SINGAPORE - A construction firm began to assiduously impose strict social distancing measures at its work site and dormitories a few months ago, yet almost 30 per cent of its workers at a project site were infected by Covid-19, said Second Minister for National Development Desmond Lee on Friday (June 5).

Recounting its efforts, he said the measures include having all the workers of a project live at the site and ensuring they are segregated, as well as disallowing those living on different levels of dormitories to mix.

The workers had not left the worksite since late March, even before circuit breaker measures kicked in.

But despite the full attention the management paid to safety and protection against the coronavirus, Covid-19 could not be kept at bay, noted Mr Lee, who is also Minister for Social and Family Development.

He cited the firm, which he did not name, to explain why stringent measures had to be imposed on construction companies before they were allowed to resume work progressively, starting from June 2.

The minister acknowledged their anxieties and eagerness to resume work, which has been suspended for two months under the circuit breaker that ended on June 1.

But the experience of the mentioned project shows how infectious the Covid-19 disease is, and how difficult it is to prevent a single case from infecting many more who live and work together, Mr Lee said during the debate on the supplementary Fortitude Budget.

"Imagine how much more challenging it might befor projects with workers living in different accommodation, or having to move between different sites."

So, it is equally important that the resumption of work is done safely, not just swiftly, he said, given that most of Covid-19 cases were construction workers.

A new case could easily cause another outbreak, which could bring the industry to a halt again, he added.

He also told the House that 60 dormitories have been cleared of Covid-19, and another 111 are due to be cleared in the coming weeks.

Workers tested and found free of the infection are being resettled in designated dormitory blocks.

The minister also said more regular updates will be given to the industry, including a rolling forecast of the dormitory clearance schedule to help the builders plan ahead on when their workers can return to work.

He assured the House that there isenough testing capacity for workers living in the wider community.

And that almost 20,000 safety management officers will be trained this month to ensure workers comply with safety measures, with priority given to officers in charge of projects that are ready to restart.

"Many firms in the construction sector, including many small and medium-sized enterprises, are very anxious about survival and about their future. Let me assure you that our main priority is to restart construction quickly but safely," said Mr Lee.

Singapore's efforts to raise productivity in construction have been going on for decades, Mr Lee said, in his reply to Nominated MP Walter Theseira, who called for a rethink of Singapore's dependence on foreign labour, particularly in construction.

Under the construction sector's Industry Transformation Map, "major structural changes" are needed on how work is done to reduce the reliance on foreign labour, including the greater adoption of technology, the minister said.

But the change will create higher-skilled jobs, including many good jobs for Singaporeans. Foreign workers who take on such jobs will also need to be higher skilled, he noted.

"However, the construction sector will not be able to reduce our foreign worker reliance to zeroas there will still be lower-skilled jobs that Singaporeans do not want to take up.

"We appreciate the contributions of our foreign workers, who have come to Singapore to make an honest living for themselves and their families, and it is incumbent on us to also take good care of them when they are unwell," said Mr Lee.

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Singapore's top priority is to restart construction quickly but safely after Covid-19 circuit breaker, says Desmond Lee - The Straits Times

There was a time when Br. Jaazeal Jakosalem had little success when he asked bishops in the Philippines to join campaigns against mining or coal-fired power plants endangering communities as well as the land.

It wasn't that the bishops were ignoring the issues facing the environment they'd written a half-dozen statements on the topic since the late 1980s. They just weren't as visible in the struggle to do something about them, said Jakosalem, a lifelong environmental activist and a member of the Order of Augustinian Recollects.

Br. Jaazeal Jakosalem, aka Brother Tagoy, joins a direct action against a coal plant in Toledo City, Cebu, Philippines. (Provided photo)

The Philippines is one of the world's front lines on climate change. Last week, Typhoon Vongfong slammed into the Eastern Samar province, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people in a region that seven years earlier was decimated by Typhoon Haiyan. Climate scientists expect such tropical storms to become more powerful and more frequent as global temperatures rise.

Things have changed in the post-Laudato Si' world.

Today, the Catholic Church of the Philippines is seen as one of the leaders in answering the call that Pope Francis issued to the entire world in his 2015 social encyclical, "Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home."

Since the encyclical's release, Jakosalem, better known as Brother Tagoy, says more bishops have joined him and other religious in speaking out against the construction of new coal-fired power plants and the damaging effects of mining on both communities and the land. Last July, the Philippine bishops conference issued a pastoral letter on the "climate emergency," calling the full church on the islands to an ecological conversion and to "activate climate action on behalf of the voiceless people and the planet."

"They are emboldened to act more for the caring of our environment," Jakosalem told EarthBeat in a phone interview.

Five years after the publication of Laudato Si', you can easily find such examples across the world of individual Catholics, parishes and institutions responding to the pope's own repeated appeal for ecological conversion with prayer and reflection over the encyclical but also with concrete actions in living it out.

Even with those examples, the consensus among Catholic ecological leaders is those responses have been not nearly as widespread as Francis sought with his universal call "for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet." Count the pope among them.

'When we pass that 1.5 degrees threshold, climate change will move into all of our living rooms.'

