COVID-19 Response: Keeping the Faith
In episode 42, we talk to people of diverse faith backgrounds about how the pandemic is affecting them and their worship practices. On Monday, Legacy Church filed a lawsuit against the state, saying Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s weekend order banning gatherings—even in places of worship—was unconstitutional. We spoke about the lawsuit with Legacy Church Pastor Daniel McCabe, who clarified what they’re fighting for. We hear from Archbishop John Wester of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe about his declaration that this year, for Holy Week, home is the only holy place. Our partner New Mexico PBS shared an interview Megan Kamerick did last week with Sarah Leiter, the outreach coordinator with Hillel House at UNM as she prepared for the Seder. Brig. Gen. Michele LaMontagne of the N.M. Air National Guard practices Buddhism. She talked about how her community is offering her hope during the pandemic. Abbas Akhil is the vice president of the Islamic Center of New Mexico and also a representative in the state’s Legislature. He explained changes in worship practices and talked about Ramadan, which starts next week. And KUNM’s Nash Jones brings us a conversation with Sayrah Namaste from the Quaker organization American Friends Service Committee about the Farm to Food Bank project, which connects local pantries, farmers and people who need food during the pandemic. And a news update: The state released more data in a new portal, and it shows race and ethnicity data. Of the state’s total number of cases, Native Americans account for almost 37 percent of those, despite only making up 11 percent of the population in New Mexico, according to the Albuquerque Journal.We’re keeping a complete list of the resources and volunteer opportunities that we find for each episode at bit.ly/YNMGhub. And here’s what we got from today.Resources:
- Donate to the Islamic Center of New Mexico
- Here’s the Archdiocese of Santa Fe’s emergency fund
- Hit up the American Friends Service Committee of New Mexico to find out how to help with the Farm to Food Bank program
- Connect with Hillel House at UNM
- Volunteer to help with COVID-19 efforts through Legacy Church
How are things going for you? We want to know. Share your quarantine stories by calling: (505) 218-7084 and leaving us a message. We could roll them into a future episode.
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This segment is part of the “Your New Mexico Government” Project (#YourNMgov), a collaboration between New Mexico PBS, KUNM Radio, and the Santa Fe Reporter. This endeavor is funded by the New Mexico Local Journalism Fund with public media support provided by the Thornburg Foundation.