Social Distancing Strictures Fall Away as Crowds Gather to Party and Protest

Melissa Shapiro, 26, sat in the sun under a sign suggesting social distancing at the Redhead Lakeside Grill on Saturday, as dozens stood shoulder-to-shoulder in waist-deep water before her. “We’re not in L.A. or New York,” she observed. “We’re at Lake of the Ozarks, and if there were as many people here as there was last weekend, we’d leave.”

Besides, Shapiro said, “we’re millennials, we’re healthy,” and she and her friends planned to isolate themselves for 14 days after returning home to St. Louis.

Proprietors at a number of the bars and eateries that line the Missouri vacation spot said the crowds were about normal for an early summer weekend — albeit smaller than the hordes that packed into the area on Memorial Day. Images of the holiday revelry went viral online.

Local health officials reported that at least one person tested positive for the coronavirus after being in the lake area last weekend. The Camden County Health Department posted a timeline of the multiple bars the unnamed resident of a nearby county had visited in succession over a number of hours.

But on Saturday, face masks and social distancing were scarce to nonexistent in the many marinas and boat docks, and restaurants along the lakefront appeared to be open for business.

Similar scenes played out around the country as many Americans, eager to recapture a sense of normalcy and seemingly confident that the risk was low, enjoyed public recreation and seemed unbothered by the crowds. Read More

Also See:
Live updates: Former FDA commissioner, other officials warn mass protests could cause spikes in infections

Unless people are being hospitalized and dying in large numbers in their community, Americans are inclined to dismiss the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic. From what we know about the COVID-19 virus, a community that was experiencing few or no confirmed cases may become a "hot spot" in a short period of time. Those who believe that the virus has gone away because the number of cases in their community has subsided or their community has not been as hard hit as other communities are fooling themselves. In the meantime flouting recommended precautionary measures and crowding into bars and restaurants, onto beaches, and into the stadiums of race car tracks or hitting the streets to protest and in some cases to loot, they are spreading COVID-19 in their communities and elsewhere. We are experiencing what may some day be remembered as the "COVID-19 spring," a time which led to further outbreaks of the virus in the United States and more virus-related deaths.

A great deal of disinformation regarding the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic and the effectiveness of recommended precautionary measures in suppressing or mitigating the virus' spread is being disseminated on social media. Indeed we may be described as being in the midst of a pandemic of disinformation. One NPR article draws attention to how Facebook's algorithms "exploit the human brain's attraction to divisiveness." The same article goes on to observe:

Much of Russia's influence operation on social media in 2016 wasn't about introducing new ideas or controversy but instead was about furthering racial and political divides already present in American culture.

"To put it simply, in this space Russia wants to watch us tear ourselves apart," said David Porter, an assistant section chief with the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force, earlier this year.

More people spending more time on the platforms where this takes place likely will mean even more attempts at amplifying divisions and stoking discord.

A divide that was not present in 2016 is the current divide over the seriousness of the pandemic and the effectiveness of recommended precautionary measures. The likelihood that the Russian intelligence services are exploiting this divide is high. The kind of chaos an America divided over how it should respond to the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to experience is the kind of chaos that they wish to foster. It will greatly weaken the United States as a nation.

Priest Who Composed “On Eagle’s Wings” Writes New Hymn for Pandemic

The priest who wrote “On Eagle’s Wings,” one of the most popular Christian songs in the hymnal, has penned a new tune inspired by the coronavirus world pandemic. Titled “Shelter Me,” the new hymn touches on themes of social isolation and uncertainty, based on the text of Psalm 23.

Father Michael Joncas explained in an interview with Kare 11, featured above, that he woke up in the middle of the night with the idea for “Shelter Me,” the new hymn that is taking the Christian world by storm. The priest spent the next seven hours fleshing out the song until the instant hit emerged.