Veerabhadran Ramanathan

"Sadly, the urgency of this ecological conversion seems not to have been grasped by international politics, where the response to the problems raised by global issues such as climate change remains very weak and a source of grave concern," Francis said in January in remarks to the Vatican diplomatic corps.

The call for increasingly urgent action from a historically slow-moving institution is driven by awareness of the numerous crises facing the planet.

The coronavirus pandemic struck at the start of a decade that climate scientists say is critical to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Doing so would prevent the most severe consequences of climate change, which threatens to exacerbate poverty, hunger, lack of water access, and migration, all impacting first and fiercest the world's already most vulnerable communities.

Already, global temperatures have risen 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) since the late 1800s. The planet is on pace to warm another 2 degrees C by the end of the century, and to reach the critical 1.5-degree mark as soon as 2030. Roughly 20% of the planet already has, according to a Pulitzer-winning report by The Washington Post.

Veerabhadran Ramanathan speaks on solutions to climate change during a 2018 lecture at Villanova University in Philadelphia. (CNS/Courtesy of Villanova University/Paul Crane)

"When we pass that 1.5 degrees threshold, climate change will move into all of our living rooms," said Veerabhadran Ramanathan, a climate scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego and member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. "You don't have to turn on TV to find out about climate change."

The pandemic has some worried it may slow momentum for addressing climate change. But there is also optimism up to the highest levels of the Catholic Church that how the world responds, economically and otherwise, just may be the multitrillion-dollar stimulus needed to jumpstart the globe to match societal actions with the urgency of the science.

And perhaps Laudato Si' can play a part.

"Laudato Si' has an immense amount of wisdom to charter that path and just aid us in that journey," said Toms Insua, co-founder and executive director of the Global Catholic Climate Movement.

Responding on a global scale

Some of the biggest impacts from Laudato Si' so far are found in what's formed from it.

Take the Global Catholic Climate Movement.

When it launched in January 2015 during Francis' papal trip to the Philippines where he visited communities devastated by Typhoon Haiyan it had 19 members, a mix of church development agencies, religious orders and Catholic environmental groups. In five years, it has grown to more than 900 organizations, representing every continent and more than 50 countries.

'We feel included in this call of Laudato Si'.'

Domenica Reyes

The movement, often called GCCM by members, has spearheaded some of the more prominent response to living out Laudato Si', and all at a global scale. Months after forming, it generated 900,000 signatures onto a Catholic Climate Petition delivered to world leaders at the COP 21 climate summit in Paris. It has trained more than 2,800 Laudato Si' Animators, who are tasked with doing just as their name implies in their local communities. Another 5,000 are in training now.

Each Lent, GCCM has organized creation-centered programs. Through its divest-invest campaign, it has played a leading role in facilitating more than 180 Catholic institutions to publicly declare they will cease investments in the fossil fuel industry.

At World Youth Day 2019 in Panama, GCCM formed a youth branch called Laudato Si' Generation. The group, now at 1,200 members worldwide, has brought a faith-based presence to the youth climate strikes.

Domenica Reyes, co-chair of Laudato Si' Generation, said young Catholics see in Laudato Si' a symbiosis between their faith and their concern for the environment. It's become "a spark," she added, empowering them to get involved and to press their politicians and priests alike to make environmental issues a priority.

"We feel included in this call of Laudato Si'," she said.

Members of Laudato Si' Generation pose with Cardinal Luis Tagle, then archbishop of Manila, Philippines, during World Youth Day in Panama City in 2019. Second from left is Domenica Reyes, co-chair of Laudato Si' Generation, and in center is Toms Insua, executive director of Global Catholic Climate Movement. (Global Catholic Climate Movement)

One of the biggest initiatives around the encyclica to date has been the Sowing Hope for the Planet project, a campaign orchestrated by the International Union of Superios General, an umbrella grou representing 2,000 women religious congregations. A network of 980 contacts share information and resources with their congregations to promote Laudato Si', and in particular its message of answering both "the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor." Sowing Hope for the Planet, for which GCCM is a collaborator, has seen Catholic sisters in the U.S. and Ghana have partnered in a plastic recycling program that reduces waste and provides jobs. The Servants of the Holy Spirit Sisters worked with other nongovernmental organizations to stop mining in Timor West.

Franciscan Sr. Sheila Kinsey, coordinator of Sowing Hope and UISG executive co-secretary of the justice, peace and integrity of creation commission, said the encyclical is clear, inspiring and practical. Now it's up to the wider church to pursue the systematic change it says is necessary.

"We must make a clear connection between our spiritual values and our daily actions," she said.

GCCM also played a role in the creation of the Laudato Si' Action Platform, announced at the start of Laudato Si' Week (May 16-24) by the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. The platform invites Catholic institutions to commit to "total sustainability" within a seven-year period through an integral ecological approach.

The goals are an invitation, not a mandate. The dicastery hopes that ground-up approach will yield a "critical mass" sweeping through the church that so far has yet to fully materialize.

"If I'm totally honest, it still often feels like we're at the very beginning," said Lorna Gold.

