Pass-The_ Ball...: Yes, We Do Adopt

Pass-The_ Ball...: Yes, We Do Adopt: Talking with Black women about adoption became a routine part of motherhood for me, alongside diapers, homework, and the warmth I feel every...

The CDC Offers Suggestions for Consideration

The CDC offers the following suggestions for consideration “to
the extent consistent with each community’s faith tradition”:
Hygienic and cleaning practices
• Encourage use of flexible or virtual options whenever possible
for all non-worship activities (e.g., counseling, volunteer
meetings).
• Follow specific CDC guidance for childcare or educational
programming for children and youth.
• Encourage use of a cloth face covering at all gatherings and
when in the building by everyone except children aged less than
2 years old. (Not using a cloth face covering may also be
appropriate at times for some individuals who have trouble
breathing or need assistance to remove their mask.)
• Have adequate hygiene supplies, such as soap, tissues, no-touch
trash cans, hand sanitizer (with at least 60 percent alcohol).
• Consider posting signs on how to stop the spread of COVID-19
and promote everyday protective measures.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces at least daily
and shared objects between use. Avoid use of items that are not
easily cleaned, sanitized, or disinfected. Ensure safe and correct
application of disinfectants and keep them away from children.
• Ensure that ventilation systems operate properly and increase
circulation of outdoor air as much as possible by opening
windows and doors, using fans, and so on. Do not open windows
and doors if they pose a safety risk to children using the facility.
• Take steps to ensure that all water systems and features (for
example, drinking fountains, decorative fountains) are safe to
use after a prolonged facility shutdown to minimize the risk of
Legionnaires’ disease and other diseases associated with water.
Promoting social distancing
• Limit the size of gatherings in accordance with the guidance and
directives of state and local authorities and in accordance with
RFRA.
• Consider video streaming or drive-in options for services.
• If appropriate and possible, add additional services to weekly
schedules to maintain social distancing at each service, ensuring
that clergy, staff, and volunteers at the services ensure social
distancing to lessen their risk.
• Consider holding services and gatherings in a large, wellventilated
area or outdoors, as circumstances and faith traditions
allow.
• Space out seating for attendees who do not live in the same
household to at least six feet apart when possible; consider
limiting seating to alternate rows.
• Consider whether other gatherings may need to have attendance
limited or be held virtually if social distancing is difficult, such
as funerals, weddings, religious education classes, youth events,
support groups, and any other programming.
• Avoid or consider suspending use of a choir or musical
ensemble during religious services or other programming, if
appropriate within the faith tradition. Consider having a soloist
or strictly limiting the number of choir members and keep at
least six feet between individuals.
• Consider having clergy hold virtual visits (by phone or online)
instead of in homes or at the hospital except for certain
compassionate care situations, such as end of life.
• Consider temporarily limiting the sharing of frequently touched
objects, such as worship aids, prayer books, hymnals, religious
texts and other bulletins, books or other items passed or shared
among congregants, and encourage congregants to bring their
own, if possible, photocopying, or projecting prayers, songs, and
texts using electronic means.
• Modify the methods used to receive financial contributions.
Consider a stationary collection box, the mail, or electronic
methods of collecting regular financial contributions instead of
shared collection trays or baskets.
• Consider mitigating the risk of transmitting COVID-19 posed by
close physical contact among members of the faith community
during religious rituals as well as mediated contact through
frequently touched objects, consistent with the community’s
faith traditions and in consultation with local health officials as
needed.
• If food is offered at any event, have pre-packaged boxes or bags
for each attendee whenever possible, instead of a buffet or
family-style meal.
• Avoid food offerings when it is being shared from common
dishes.
• Train all clergy and staff in the above safety actions. Consider
conducting the training virtually, or, if in-person, ensure that
social distancing is maintained.
Monitoring and preparing
• Encourage staff or congregants who are sick to stay at home.
Plan for when a staff member or congregant becomes sick.
• Identify an area to separate anyone who exhibits COVID-like
symptoms during hours of operation and ensure that children are
not left without adult supervision.
• Establish procedures for safely transporting anyone who
becomes sick at the facility to their home or a health-care
facility.
• Notify local health officials if a person diagnosed with COVID-
19 has been in the facility and communicate with staff and
congregants about potential exposure while maintaining
confidentiality as required by the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA) or other applicable laws an in accordance with
religious practices.
• Inform those with exposure to a person diagnosed with COVID-
19 to stay home and self-monitor for symptoms, and follow
CDC guidance if symptoms develop.
• Close off areas used by the sick person and do not use the area
until it after cleaning and disinfection; wait 24 hours to clean
and disinfect to reduce risk to individuals cleaning. If it is not
possible to wait 24 hours, wait as long as possible before
cleaning and disinfecting. Ensure safe and correct application of
disinfectants and keep disinfectant products away from children.
• Advise sick staff and congregants not to return to the facility
until they have met CDC’s criteria to discontinue home
isolation.
Maintain healthy operations
• Implement flexible sick leave and related flexible policies and
practices for staff (e.g., allow work from home, if feasible).
• Monitor absenteeism and create a roster of trained back-up staff.
Designate a staff person to be responsible for responding to
COVID-19 concerns. Employees should know who this person
is and how to contact them.
• In the event a person diagnosed with COVID-19 is determined
to have been in the building and poses a risk to the community,
it is strongly suggested to close, then properly clean and
disinfect the area and the building where the individual was
present.
• Communicate clearly with staff and congregants about actions
being taken to protect their health.

