Are churches safe?

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(AXIOS) - 35 of the 92 people (38%) who attended services at a rural Arkansas church March 6–11 tested positive for the coronavirus, ultimately killing three, according to a case study released Tuesday by the CDC.

Why it matters: Places of worship continue to be a problem for controlling the widespread transmission of the coronavirus, especially as some churches and local government officials push to loosen restrictions on religious gatherings.

CDC: Arkansas coronavirus outbreak linked to church services

(CNN) - A church in Houston has canceled mass indefinitely after one of its priests died and five others subsequently tested positive for the coronavirus.

Texas church cancels masses following death of a possibly Covid-19 positive priest

My priest just posed a link to a Time magazine article. The premise is that life during COVID can be thought of in the context of exile, which is a well-known concept in major theologies. We are in a situation where we do not have answers, but part of our spiritual life lies in the act of seeking the answers and grappling with the questions. How to worship and how to be safe (and how to keep our neighbors safe).

https://time.com/5837693/should-churches-reopen-thinking-about-exile/

For me, I think I have little choice but to be responsible with my social distancing, mask wearing, and hand washing. Not because I am scared of contracting the virus (though I am worried), but because I am more scared of spreading it. Jesus tells me I should love my neighbor as myself. Since I want health and safety for myself, I should want that for my neighbor. All my neighbors. My elderly neighbors. My immunocompromised neighbors. My neighbors with obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. And if that means curtailing some of my freedoms and comforts to do it, then that is what I am called to do. I miss going to church. I miss the congregation and the act of worship in community. It's hard to think that the best thing I can do for my brothers and sisters in Christ is to stay away from them right now, but I think it is. Everything looks different during a pandemic, and I guess that includes both how I worship my God and how I show love for my neighbors.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

Today is Memorial Day Sunday, and the church my mom attended growing up has an annual service in the cemetery, where the memorialize service members and church members who were interred over the year since the preceding service. It was heartbreaking to realize that we would not be able to attend this service in person since my mom is one of those who was interred and would be memorialized. Fortunately they did do the service via zoom. Being outdoors and in a large enough area to social distance, this service probably would have been safe to attend, but indoor ones I would definitely proceed with caution.

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I feel like we are in a societal shift. Not a collapse or an end, but a shifting. My kiddos are all trying to launch, but jobs and shopping and school are all so different than everything they knew before.

My grandmother was a tween at the start of the Great Depression, and that was a major shift in society when she was coming-of-age and this quarantine reminds me of her stories.

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Specializes in retired LTC.
5 hours ago, turtlesRcool said:

For me, I think I have little choice but to be responsible with my social distancing, mask wearing, and hand washing. Not because I am scared of contracting the virus (though I am worried), but because I am more scared of spreading it. Jesus tells me I should love my neighbor as myself. Since I want health and safety for myself, I should want that for my neighbor. All my neighbors. My elderly neighbors. My immunocompromised neighbors. My neighbors with obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. And if that means curtailing some of my freedoms and comforts to do it, then that is what I am called to do. I miss going to church. I miss the congregation and the act of worship in community. It's hard to think that the best thing I can do for my brothers and sisters in Christ is to stay away from them right now, but I think it is. Everything looks different during a pandemic, and I guess that includes both how I worship my God and how I show love for my neighbors.

This says so much so eloquently. TY.

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4 hours ago, Rose_Queen said:

Today is Memorial Day Sunday, and the church my mom attended growing up has an annual service in the cemetery, where the memorialize service members and church members who were interred over the year since the preceding service. It was heartbreaking to realize that we would not be able to attend this service in person since my mom is one of those who was interred and would be memorialized. Fortunately they did do the service via zoom. Being outdoors and in a large enough area to social distance, this service probably would have been safe to attend, but indoor ones I would definitely proceed with caution.

I remember this as well. "All day singing, dinner on the ground" or, "graveyard working". We did it every year.

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It was heartbreaking to realize that we would not be able to attend this service in person since my mom is one of those who was interred and would be memorialized. Fortunately they did do the service via zoom.