Gold has had a unique vantage point to the response to Laudato Si'. Until recently, she worked with Trocaire, the Irish Catholic development agency, and served on the Irish bishops' Laudato Si' Working Group. She is a GCCM board member. She has also been active in the climate strikes and is the author of Climate Generation: Awakening to Our Children's Future.

Asked to grade the global church's implementation so far, Insua responded, "It's low. A low grade." But that grade is a mixed bag, he said, with Amazonian countries and the Philippines at the high end, and the United States and Europe on the lower side.

"Encyclicals take time to sink in. A lot of time," Insua said. "But that's the problem with this encyclical, is that it doesn't allow for a lot of time to be taking on."

Along with the action platform, expected to launch in early 2021, the Vatican has introduced other prompts to spur action throughout the church.

Francis has recommended care for our common home be added to both the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Following other Christian denominations, he added a World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (Sept. 1) to the liturgical calendar, and invited Catholics to celebrate the Season of Creation throughout September to Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi.

The Vatican delegation has been active at the United Nations climate summits, with the encyclical viewed as a factor in reaching the Paris Agreement.

Back home, the Vatican has hosted numerous conferences of scientists, economists and world leaders. The past two years, it held meetings with top oil executives and investment firms, where Francis called for "a radical energy transition" to stave off "a climate emergency." The 2019 session resulted in nearly all participants signing a declaration in favor of a price on carbon emissions and increased transparency from energy companies.

Pope Francis speaks to executives of leading energy, petroleum and natural gas companies, leaders in investment firms and climate scientists during a meeting at the Vatican June 14, 2019. (CNS/Vatican Media)

Insua singled out the Season of Creation as perhaps the most significant church response to the encyclical in the past five years. He said it gives Catholics and parishes not just a day but an entire month each year to plan programs reflecting on their place within their environment and how to preserve it.

"In a lot of people's minds, slowly but steadily, September is that time of the year," he said.

The difference leadership makes

The Season of Creation wasn't so new to Philippine Catholics. By 2003, Catholics there had begun celebrating in September its own creation time.

In many ways, the encyclical has reinforced throughout the archipelago ecological ministries in place for decades and has energized more to take part.

Jakosalem, 47, said Laudato Si' has been an affirmation of their work by placing creation care squarely in the framework of church teaching. Likewise, it's bolstered more bishops and priests to take prophetic stands against extractive industries without worrying what the financial repercussions to the church may be.

"We feel secured because of this document," he said.

In September, the Philippine bishops pledged to divest from fossil fuels. Their climate emergency pastoral called each diocese to establish ecology desks to spearhead programs pressing for a swift and just transition to clean energy, organizing to pass and implement environmental protection laws, and critically, integrating Laudato Si' and creation care more fully into church teaching in parishes, schools and seminaries.

Archbishop Jos Palma of Cebu, Philippines, speaks during an event for the Break Free from Coal campaign. (Jaazeal Jakosalem)

Archbishop Jos Palma of Cebu was instrumental in the campaign to block a new coal plant on the island. The four bishops of Negros Island have been active in efforts to block new coal-fired power plants. In both cases, the projects were not approved.

"This is something, huh?" Jakosalem said.

Like the Philippines, the bishops in Ireland established a Laudato Si' working group early on. Gold, one of its members, said it played a major role in bringing regular proposals to the bishops' conference and ultimately making Laudato Si' a higher priority on their agenda.

One result was the Irish bishops' decision to divest from fossil fuels, announced in August 2018 ahead of Francis' visit as part of the World Meeting of Families. Individual dioceses and religious orders have followed suit. Trocaire played a critical role in the Irish government's own decision to divest. The Irish bishops have also committed to the Season of Creation.

Gold said one ongoing priority is making Laudato Si' part of the formation of clergy and church leadership. Trocaire found some success through trips, at home or overseas, to witness climate injustices up close. Bringing priests and bishops more on board doesn't mean they do all the work, she added, but they are uniquely positioned to deliver the message and set in motion wider action in conserving God's creation.

"To reach a certain scale it really has to be about working alongside and working with the bishops' conference," Gold said.

What difference leadership can make is evident in the Amazon.

Indigenous people are seen on the banks of the Xingu River during a media event in Brazil's Xingu Indigenous Park Jan. 15, 2020. (CNS/Reuters/Ricardo Moraes)

Over the course of two years, bishops through the Pan-Amazon Ecclesial Network conducted 260 listening sessions across the nine Amazon countries on the threats facing one of the world's most biodiverse and critical ecosystems. All that culminated in October with the Vatican's special Synod of Bishops for the Amazon, what many viewed as the first major application of Laudato Si'.

The vast majority of participants hailed from the Amazon Basin, and included bishops, priests, religious and indigenous leaders. The synod turned the global church's attention to the multiple crises like deforestation, mining, biodiversity loss and land disputes facing the Amazon, a key region in mitigating climate change. Raging fires in the rainforest in the preceding months highlighted the situation.

The synod's final document and Francis' own reflection, Querida Amazonia, positioned the church shoulder to shoulder with indigenous communities in defense of their rights and protecting the rainforest against destructive, unrestrained industrial development.

