Alabama Baptist

The Alabama Baptist publishes a commentary arguing that physical presence remains essential to church life and that faith communities cannot simply be replaced by online services. The piece speaks to ongoing debates among religious communities about balancing digital worship with in-person fellowship, a question many congregations have faced since the pandemic changed how people gather.

Baptist Health, the hospital system based in Montgomery, Alabama, is dealing with an information technology outage caused by one of its vendors. The organization says all of its hospitals remain open and are continuing to treat patients while the issue is resolved. The extent of the disruption to records systems or appointments has not been detailed.

A longtime music leader at Hughes Memorial has died at the age of 78, according to a report by The Alabama Baptist. The individual served the congregation's music ministry for many years. Further details about the person's identity, tenure, and funeral arrangements were not provided in the available reporting.