 |
| AP Photo/Michael Perez |
About 11% of U.S. churchgoers have not returned to in-person worship since the COVID-19 pandemic ended in May, a new survey shows.
About 9 out of 10 churchgoers have returned to in-person worship, and Protestant pastors report that current attendance equals about 89% of pre-COVID figures in early 2020, according to the evangelical Christian survey firm Lifeway Research.
Smaller congregations have more quickly recovered pre-pandemic attendance levels, the survey found. Most small churches (58%) reported being near or above the attendance levels they had before the outbreak.
Two-thirds of Protestant congregations (67%) said they have fewer than 100 people at a typical worship service; the figure includes 30% of churches where attendance is fewer than 50 people. Seven percent of congregations reported attendance of 250 or more, while 26% averaged between 100 and 249 attendees weekly.
The return to in-person worship took some time. From a low of 10% of congregations holding in-person services in April 2020, attendance climbed to 70% in June and 87% by September of that year.
The in-person numbers dropped to 76% in January 2021, when more than 95,000 people died from COVID-19. However, 98% of churches met in person by August of that year, with attendance hitting 100% in August 2022. --->READ MORE HERE
To act your age is a virtue — but what that entails has gotten a lot more complicated since the pandemic.
The global outbreak of COVID-19 had a detrimental effect on everyone’s mental health, a toll still felt today. Research has shown that kids are still struggling in school, while young adults complain their maturity has been stunted — a phenomenon experts are calling the “pandemic skip.“
Casey Corradin, host of the podcast “Between Us Girlies,” posted a 35-second video on TikTok breaking down her understanding of the buzzy phrase.
“Whatever age you were when the pandemic started is where you’re at mentally,” the podcaster told listeners. “Because three years were wasted.”
Anecdotally, she recalled 20-somethings who fear they’ve taken too long “figuring their life out,” and 30-somethings whose prospects of starting a family feel uncomfortably near now.
The popular search term #pandemicskip has accumulated over 11 million views on TikTok, with countless users sharing the ways a yearslong social lockdown has hampered their personal development.
“I’m 26 now, but I always say I still feel 23,” one viewer confessed under Corradin’s clip, which garnered more than 3.7 million views on the app. “I thought I felt younger for other reasons and I just wasn’t mentally ready to be an adult.”
“Finally, a word to describe how I’ve been feeling. ‘Pandemic skip,’ what a relief to finally pinpoint the phase,” thanked a watcher. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
Charges dropped against restaurant that refused to shut down or use vaccine passports during COVID lockdowns
Covid’s Biggest Economic Winner Is Running Out of Steam
USA TODAY: Coronavirus Updates
WSJ: Coronavirus Live Updates
YAHOO NEWS: Coronavirus Live Updates
NEW YORK POST: Coronavirus The Latest
If you like what you see, please "Like" and/or Follow us on FACEBOOK here, GETTR here, and TWITTER here.
No comments:
Post a Comment