In the final document, the participants identified climate change as "above all" the great threat to life in the region. They proposed a definition of ecological sin and called on all Christians to defend human rights in the Amazon as "a requirement of faith." They recommended creating environmental awareness training programs and special ministers, and for the church in the Amazon to support and join divestment campaigns of industries causing socio-ecological damage.

Pope Francis attends a prayer service at the start of the first session Synod of Bishops for the Amazon at the Vatican Oct. 7, 2019. (CNS/Vatican Media)

Reyes, the Laudato Si' Generation co-chair based in Ecuador, said one of the biggest contributions of the encyclical, reinforced by Querida Amazonia, is in the awareness it's raised on how everything is connected. That protecting the Amazon doesn't matter just for people living there, but for the future of the entire world.

"That Amazon is not only a matter of the Ecuadorian or Brazil church, but it's a matter of the universal church," she said.

US response 'still a work in progress'

In the United States, the prevailing sense among Catholics working on environmental issues is Laudato Si' has not been made a main priority.

Outgoing president Cardinal Daniel DiNardo made waves at the November meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, when he described the sense among bishops about global warming as important but not urgent.

Juniors and seniors from environmental science classes at Elizabeth Seton High School, a girls school in Bladensburg, Maryland, stand with their climate change signs along Constitution Avenue in Washington Sept. 20, 2019, as they prepare to join a march with thousands of others to the front of the U.S. Capitol. (CNS/Carol Zimmermann)

The comment was widely seen as at odds not only with the science but with the pope. Within the encyclical's introductory appeal alone, Francis stated the urgency three times and more than a dozen in total, including the "urgent need" to develop emissions-reducing policies "in the next few years." He has repeated that urgent message in nearly every speech on the topic since.

During an online roundtable May 20, three U.S. bishops acknowledged uneven response so far. "It's still a work in progress," conceded Archbishop Paul Coakley, chair of the bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development.

San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy, a leading U.S. voice on the encyclical, said that while it's been well-received by scientists and the young, he worries the church has yet to reach the intensity that climate change requires.

"We don't have 40 years left on the climate question," McElroy said in response to comments from Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Robert Barron that past encyclicals took decades to be put in practice.

Last summer, the Catholic Climate Covenant held the first of three biennial conferences at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, aimed at ramping up implementation in the U.S. church.

In an op-ed last month, Dan Misleh, Covenant executive director, reflected on progress at the five-year mark: "If I'm honest, not nearly to the degree I would have hoped nor commensurate with the scope of the challenge we are facing."

Franciscan Sr. Joan Brown is among the many who point to a lack of leadership.

Women religious congregations like hers have long been at the forefront of environmental action. Universities and schools have increasingly emphasized sustainability in recent decades. But for the church to take the next big leap will require the ecological conversion taking root with more priests and bishops, said Brown, who is executive director of New Mexico Interfaith Power & Light.

A first step, she suggested, is viewing climate change through integral ecology, that issues related to the environment, poverty, inequality, immigration and life are all interrelated.

A line of protesters Aug. 18, 2015, blocks the main gate at the Crestwood Midstream Partners gas storage facility on the shores of Seneca Lake in Reading, New York. Eighteen people were arrested while reading Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si'. (CNS/Dennis Sadowski)

A first step, she suggested, is viewing climate change through integral ecology, that issues related to the environment, poverty, inequality, immigration and life are all interrelated.

"There has to be some deep-seeded shifts in the church for us to really grapple with this largest ethical and moral concern of our time," Brown said. "And the longer it takes us, the more we run into greater storms, greater need for emergency relief."

In speaking at churches, the climate scientist Ramanathan said he's surprised by the number of Catholics who haven't read Laudato Si' or aren't aware of it. Educating more people about the text what he calls "a singular iconic document" that spells out the human tragedy of climate change and the climate science is essential, he said, to garnering wider support for the solutions, stressing "there is still time for solving the problems."

Laudato Si' "is a powerful tool that Pope Francis has put in our hands and we have to use it," Ramanathan said.

'Let's face it, the most convincing way that the document will be put into practice is if people can see a direct impact on their own lives.'

Archbishop Wilton Gregory

Within the U.S. bishops' conference, policy work has been a major focus, said environmental policy consultant Ricardo Simmonds. The conference has issued dozens of statements citing Laudato Si' during the Obama administration in support of environmental measures and during the Trump years opposing rollbacks and deregulation.

Simmonds agrees that there's much more that can be done, but from his view he sees a lot happening already. The U.S. bishops were official partners for the Vatican's Laudato Si' Week and produced resources for parishes and priests. Later this summer, the conference plans to start its own Laudato Si' advocates program geared toward young Catholics.

So far, the bishops' conference hasn't discussed establishing a Laudato Si' commission like those in other countries, Simmonds said. At the Creighton conference, McElroy suggested the idea as a way to make climate change "a central priority" in the U.S. church.

Washington Archbishop Wilton Gregory at the Oct. 17, 2019, blessing of solar panels that are being leased to produce renewable energy for Washington residents (CNS/Catholic Standard/Andrew Biraj)

Washington Archbishop Wilton Gregory, seen as another Laudato Si' leader, told EarthBeat he would support forming a working group, but that it may be more effective at a regional level "because the environment, while it belongs to all of us, manifests itself with great regional diversity," he said in a phone interview.