Fr. Joncas told the Star Tribune that the images of those suffering through COVID-19 were especially moving to him because of his own battle with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks its nerves. Having been intubated for the disease in 2000, he knew what patients on respirators were going through.

The song was reportedly written in just seven hours, from 3 a.m. to 10 a.m., at which point he contacted his music publisher, GIA Publications, who immediately began working to distribute the song. In the hopes that “Shelter Me” will help people through these hard times, they have made the score available to use free of royalties for a full year. Read More

Spiritu, a Catholic choir based out of the Church of the Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul, Minnesota, Joncas' hometown, performs this beautiful adaptation of Psalm 23 in the second video embedded in the article; Young Voices of the Philippines, "a youth choir that focuses on training the next generation of musicians," performs the prayer-song in the third video. The sheet music can be downloaded free here.

Coronavirus: The Mystery of 'Silent Spreaders'

As the crisis has unfolded, scientists have discovered more evidence about a strange and worrying feature of the coronavirus. While many people who become infected develop a cough, fever and loss of taste and smell, others have no symptoms at all and never realise they're carrying Covid-19.

Researchers say it's vital to understand how many are affected this way and whether "silent spreaders" are fuelling the pandemic.

When people gathered at a church in Singapore on 19 January, no-one could have realised that the event would have global implications for the spread of coronavirus. It was a Sunday and, as usual, one of the services was being conducted in Mandarin. Among the congregation at The Life Church and Missions, on the ground floor of an office building, was a couple, both aged 56, who'd arrived that morning from China.

As they took their seats, they seemed perfectly healthy so there was no reason to think they might be carrying the virus. At that time, a persistent cough was understood to be the most distinctive feature of Covid-19 and it was seen as the most likely way to transmit it. Having no symptoms of the disease should have meant having no chance of spreading it.

The couple left as soon as the service was over. But shortly afterwards, things took a turn for the worse, and in a wholly confusing way. The wife started to become ill on January 22, followed by her husband two days later. Because they had flown in from Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, that was no big surprise.

But over the following week, three local people also came down with the disease for no obvious reason, leading to one of Singapore's first and most baffling coronavirus cases. Working out what had happened would lead to a new and disturbing insight into how the virus was so successfully finding new victims. Read More

Also See:
Coronavirus: What Are Social Distancing and Self-isolation Rules?

Many people who are spreading the COVID-19 virus are themselves not experiencing any symptoms and may not be aware that they are infected with the virus. Some are aware that they are positive for the COVID-19 virus are engaging in unrestricted activities rather than self-isolating or taking other precautionary measures like wearing a face mask because they do not feel sick or they dismiss the danger that they pose to others. The United Kingdom will be easing its lockdown restrictions on Monday as has have a number of states in the United States and several countries in the European Union. The rules are different in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. A number of states that have eased their lockdown restrictions are seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases. As in the United States crowds of people are flouting social distancing and other precautionary measures and gathering on beaches and at other recreational spots in the United Kingdom. In my own county in the Commonwealth of Kentucky the number of confirmed cases in the county was 49 as of this weekend, showing a slow but steady rise in COVID-19 cases. Confirmed cases represent the tip of the iceberg. As states ease lockdown restrictions, the public should as a general rule follow the more stringent of the precautionary measures. The easing of these restrictions is largely a political and economic decision. It does not mean that the COVID-19 virus has gone away.

Supreme Court Rules Against Challenge to State Limits on Church Attendance

In a 5-4 decision from the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, a request from a California church that challenged the state restrictions on attendance at religious services during the coronavirus pandemic was rejected.

Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court's four liberals, turning away the appeal brought by the South Bay United Pentecostal Church in Chula Vista, California....