((((HUGS to you, @Rose_Queen)))

Our Elders voted to wait and see next month, so we are still streaming Sunday services.

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22 hours ago, Rose_Queen said:

Today is Memorial Day Sunday, and the church my mom attended growing up has an annual service in the cemetery, where the memorialize service members and church members who were interred over the year since the preceding service. It was heartbreaking to realize that we would not be able to attend this service in person since my mom is one of those who was interred and would be memorialized. Fortunately they did do the service via zoom. Being outdoors and in a large enough area to social distance, this service probably would have been safe to attend, but indoor ones I would definitely proceed with caution.

I'm sorry for the loss of your mother, and I'm sorry it was compounded by the loss of a comforting ritual.

My mom died in November, and I can't tell you how incredibly comforting it was to see so many people at her funeral. The church was packed up through the balcony like it was Christmas Eve.

Then this week I got an email from our priest that another long time parishioner just died. I have known this woman since childhood. She was such an energetic presence, and will be greatly missed. And yet, for her, all I can do is send a sympathy card to her daughter. There will be a memorial service later. Sometime. But my heart breaks for her family not to have the kind of support I was blessed with in the days and weeks that my grief was freshest.

For me, it was important to be a pall bearer. My mother carried me into the world, and I helped carry her out. It was such a concrete, physical connection. I miss her every day. I'm tearing up as I type this. But my heart is even heavier when I think of those who have been denied the rituals that help us make sense of our lives.

I know we must focus on preserving the lives and health of the living, but it's important to acknowledge the additional sacrifices being asked of the grieving in these strange times. I pray for comfort and healing for you and your family, @Rose_Queen

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What were the ages of the people who died? Covid-19 remains a virus that predominantly kills the elderly and those with existing conditions. Those people are just as at risk going to the liquor store or WalMart as they are going to church.
It seems odd that in Illinois pot dispensaries (which didn't even exist there 6 months ago) are essential but churches are not. What sense does that make?

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7 minutes ago, TomPaine said:

What were the ages of the people who died? Covid-19 remains a virus that predominantly kills the elderly and those with existing conditions. Those people are just as at risk going to the liquor store or WalMart as they are going to church.
It seems odd that in Illinois pot dispensaries (which didn't even exist there 6 months ago) are essential but churches are not. What sense does that make?

The differences between going to church for worship versus going to a retail business for a service or product should be obvious to a trained observer or health professional.

Perhaps you could start the discussion you desire by explaining how the risk is the same, in your view, since it clearly is not, as evidenced by public health policy and the behaviors normally observed in both environments.

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We know this virus predominantly kills old people. Maybe just maybe the church could reopen but ask their elderly parishioners to stay home for the time being. The same could be said for most businesses. In MN the average age of those dying from covid is 86 years old. Doesn't matter if they went to church or the marijuana store, it's predominantly only killing old people. The rest of the population doesn't need to be on lock down from churches, or anywhere else, unless you are old or have underlying conditions.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
1 hour ago, TomPaine said:

We know this virus predominantly kills old people. Maybe just maybe the church could reopen but ask their elderly parishioners to stay home for the time being. The same could be said for most businesses. In MN the average age of those dying from covid is 86 years old. Doesn't matter if they went to church or the marijuana store, it's predominantly only killing old people. The rest of the population doesn't need to be on lock down from churches, or anywhere else, unless you are old or have underlying conditions.

So, you concede that you were wrong and the risk of visiting a cannabis retailer is likely to be less than the risk of attending a worship service? What sort of a society refuses to mitigate risk for the most vulnerable citizens? Fortunately, your sentiments only represent a small portion of my fellow countrymen. Unfortunately, a small percentage of 300+ million people in this country still represents a frighteningly large number of selfish disease spreaders.

Wouldn't it be great if we could choose who the next 100,000 to die would be? Unless the intent is to reduce the social security payouts...then it sort of makes sense to let it run through nursing homes and assisted living facilities, eh? Maybe that analysis had already been made by one of the president's economic advisers.

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