While archbishop of Atlanta, Gregory commissioned a Laudato Si' Action Plan to bring the text to life across all church levels. The plan has become a blueprint for other dioceses, and he has asked the D.C. archdiocese's care for creation committee to devise its own version. In April, Catholic Charities of Washington Archdiocese completed construction of a 2-megawatt solar array the largest solar installation in the District.

The solar project was facilitated by Catholic Energies, a program of Catholic Climate Covenant. Since it formed in fall 2017, it has completed 10 projects in five states, with another 12 set for construction this year. Together, they will generate 10 megawatts of solar energy annually,the equivalent of removing 5 million pounds of carbon emissions from the atmosphere.

The adoption of solar by parishes and dioceses has been one of the most visible responses to Laudato Si' in the U.S., with the dioceses of Monterey and San Diego in California leading the pack. The Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, has seven parishes signed up with Catholic Energies and is looking to develop a 5-7 megawatt array at a retreat center.

Apart from energy projects, the Cincinnati Archdiocese has a creation care task force, while the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, formed a network linking its parish green teams. In 2017, the statewide Diocese of Burlington, Vermont, celebrated a Year of Creation. Last year, the California bishops issued a pastoral statement responding to Laudato Si' and outlining specific steps to implement it locally. A now-permanent creation care committee will guide its rollout. A similar statement was issued by the Minnesota Catholic Conference.

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Five years ago, Pope Francis asked us to care for Earth. Have we listened? - National Catholic Reporter

Posted: May 18, 2020 / 05:59 PM EDT / Updated: May 18, 2020 / 07:27 PM EDT

A church in Girard is being rebuilt, however construction has been halted for almost two months now due to the pandemic.

Construction on the new First Presbyterian Church of Girard was allowed to start up again back on May 1st.

Since the beginning of the month, a lot has gotten done. The pastor said that construction was supposed to be complete sometime in December.

After a two month break, the project may not be finished until next spring.

The pastor said that the new church is one level making it handicap accessible.

The pastor added that he wants the new church to serve as a community meeting space, especially after reaching a larger audience since the pandemic started.

Were hoping also with the new online exposure weve had with being a virtual church this last month and a half that more people have been checking out the church. We hope that some of those folks come and visit, said Nicola Vitiello, Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Girard.

The pastor added that the church is thankful to those who have supported the project and they are hoping to have a fundraiser at St. Johns Parish Center at the end of August.

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Construction resumes with the First Presbyterian Church of Girard - YourErie

The project will affect traffic on Route 272 between Herrville Road and Mt. Airy Road in Providence and Pequea townships

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced that work will begin next week on a 5.7-mile intersection improvement project on Route 272 between Herrville Road and Mt. Airy Road in Providence and Pequea Townships in Lancaster County.

Starting Tuesday, traffic will be switched from the right lane to the left lane on Route 272 in both the northbound and southbound directions between Miller Road and Shiprock Road, PennDOT said.

In addition, crossovers will be closed at Pennsy Road and Bylerland Church Road, PennDOT said. Drivers traveling east on these roads who wish to go north on Route 272 will have to first take Route 272 South to a turnaround near Mt. Airy Road, PennDOT said.

Motorists traveling west who wish to travel south will take Route 272 north to the existing jug handle just north of Brooks Avenue, according to PennDOT.

The $5,056,901 contract was awarded to JD Eckman, Inc., of Atglen, Chester County, according to PennDOT.

Work includes reconstruction of the existing 20-foot median, with mountable barrier constructed at the Byerland Church Road and Pennsy Road intersections with Route 272 to prevent crossover and U-turns from these side roads onto Route 272, as well as milling, paving, signing and other miscellaneous construction.

Work under this construction contract is scheduled to be completed next year, according to PennDOT.

The project will result in narrower lanes and wider shoulders at select locations to calm traffic and accommodate carriages, and loons at the turnarounds at Byerland Church Road to provide a wider turning radius, PennDOT said.

Route 272 northbound will be reduced to a single lane with wider shoulders at the tunnel just south of Pennsy Road to reduce speeds and accommodate carriages.

Work on this project will be in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and state Department of Health guidance as well as a project-specific COVID-19 safety plan, which will include protocols for social distancing, use of face coverings, personal and job-site cleaning protocols, management of entries to the jobsite, and relevant training.

Motorists are reminded to be alert for construction operations, to obey work zone signs, and to slow down when approaching and traveling through work zones, not only for their safety, but for the safety of the road crews.

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PennDOT: Work on intersection improvement project on Route 272 in Lancaster County to begin Tuesday - FOX43.com

borkenaMay 23, 2020

Ethiopia has experienced a terrible violence and chance that manifested itself under the cover of region. Mosques have been burned. Churches have been burnt. It has happened in north Ethiopia. It has happened in the South and South East.

The chaos was the works of politics and had nothing to do with religious in the context of Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is known for religious tolerance. Not only that the first Hejira was to the Ethiopian kingdom. Ethiopia has maintained the values of religious tolerance for most part of its history although there were some exceptions.

The good news is that religious tolerance (if it is not understatement) is well and alive in Ethiopia.

