seem to make sense.

Alderman Ann Rainey, 8th Ward, says doesn't understand why this isn't being embraced. Shame to lose this opportunity. But wants to learn more about it befor a final vote.

Community Development Director Johanna Leonard says Alderman Robin Rue Simmons, 5th Ward, who isn't at the meeting, does support the proposal.

Revelle says seems to still be a lot of uncertainty about what the planned development for the site would look like.

Rainey says there's no danger in introducing it.

Cleary says the project will be able to pay for the cost of remediating soil conditions and removing the retaining wall from the abandoned viaduct.

Alderman Judy Fiske, 1st Ward, asks about water runoff from the site.

Leonard says doesn't yet have a planned development proposal and so haven't reviewed that issue.

Cleary says existing rules would require a street connecting Wesley and Jackson -- which would leave no room to actually build anything.

Fiske proposes keeping the issue in committee.

Wilson says he prefers moving it forward. Want to see something good happen with the property -- whether from this developer or another one.

"Let's get the property moving along so it's put to some useful purpose," Wilson says.

Committee ends up with a tie vote 2-2, which means it goes to CIty Council without a recommendation.

Fiske and Revelle voted against forwarding it to Council.

P3 - Restricting ground floor uses in the D2 District

Wilson says he has concerns about this measure, given rental difficulties downtown now.

Leonard says city has similar restrictions in the Main-Dempster district. Says some merchants don't like having financial institutions that don't create a lot of foot traffic take up ground-floor spaces.

In response to question from Fiske, Leonard says special use applicants usually do their homework and try to plan their storefronts to create more activity.

Wlson says it ends up being very costly to go through the process --and often times it doesn't work out after they've spent tens of thousands of dollars. Would prefer to see more certainty.

Fiske says may not be able to force people to comply with our vision of downtown. Would rather have an occupied building than a vacancy. Appreciates the concept behind the proposal, but not confident it will achieve the goal. Would be more comfortable if had talked to property owners and rental agents downtown first.

Rainey says should keep this in committee until we figure it out.

Motion is to table the proposal to the committee meeting on May 11. Approved unanimously.

Meeting adjourned at 7:28 p.m.

City Council to start at 7:35 p.m.

Go here to read the rest:
Recap: Planning and Development Committee - Evanston Now

Short traffic stoppages and temporary closures will occur on Thoms Run Road in Collier, just outside the South Fayette border, starting at 7 a.m. March 16 and continuing through October because of road work.

During paving and repairs, short traffic stoppages, with assistance from flaggers, will occur from Forsythe Road to 600 feet west of Dutch Hill Road.

Below are three closures that will occur during the project:

* Staring in May, Thoms Run Road will be closed just east of KP Hollow Road for a slope repair. Traffic will be detoured using Thoms Run and Oakdale, Hilltop and Forysthe roads.

* Staring in June, part of the 5100 block of Thoms Run Road will be closed for construction of a retaining wall. Traffic will be detoured using Thoms Run and Oakdale, Hilltop and Forysthe roads.

* Starting in June, Thoms Run Road will be closed just west of Forysthe Road for a bridge replacement. Traffic will be detoured using Prestley, Washington (Route 50), Millers Run (Route 50) and Presto-Sygan roads.

The closures are not expected to overlap. Exact start dates for the closures will be announced later.

Original post:
Thoms Run Road stoppages and closures expected through October - Observer-Reporter

(BPT) Hardscaping products, including segmental retaining wall units (SRWs) and interlocking concrete pavers, are a landscapes best friend. Landscape professionals know that hardscapes are the backbone of a great design. Homeowners, too, shouldnt be afraid to explore do-it-yourself landscape features using hardscape materials.

According to the National Association of Landscape Professionals, hardscaping trends for 2020 include geometric patterned designs as well as materials with sleek, modern lines. Luckily, design options abound as hardscapes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, textures and colors that work well with other materials such as natural stone or crushed rock mulch.

Hardscapes are popular because they outlast materials such as timbers for retaining walls or asphalt for driveway surfaces, says Scott Arnold, general manager of Villa Landscapes in St. Paul, Minnesota. Hardscape surfaces are durable and low maintenance, Arnold says. For example, when a client wants to replace a wood deck, we suggest a raised paving stone patio created with retaining wall units and pavers as a solution. In addition to traditional uses, such as fixing grade problems and preventing erosion, retaining wall systems also can be used to build outdoor features such as fireplaces and raised planters. Or they can be employed to solve unique landscaping problems.

1. Making the grade

Villa Landscapes used the VERSA-LOK retaining wall system to solve an unusual problem for a homeowner who had a historic home on Cream of Wheat Row in Minneapolis, an avenue with stately homes built by wheat company executives at the turn of the 19th century. The home had a driveway designed for horse-and-buggy with an embedded limestone step for disembarking passengers. No cars could go around it, so Villa elevated the driveway with a retaining wall system so a new paving stone driveway would be level with the existing step.

2. Play well with others

Made of colors and textures that mimic and complement natural stone, hardscaping products work well with other materials, like crushed stone, flagstone steppers and natural boulders. A Wisconsin homeowner needed retaining walls for slopes and a paving stone patio as well as natural steps and boulders in the surrounding garden. Using retaining wall units, paving stones and natural stone, Villas design incorporated elements of both harmony and contrast in shapes, textures and colors.

3. Define outdoor areas

Hardscapes are great for creating multiple, connected outdoor living spaces. By varying the pattern, color and texture, a design can define areas for grilling, dining and relaxing. In addition, retaining wall systems can be used to create columns, freestanding walls, raised planters and other features that give outdoor rooms definition and functionality.

4. Complement any design

A variety of shapes, colors and textures make hardscapes the perfect complement to any architectural design, from an old-world look to minimalist style. Several homes in a residential development in Edina, Minnesota, followed suit when one homeowner selected the new VERSA-LOK CleanCut(TM) retaining wall texture for its clean, contemporary feel to match the modern architectural design of the home.

5. Create outdoor features

Hardscape features such as fireplaces, fire rings, bar/grill islands, raised planters and more can be built easily with retaining wall units. The VERSA-LOK retaining wall system can be used for features such as columns, curves, stairs and corners without the need for special pieces.

The versatility of hardscaping products and materials makes them ideal for a variety of landscaping applications. Hardscaping products, such as segmental retaining walls and concrete pavers, let homeowners shape their yards, while adding color and increasing usable space. Hardscaping materials, such as rock and stone mulch, add the finishing touches that dress up a yard and make it look complete.

Original post:
5 reasons hardscapes are a landscape's best friend - MyMotherLode.com