Looking Down the Road – Tracy Cochran

Looking Down the Road – Tracy Cochran

Mother's Day 2020

COMMENTARY: I had a teacher who looked like me | Urban Faith

COMMENTARY: I had a teacher who looked like me | Urban Faith

The Coronavirus -The Death Of 2020

https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus#tab=tab_1

A God who Speaks by Rev.M.D.Rogers

Has someone ever told you something, only to come back later and change his story? In thinking about this question, some people's minds may immediately go to politicians. You have heard the joke, "How do you know when a politician is lying? His lips are moving." Obviously, this does not characterize all, or perhaps even most, politicians. The statement alleges, however, that politicians will change their message when speaking to particular groups to accomplish certain goals.

By contrast, when God speaks He has only one message, which is applicable to all people at all times. As One whose very character and nature is holiness and truth, God cannot lie. As the sovereign creator and God over all things, there is no one to whom His message does not apply. Whether speaking through the world He has made, through His written Word, or through the incarnate Word – the Lord Jesus Christ – God's message is clear. He has made mankind for relationship with Himself, that we might know, love, serve and glorify Him. Though our sin separates us from God, His plan from the beginning was to reconcile to Himself those who would place their faith in God's provision for redemption – Jesus Christ

Since the beginning of the world, God has spoken to man. Though God speaks through creation itself, He did not simply create the world and then hide, leaving man to figure out the world and his place in it. Rather, from the beginning, God took the initiative to reveal Himself, His ways, and His purposes to man. He spoke to Adam as he walked and lived in the garden. He spoke to Moses from the burning bush and later, according to Exodus 33:11, face-to-face. God spoke to the prophets, by His Spirit, commanding them to write down His words so that they might  pass to future generations (2 Pe. 1:20-21). God spoke to them in various ways at various times (Heb. 1:1). The thing we must remember in all of this, however, is that God is the One who took the initiative. His words are what He communicates to man (2 Tim. 3:16).

God is a God who speaks, a God who reveals Himself, His character, His purpose, and His plan. From the beginning, that which He has spoken has been clear and consistent – He will provide for lost man a sinless redeemer that will reconcile God and man. He has done this in Christ. In the weeks to come, we will see not only that God speaks, but how He has spoken and how all that He has spoken points us to Christ.