Aba Akilelemariam is a priest of Ethiopian Church ( Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church.) He has been toiling to help build a mosque. On the occasion of Eid al Fitr, he shared why he did so. (The interview is in Amharic)

Part II below

Video : embedded from Arts TV Youtube channelCover photo : screenshot from the video

Join the conversation. Like borkena on Facebook and get Ethiopian News updates regularly. As well, you may get Ethiopia News by following us on twitter @zborkena

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Meet Ethiopian priest who toils for the construction of a mosque - borkena.com

THIS month marks the 50th birthday of the Church of the Ascension.

Over the past half a century, the site on Warren Lane in Woolston has become a focal point for the community.

And to celebrate the anniversary, we have taken a look back at its history.

The cutting of the first sod in preparation for building work to commence was made on May 19 1968, with the daughter of Edward Gorton a businessman and philanthropist who donated the plot of land for the construction of a church in 1917 doing the honours.

On September 15 that year, Reverend James Oliver Colling laid the foundation stone during a service.

Fast forward nearly two years to May 7 1970, and the Church of the Ascension was finally complete.

The Rt Reverend Stuart Blanch, Bishop of Liverpool, opened the building to coincide with Ascension Day and a series of events were held to celebrate the occasion over the following weeks.

This Consecration Festival included a performance for the Liverpool Concertante and Southport Bach Society, a first communion and baptism, evensong with the Archdeacon of Warrington, an organ recital, a choral concert by pupils at Woolston County Primary School and a gig by folk band the Spinners.

Liverpool Concertante and Southport Bach Society perform at the church, conducted by David Bowman on May 9 1970

The first baptisms and holy communions

Woolston County Primary School performa choral concert, conducted by headmaster T Lloyd Morgan,on May 12 1970

The Spinners at the Church of the Ascension

A series of events had been planned to commemorate the 50th, but these will now take place later in the year.

An outdoor exhibition of its history is currently being held in the meantime.

The church has also received a grant from the National Lotterys heritage fund in order to carry out repairs.

A spokesman said: "As lucky as we have been to receive this grant, we still have a large amount of money to raise in order to achieve our goals and ensure that the Church of Ascension will be around in another 50 years and more."

To donate, click here.

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Church of the Ascension in Woolston celebrates 50th birthday - Warrington Guardian

The week in pictures: Cork's first steps on the road back from coronavirus

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The week in pictures: Cork's first steps on the road back from coronavirus - Echo Live

Church buildings commercial real estate for sale DE PA MD NJ Search Results

Listing IDPaph876040

BMLS

SqFt 14,867

Acres 0.340

StatusActive

DIAMOND STREET REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT :: A handsome large stone and brick facility with excellent proportions, good bones and plenty of curb appeal is offered for conversion. This parcel includes five parcels with six buildings that total 22,164...

Listing courtesy of Keller Williams Philadelphia

Hopo Zoning:r0529030111

Listing IDPact495198

BMLS

SqFt 95,832

Acres 5.320

StatusActive

Commercial office building in the heart of the booming Ludwigs Corner area. Development or investment opportunity: 5.3 +/- acres, zoned commercial. Over 300 feet of frontage on route #100 in the busy Ludwigs Corner area. Two story 3,000 square...

Listing courtesy of RE/MAX Preferred-Newtown Squar

Hopo Zoning:r0529030111

Listing IDMdcc164662

BMLS

SqFt 155,509

Acres 3.570

StatusActive

Church Campus including 3 buildings (approx. 32,000 sqft) and 5 tax parcels. Map 23, parcel 18, 172, 173, 328 & 356 containing approx. 3.57 acres. 2 wells, one septic. Partially rented out.

Listing courtesy of Real-Trust-Associates, LLC.

Hopo Zoning:r0529030111

Listing IDPact485736

BMLS

SqFt 435,600

Acres 10

StatusActive

As A Commercial: Currently the home is a 2 story residence with horse stables & bank barn, zoning is Institutional with many possible uses, 10 acres Institutional zoning ideal for medical center, hospital,school,professional care...

Listing courtesy of Weichert Realtors

Hopo Zoning:r0529030111

Listing IDPaph873822

BMLS

SqFt 6,300

Acres 0.140

StatusActive

Walk into a charming sanctuary with wooden floors and stain glass windows, high ceilings. Has a gym that is used for sports and many other activities. Has bathroom and multiple purpose room with kitchen. Downstairs there is another bathroom and a...

Listing courtesy of C-21 Advantage Gold-Roosevelt

Hopo Zoning:r0529030111

Listing IDPaph872140

BMLS

SqFt 10,524

Acres 0.240

StatusActive under contract

CALLING ALL INVESTORS, BUSINESS OWNERS and DEVELOPERS. Come and view this wonderful church building. This property is located in a high traffic area which can be used as an advantage to attracting new faces. The building is also located next to a...

Listing courtesy of Super Realty Group LLC

Hopo Zoning:r0529030111

Listing IDPaph884054

BMLS

SqFt 3,998

Acres 0.090

StatusActive

Unique opportunity for a redevelopment project on a double lot on high traffic and high visibility Erie Ave. 7,988 Vehicles AADT count was taken in 2017. The property was formerly used as living quarters and private use by St. Veronica's Church....

