Slowly, surely, US houses of worship emerge from lockdown

GARY FIELDS and SALLY STAPLETON

Associated Press

For the first time in two months, there was clapping, singing and fellowship inside Stithton Baptist Church in Radcliff, Kentucky, as members of the congregation returned to the sanctuary for Sunday morning services. There also were masks, hand sanitizer and social distancing.

On a weekend when President Donald Trump declared houses of worship essential and asked governors to reopen them, some congregants around the country headed for their places of worship with numerous precautions in place.

Those services in the U.S. followed a frantic two da...