Stop to consider the wonder of having a God who speaks—not just a distant deity who thunders orders and admonishments from heaven, but one who actually wants to have a conversation with you! Why would the Lord of all creation go to such lengths to communicate personally with each of us? Consider the following reasons:

• God loves you and desires a relationship with you.

• He wants you to know Him personally through intimate communication.

• He longs to encourage you to trust Him. As you experience the fulfillment of His words, your faith grows strong.

• He wants to guide you. The Lord has a good purpose for your life and is willing to direct your decisions and ways so you can experience all that He has planned.

In our busy world, it’s easy to take for granted this invaluable privilege of communication with God. If we are too busy or distracted to hear, His voice will not stop—but we’ll miss out on the riches of an intimate relationship available only to those with receptive hearts and ears.

-Rev. Joseph Lowery Dean-of-the Civil Rights Movement

https://www.npr.org/2020/03/28/517545662/hold-hold-hold-rev-joseph-lowery-dean-of-the-civil-rights-movement-dies-at-age?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR2pfCamkn86tdlOhscz1USbomAJztc21bWL0CwTEXYTm65IPDS_dFo6vTI

Fats Domino - We Celebrate Black History

Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1928, singer and pianist Fats Domino channeled his roots in the city's thriving music scene to become a pioneering rock 'n' roll star. He made a splash with his first release, “The Fat Man” (1949), and later earned widespread fame with tracks like "Ain't That a Shame" (1955) and "Blueberry Hill" (1956). Although his string of hits largely dried up by the early 1960s, Domino continued to record and tour, and he was among the charter members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The music icon died of natural causes in his beloved hometown of New Orleans on October 24, 2017.

Music Prodigy
Legendary musician Antoine "Fats" Domino Jr. was born on February 26, 1928, in New Orleans, Louisiana. The youngest of eight children in a musical family, he spoke Creole French before learning English. When Domino was 7, his brother-in-law Harrison Verret taught him to play the piano and introduced him to the vibrant New Orleans music scene; by age 10, the talented boy was already performing as a singer and pianist.

At 14, Domino dropped out of high school to pursue his musical dreams, taking on odd jobs like factory work and hauling ice to make ends meet. He was inspired by the likes of boogie-woogie piano players like Meade Lux Lewis and singers like Louis Jordan. In 1946, Domino started playing piano for the well-known New Orleans bass player and band leader Billy Diamond, who gave Domino the nickname "Fats." Domino's rare musical talents quickly made him a sensation, and by 1949 he was drawing substantial crowds on his own.

“I knew Fats from hanging out at a grocery store. He reminded me of Fats Waller and Fats Pichon. Those guys were big names and Antoine—that’s what everybody called him then—had just got married and gained weight. I started calling him ‘Fats’ and it stuck.” - Billy Diamond

Rock 'N' Roll Pioneer
In 1949, Fats Domino met collaborator Dave Bartholomew and signed to Imperial Records, where he would stay until 1963. Domino's first release was "The Fat Man" (1949), based on his nickname, a song co-written with Bartholomew. It became the first rock 'n' roll record to sell 1 million copies, peaking at No. 2 on the R&B charts. The two continued to churn out R&B hits and Top 100 records for years, with Domino's distinctive style of piano playing, accompanied by simple saxophone riffs, drum afterbeats and his mellow baritone voice, making him stand out in the sea of 1950s R&B singers.

Pass-The_ Ball...: THE JARS

Pass-The_ Ball...: THE JARS

This Former Slave Became The First African American West Point Grad

This Former Slave Became The First African American West Point Grad

Gamechangers: West Philadelphia Business Owner Transforms Drug Corner Into Community Hub – CBS Philly

Gamechangers: West Philadelphia Business Owner Transforms Drug Corner Into Community Hub – CBS Philly

How William Barber II Uses His Faith to Fight for Justice | Time

How William Barber II Uses His Faith to Fight for Justice | Time