Listing courtesy of KW Commercial

Hopo Zoning:r0529030111

Listing IDNjgl247488

BMLS

SqFt 181,210

Acres 4.160

StatusPending

The Church property is located on 4.16 acres The Building is situated back from the street; the exterior is brick construction; The roof is pitched; there is a parking lot that warps around the building adjacent to the right side and rear of...

Listing courtesy of Weichert Realtors-Medford

Hopo Zoning:r0529030111

Listing IDPact492662

BMLS

SqFt 152,460

Acres 3.500

StatusPending

Dynamic home and property feature a vast array of uses! Home features hardwood throughout, open concept and natural gas heating. Outside a 21x16ft heated insulated shed is on its own 100amp electric meter. A versatile 20x25ft stable suitable for...

Listing courtesy of William Penn Real Estate Assoc

Hopo Zoning:r0529030111

Listing IDPaph875550

BMLS

SqFt 950

Acres 0.020

StatusActive

Come see this income-producing possibility. First floor is a take out food business with rarely used equipment. The space on the 2nd floor was being used as a church but can be converted into an apartment living space. The first floor comes...

Listing courtesy of Keller Williams Philadelphia

Hopo Zoning:r0529030111

Listing IDDesu160512

BMLS

SqFt 15,246

Acres 0.350

StatusActive

+/- 4,480 SF warehouse building listed for sale in Selbyville, Delaware. The property could potentially be leased in full or divided to accommodate two tenants. There are 10 parking spaces in the front of the building and another 10 in the rear...

Listing courtesy of NAI Coastal

Hopo Zoning:r0529030111

Listing IDPaph838344

BMLS

SqFt 5,541

Acres 0.130

StatusActive

Double address corner commercial property 1750 sqft zoned CMX2 with a large fenced in lot. Property is currently used as a church. It is very well kept and in great condition. New HVAC system open layout. This seems to be a great location for a...

Listing courtesy of RE/MAX Eastern-Feasterville

Hopo Zoning:r0529030111

Listing IDPact484652

BMLS

SqFt 69,696

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Church buildings commercial real estate for sale DE PA MD NJ

What to Know

New Jersey will allow nonessential construction projects and curbside pickup at retail stores next week as COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations trend downward, the governor announced Wednesday. Drive-up religious services can begin immediately.

Retailers can sell goods for pick starting at 6 a.m. Monday under a new executive order Gov. Phil Murphy intends to sign Wednesday. Customers won't be allowed inside the stores, but can make orders online or over the phone. Nonessential retail has been shuttered since March.

This is a step in a positive direction for all those retailers who were deemed to be nonessential," Murphy said. "I think its a responsible one. We just dont want people congregating. I just dont know how else to say it.

Construction can resume Monday morning at sites across the state as long as strict social distancing procedures are followed. Foremen must stagger work hours and breaks, ensure proper sanitation and clearly post safety protocols.

Drive-in and drive-thru events like drive-in movies and religious services are permitted so long as all participants remain in their cars, Murphy said, clarifying his March stay-at-home executive order. If the cars are less than 6-feet apart, all windows must remain closed.

Drive-by and drive-in graduation celebrations are allowed so long as people stay in their cars, Murphy said.

As of Wednesday, New Jersey had reported the second most COVID-19 cases of any state with more than 142,000 confirmed cases (about 1,000 new cases reported since Tuesday) and at least 9,702 coronavirus-related deaths (about 200 news cases reported).

While the totals are stark, the daily counts have been on a downward trend. Since the peak of the outbreak, hospitalizations, patients in the ICU, positive cases and deaths are all down, Murphy noted. The total number of COVID-19 patients on ventilators has remained under 1,000 now for four days.

Murphy said the state's coronavirus trends are headed in the right direction, but the state isn't in the clear yet. The loosening of the shutdown is possible because social distancing has been effective and the state has increased testing.

"We are not out of the woods yet," Murphy said. "When compared to other states, we see that New Jersey still bears a significant burden from COVID-19 So, keeping up with social distancing is essential as we move forward."

Tom Bracken, the head of the state Chamber of Commerce said it's too early to know whether the governor's timing was right. He called the reopening of some business a step in the right direction.

Hes the CEO of New Jersey, and he has made a decision on what will drive openings based on the data. I think anybody could disagree or agree with what hes done," Bracken said. I think the real test of that will be how quickly we get up and running, how quickly the plan thats being worked on now will be implemented and how quickly we can get back to some sense of normal."

Murphy called the reopenings and restarts part of what he dubbed the "Road Back" from coronavirus shutdowns. On Tuesday, he took a step on that road by laying out an aggressive testing and contact tracing plan that will help the state use data in its actions.

Since Tuesday, thousands of people had signed up to be contact tracers, state officials said.

Decisions on beaches reopening, elective surgeries returning and the July 7 primary possibly becoming mail-only are likely to come this week as well, Murphy said.

"Over the coming days and weeks, we'll be able to take more steps," Murphy said. "Were moving slowly and deliberately because any misstep risks further outbreaks. When public health tells us it is safe to remove a restriction, well remove it. Not a moment before. Not a moment after."

