It was a year ago this weekend that Unity Baptist Church in Braddock held its last in-person Sunday worship service before widespread shutdowns began due to the spreading COVID-19 pandemic.

Its members still haven’t been back together in person.

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Out of grief and sheer frustration due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rev. Karie Charlton of Third Presbyterian Church in Shadyside admitted that she cried herself to sleep at several points throughout the past year.

In sharing her story of grief and vulnerability, Rev. Charlton said she hopes others may feel inspired to make themselves vulnerable to their loved ones as well during such a difficult time.

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Following a $1 million joint donation from several individuals through the Vardhamana Charitable Foundation, Narendra & Rita Parson Family Trust and Shah Family Foundation, UC Santa Barbara established and began the search for a chair of Jain Studies within the Department of Religious Studies to further the study of Jain traditions at the university.

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Diwali, the festival of lights, kicks off Thursday, with celebrations taking place across India and here in our area.

While this year’s festivities will be different because of the coronavirus pandemic, many are finding a way to make it special.

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Las Vegas leaders from various religious faiths called on Las Vegas Strip resort Mandalay Bay to remove statues of various Hindu and Jain deities from the Foundation Room night club.

The leaders, including Greek Orthodox Christian Priest Stephen Karcher, Buddhist Priest Matthew Fisher and Jewish Rabbu ElizaBeth Beyer, are calling the statues inappropriate and disrespectful.

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With the world “turned upside down” because of the pandemic and the ensuing hardship caused by death, unemployment, the challenge of putting food on the table and disruption in academic programs, the Jain Center of Southern California here said it is doing its best to offset the troubles.

Led by Dr. Jayesh Shah, Indian American president of JCSC, members have started a Coronavirus Humanitarian Relief Fund. They have not only been able to quickly raise $125,000 but have also put the money to immediate use to help people in the areas surrounding the temple and center.