The court's ruling was its first attempt at balancing religious freedom during the public health crisis. The Supreme Court has ruled in a number of cases challenging state responses to the coronavirus, including the primary elections in Wisconsin and relocation of prisoners in Texas and Ohio. Read More

Also See:
Supreme Court, in rare late-night ruling, says California may enforce certain restrictions on religious gatherings

Speaking Can Transmit Coronavirus Due to Tiny Droplets of Saliva, NIH Study Suggests

Early results of a study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggest that coronavirus can be transmitted through the air from tiny saliva droplets that are expelled when people speak.

Although the research is yet to be published or peer reviewed, the preliminary findings could have major implications in developing strategies for halting the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Monday letter from the study's authors.

"Further studies are needed to assess the viral titer [concentrations] present in speech-induced droplets in asymptomatic COVID-19 positive persons, but our results suggest that speaking can indeed be a major mode of SARS-CoV-2 transmission," wrote the researchers.

"Droplets emitted while speaking are much smaller than those emitted when coughing or sneezing," the researchers wrote. "Nonetheless they are sufficiently large to carry a variety of respiratory pathogens, including the measles virus, influenza virus, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Moreover, multiple studies have shown that speaking actually produces significantly more droplets than coughing." Read More

Also See:
Scientists Question if 6ft Social Distancing Is Enough to Stop Coronavirus Spread, as Coughs Appear to Spread Saliva 19ft

Both studies appear to support the importance of wearing a face mask as a precautionary measure, not just to protect the wearer from infection but more importantly to prevent the wearer from infecting others if they are COVID-19 positive. This basis for wearing a face mask is completely lost on those who argue that wearing a face mask should be a matter of personal choice or maintain that wearing one is a sign of weakness or an indicator of fearfulness. In urging people to wear face masks, it should be drawn to their attention that in wearing one, they are showing that they are socially responsible citizens who take protecting the health and well-being of their community with the seriousness that they deserve. They should consider wearing a face mask a badge of honor and not a mark of disgrace as COVID-19 deniers would make it.

New COVID-19 Hot Spots Emerge Across the U.S.: Here's What You Need to Know

It’s easy to assume COVID-19 cases will go down after lockdown orders lift across the country, but, unfortunately, the data suggests otherwise. New hot spots of COVID-19 are emerging across the U.S.

Select areas in California, Wisconsin, Arkansas and more are seeing spikes in cases, and some areas are even reporting the highest numbers they’ve seen since the pandemic hit the U.S. Here are a few areas to keep an eye on and what to do if you live there. Read More

Playing It Safe in the COVID-19 Era—Part 1

By Robin G. Jordan

As church leaders weigh the decision to relaunch services and other gatherings at their church, here is some information that they need to know in making that decision and protecting their congregation and their community from the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The COVID-19 virus is classified as a respirator infection like influenza but the disease is far more dangerous than influenza. It can do damage to the human body much greater than the damage done by influenza and has taken a high toll in deaths among the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions like diabetes, heart disease, kidney diseases, and immunological disorders. It has also taken a toll among those in the 20s to 40s age range.

The COVID-19 virus is primarily spread in situations in which people are standing or sitting in close proximity to each other. Loud talking and singing may spread droplets of moisture containing the virus particles as well as coughing and sneezing. An individual who is infected with the virus does not need to exhibit symptoms to spread the virus. COVID-19 virus particles may remain suspended in the air for a long enough time and in large enough concentration that even though the person who emitted the particles is no longer present, individuals may become infected with the virus from the air-borne particles. In rooms that are mechanically ventilated,  COVID-19 virus particles have been found in higher concentrations than in rooms in which the doors and windows are open to the outside and fresh air is circulating in the room and dispersing the particles. The highest concentrations of COVID-19 virus particles have been found in bathrooms and rest rooms. There is some evidence that humans shed COVID-19 virus particles in their urine and feces as well as emit them from their mouth and nose.

The COVID-19 virus may also be spread by contaminated surfaces if the concentration of COVID-19 virus particles on the surface is high enough and the person who touches the contaminated surface touches their face—particularly their mouth and nose.