New Jersey now has nearly 20 reported patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome, a mysterious condition that affects children and is believed to be related to COVID-19.

Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli on Thursday dropped the total number of probable cases from 18 to 17. Those affected are between two and 18 years old and live mostly in the northern and central regions of the state. Four have tested positive for COVID-19, Persichilli said, though it wasnt clear how many of the 17 have been tested. She said there has been no definitive link so far.

The syndrome affects blood vessels and organs and has symptoms similar to Kawasaki syndrome and toxic shock, and is marked by persistent fever, rash, abdominal pain and vomiting. Experts say it can appear weeks after a child has recovered from COVID-19, often without being diagnosed.

The need to get retailers back in business is made evident by the revenue shortfall in New Jersey.

State revenue collections in April were down 60% compared with April 2019. Total tax collections were $2.3 billion, down an unprecedented" $3.5 billion, the treasury said in a statement.

For the year, total collections are down about 8%. That's because before the COVID-19 outbreak, collections were running ahead of last year, the treasury said.

Murphy and lawmakers bumped the state budget deadline to Sept. 30, from June 30. Murphy hasn't detailed how he would close budget holes, but has repeatedly called for direct aide to the state from the federal government.

The state budget finances government and public pensions, but also doles out billions of dollars to local school districts, which helps take pressure of locally levied property taxes, along with dozens of other programs.

Murphy has been under increasing pressure, including from fellow Democrats in the Legislature, to restart businesses. But Murphy said it was the declining figures and not the bleeding state budget that led him to reopen some businesses.

"These numbers are a sobering reminder that the COVID-19 impact is not limited to the health of our people, but also to the health of our states finances."

Link:
NJ Allowing Curbside Retail Pickup, Construction and Drive-in Church Services - NBC 10 Philadelphia

Currently, there are no churches in Milks Grove Township. But years ago, there were two churches in Section 26.

Where is section 26? Go three miles south of the Kankakee-lroquois County line on Park Road and then two miles east.

Along the south border of Section 26 or the 3100N Road, there is a school, a former Catholic church, and home. And on the west border of Section 26 or the 400E Road, there is a church and a residence on the west side of the road is the location of a former Lutheran Church.

What do we know about the Catholic Church?

ln 1890, Lemuel Milk donated 8 acres in Section 26 plus a $5000 donation for the construction of a church, dwelling and school. Currently, those 8 acres are enclosed in a fence and is a separate piece of property. (From the lroquois Co. Genealogy Society)

The church was called St. John's Catholic Church. It was served by a priest from Chebanse. ln 1895, it became a part of the Clifton parish and was used until October of 1950. (From Norma Meier)

The church was a mission of Assumption BVM Catholic Church in Ashkum. The church records were kept by an Ashkum priest and included in Ashkum church entries. It doesn't seem logical that the Milks Grove parish was a mission of Ashkum rather than Clifton, but I have transcribed all the Ashkum church records and know that to be so.

What do we know about the Lutheran Church?

The Chebanse Herald reported in May of 1899 that a petition to construct a church was circulated in the Milks Grove area for the German Lutherans. Thus in September of 1899, 5 acres were given to the church by Henry Siedentop, the grandfather of Art Schultz, located 8 miles west and three miles south of Chebanse for the construction of a house of worship for them. Prior to that, the German and Danish Lutherans had met as early as the 1880's in the town hall of Milks Grove.

According to reports and the records of confirmations, Rev. Seehausen served that congregation for the greater part of his ministry at Zion Lutheran Church, Chebanse. Services were held on Sunday afternoons. When the weather was bad, Pastor Seehausen would make the trip on Saturday afternoon with horse and buggy, stay with the Henry Siemring family who lived about 7 miles west of Chebanse and then return later Sunday or early Monday morning. And so God's Holy Word and the Sacraments were brought to the people west of Chebanse by Pastor Seehausen.

Confirmation certificates of relatives of Art Schultz of Zion, Chebanse, indicate Pastor Seehausen was serving the Milks Grove Lutheran Church as late as 1917.

Since in 1909, Trinity Lutheran Church, Herscher, was founded as a daughter congregation of Zion Lutheran Church, Bonfield, some of the members of Milks Grove Lutheran Church transferred to Trinity and others eventually to Zion Lutheran Church, Chebanse. One article in an early Chebanse Herald indicated that the Milks Grove Lutheran Church was named "Zion". (From Zions Outreach Mission)

Per Norma Meier: There was a cemetery and most were reinterred at the Evergreen Cemetery in Chebanse although a few remained. Can they still be seen?

There was also a Lutheran parsonage which was moved a few miles south.

It appears that the Catholic Church had services from 1895 to 1950 and that the Lutheran Church was open from 1899 until 1917? A picture of the Zion Lutheran Church can be viewed at the Herscher Area Historical Society along with other historic pictures of Milks Grove Township. Please stop by and view this display.

lf you know anything further on these churches, please email Robert Voss at robertlvoss@aol.com.

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Milks Grove Churches of Yesteryear | News | herscherpilot.com - Herscher Pilot