September 22, 2020
Beyond the Pandemic: How the Church Can Respond to Three Urgent Needs in Their Communities
By Kent E. Fillinger The full impact of COVID-19 goes well beyond the number of confirmed cases, the death toll, and the unemployment rate that many are tracking. The pandemic has exacerbated several preexisting problems like anxiety, depression, suicide, child abuse, drug abuse, and others. These often overlooked “killers” are affecting scores of Americans today, and some experts say these conditions have reached epidemic proportions. Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz, assistant U.S. secretary for mental health and substance use, said in late May, “The increase in the number of suicides, fatal drug overdoses and instances of domestic abuse will be broad, deep