While very few cases of the COVID-19 virus have been traced to small groups of individuals who were outdoors and who were maintaining a distance of six feet (or two meters) between each other, several large clusters of COVID-19 virus cases have been traced to large groups of people who were outdoors and were not observing social distancing but were crowded closely together.

Research shows that children can carry the same virus load as adults. At the time of this article it has not been established to what extent children are transmitters of the disease in the case of the COVID-19 virus. Children who become infected with the virus may show no or mild symptoms. They may also develop a syndrome in which their blood vessels become swollen and infected. Children who have a compromised immunological system or some other pre-existing condition may die from complications related to COVID-19.

In outbreaks of a dangerous highly infectious disease like COVID-19 it is not unusual to hear different opinions related to the seriousness of the disease and what precautionary measures should be taken to prevent its spread. People react differently to threats to their health and safety and the health and safety of the community. Denial, the refusal or unwillingness to recognize the existence of such a threat, its nature, its extent, or its severity, is not an uncommon reaction. COVID-19, however is a life-threatening, contagious disease and its threat to our health and safety and the health and safety to others should not be downplayed or dismissed. In weighing any decision, church leaders need to keep the life-threatening nature of the disease and its contagiousness in mind.

The following suggestions are based upon precautionary measures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and other sources or adopted outside of the United States and of demonstrable effectiveness. In most instances I offer a rationale for a particular measure.

Continue online services and drive-in services. These types of services have been shown to be the safest and least likely to spread the COVID-19 virus. Once a church has relaunched services and other gatherings, it will still need to make provision for older church members and other vulnerable church members.

The church will also need to make provision for church members who are not convinced that it is safe to regather. Church leaders will need to keep in mind the principle that apostle Paul expounds in Roman 14. Dismissing the concerns of these church members is not consistent with how the disciples of Jesus Christ should conduct themselves. As Christians we are called to love one another as Christ has loved us. This includes being sensitive to the concerns of our fellow Christians.

In areas which have limited internet service and few church members have access to the internet or in which few church members own cars, a church may want to consider broadcasting services on the radio. At one time broadcasting services on the radio was a fairly common practice. Church members who were shut-ins or otherwise unable to attend services were able to hear hymns, prayers, and a sermon. Even in remote areas church members may own a battery-or solar-operated portable radio.

Regather gradually, beginning with small groups, meeting off-campus. This approach is related to the approach adopted in New Zealand, in which households slowly expanded their social bubble to include more people. Start with a few small groups at a time. Allow 14 to 21 days to pass before starting next cluster of small groups. 21 days is preferred. 14 days is the length of time that the COVID-19 virus takes to incubate. A number of health experts, however, recommend waiting the longer period.

Small groups should closely monitor the contacts of their members with people outside the small group and the households of the small group members. They should keep a record of such contacts. Members of the small group should agree to keep the small group informed of these contacts. Small group leaders should stress the importance of looking out for each other and not carelessly exposing the small group to infection. During this phase small groups that contain one or more older church members or other vulnerable church members or whose members have older people or other vulnerable people in their households should continue to meet online.

The rationale for beginning with small groups is that it limits the number of people who might be exposed to COVID-19 at one time. It also simplifies the task of tracing contacts should a small group member exhibit symptoms of the virus or test positive for the virus.

A small group is any group that contains 12 people or less. A group that contains more than 12 people is not a small group. It no longer has the dynamics of a small group. Sunday school classes should not be considered small groups unless they contain 12 people or less. In a number of states the state health authorities have recommended against gatherings of more than 10 people. Over-sized small groups—small groups that have reached the 12-member limit or have one or two members over it should postpone regathering until the state health authorities believe that it is safe enough for larger groups to gather. Small groups should not regather on their own initiative but in consultation with the church’s leadership team. The regathering of small groups should be a part of a carefully thought out, closely coordinated plan.

When they are meeting members of small groups should maintain a distance of six feet (or two meters) between each other as well as wear face masks. They might initially meet outdoors. If they meet indoors, they should meet in a well-ventilated room, one to which the doors and windows are open and in which the air is circulating. They should also avoid sharing food. The doors should be propped open and surfaces that are likely to accumulate concentrations of COVID-19 virus particles should be decontaminated. Whoever is hosting the small group should provide hand sanitizer or the small group members should bring hand sanitizer with them. These precautions are an application of the principle of “layers of intervention.” Several precautionary measures used in combination with each other provide much greater protection from the virus than a single precautionary measure used by itself. The development of a simple, reliable test for the COVID-19 virus that small groups could use and which would provide results in a short period of time would reduce if not eliminate the need for such precautions.

To some readers these precautionary measures may appear to be a lot. They may even think that this writer is being overly cautious. However, loving our fellow Christians means looking out for their health and well-being and for the health and well-being of their households. Loving our neighbors means doing all that we can to protect them and the community from the spread of the COVID-19 virus. As Christians we cannot ignore how what we do affects others. We cannot take the attitude that sheltering in place, social distancing, wearing face masks, avoiding unnecessary travel, and the like are matters of personal choice or even signs of weakness. While the world may not be entirely free from suffering until our Lord returns, we can still take steps to reduce the suffering in the world until that time.

Saturday Lagniappe: What Christians Should Know About QAnon and More

The FAQs: What Christians Should Know About QAnon

About three-quarters of U.S. adults (76 percent) say they have heard or read nothing at all about QAnon. But while they may not know the name, they have likely seen QAnon propaganda on social media (President Trump has frequently retweeted QAnon-related accounts on Twitter, and some parenting and lifestyle “influencers” promote the views on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook). Although it’s still on the fringe, Christians should be aware of the threat this political cult poses to the global church. Read More

Tools for Better Thinking

Collection of thinking tools and frameworks to help you solve problems, make decisions and understand systems. Learn More

5 Expectations of the Post-Pandemic Church

There will be no going back to a pre-pandemic church. This is because those who were reached during the pandemic and those we hope to reach when it’s over will demand something different. In fact, the nature of the divide between a pre-pandemic church and a post-pandemic church will be about what people will expect from a church. Here are five expectations that people will have of your church.... Read More

The Reopening Challenge

I recently read of a church in Texas that wanted to reopen so badly that it met social distancing guidelines by limiting seating capacity to 25% and then took reservations for those few seats. I’m sure that facemasks and hand sanitizer were in full play. I have no idea what, if anything, they did for children. Nor can I imagine. Other churches are forging ahead with “drive-in” services in parking lots. Most are simply staying online until this mess is over. But what then? Across the U.S. and around the world, churches are wrestling with how and when to reopen. There are at least three dynamics to consider.... Read More

How to Communicate Your Reopening Strategy to the Community

As stay-at-home orders continue lifting across the United States, many churches are reopening. One of the ways church leaders can mitigate the fear some may have about returning to a public gathering like a church service is to communicate all the things your church is doing to provide the safest (and healthiest) experience possible. Not only should churches communicate their reopening strategy to their members, but they also need to communicate to the community at large. Read More

CDC Quickly Changed Its Guidance On Limiting Choirs At Religious Services UPDATED

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has removed guidance on its website that houses of worship should limit choir activities — advice that was based on evidence that group singing can spread the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

The warning was part of new guidance for leaders of faith-based organizations that the CDC had posted last Friday. It stated that they should:

"Consider suspending or at least decreasing use of a choir/musical ensembles and congregant singing, chanting, or reciting during services or other programming, if appropriate within the faith tradition. The act of singing may contribute to transmission of COVID-19, possibly through emission of aerosols."

But that wording disappeared over the weekend, apparently because the White House had not approved it. The passage was deleted because it had been published by mistake, according to a federal official, who didn't want to be identified because they were not authorized to speak about the changes.

"CDC posted the wrong version of the guidance," the official told NPR, adding, "The version that is currently up on the website is the version cleared by the White House."

The revised guidance on singing now states only that faith-based organizations should: "Promote social distancing at services and other gatherings, ensuring that clergy, staff, choir, volunteers and attendees at the services follow social distancing, as circumstances and faith traditions allow, to lessen their risk." Read More

Also See:
CDC Removes Suggestion to Limit Singing During Religious Services in Coronavirus Guidelines NEW
White House and CDC Remove Coronavirus Warnings about Choirs in Faith Guidance

The White House's repeated modification of CDC recommendations to serve its political agenda and the increasing subservience of the CDC to the White House should be a major cause of concern for Christians and non-Christians in the midst of serious pandemic. Churches deserve to have the most up-to-date, most accurate information as possible on how to protect themselves and their communities. They should not be misled by recommendations that have been diluted to serve the White House's purposes. If a church becomes the epicenter of a new cluster of COVID-19 cases and deaths in its community and its region, it will receive the brunt of the blame and its public image and the public image of other churches in the community and the region will be adversely affected. Despite what the White House may say, its actions are clearly not pro-church. If the White House was genuinely pro-church, it would issue much more stringent guidelines designed to protect churches and their communities.

Friday's Catch: The Future of Church Planting and Multisites and More

COVID-19 and the Future of Church Planting and Multisite

We don’t know what the church is going to look like when this is all said and done, but we do know that it will be different. Here are some things to consider when looking to the future of church plants and multisite. Read More

What Do Worship Leaders Do in a COVID-19 World

For two years I served on our state convention staff in the area for equipping worship ministries and leaders for our 500 churches. As I woke up this morning, I was burdened for worship leaders specifically in this COVID-19 world. I had ten fresh thoughts on how worship leaders can lead well in this season when there aren’t really “worship services” to lead. Read More

Church Website Objectives – Making Your Church Website Work For You

There are three primary church website objectives and numerous secondary objectives that you need to consider and then put into your church website. Those objectives are to attract, inform, and inspire. Read More

Emptied by Coronavirus, Churches Convert Their Sacred Spaces into Food Pantries

The closure of mosques, churches, synagogues, gurdwaras and other faith-centered buildings has provoked conversation and innovation about what it means to gather and serve as a worship community. For many congregations, online attendance has soared; others have watched members drift away, dissatisfied by remote prayer. Some places have focused their communal work on service. Read More

En Plus: UMC General Conference Bumped to 2021 and More

Pandemic Delays UMC’s General Conference and Its Pending Schism

One of the many repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic—which has now killed more than 100,000 Americans—is that the country’s largest mainline Protestant denomination is stuck in limbo. This month, the United Methodist Church (UMC) was scheduled to hold its quadrennial General Conference in Minneapolis, with a debate about homosexuality causing a potential schism. But the 10-day meeting and the much-anticipated vote have been bumped to August 29, 2021, still in Minneapolis. Read More

UMC Churches Practice Caution Before Reopening

As many states have begun to ease restrictions after weeks or months of shelter-in-place orders due to the coronavirus, United Methodist churches in the U.S. by and large will remain closed a while longer. Read More

The UMC has a substantial presence in Tennessee and Western Kentucky with most communities having a UMC church as well as a Baptist church and a Church of Christ church. In determining whether they should relaunch church services and gatherings, church leaders should consider what other churches in the community and the region are doing and the basis for the actions that these churches are taking in weighing the pros and cons of regathering. At the same time they should resist the temptation to relaunch church services and gatherings because other churches are relaunching them. In my region and elsewhere in the United States an observable divide exist between church leaders who take the COVID-19 pandemic with the seriousness that it warrants and those who, like the Texas bar owner and the Kentucky gas station-convenience store owner in the Washinton Post article to which I have posted a link below, dismiss the seriousness of the pandemic. A number of the latter did not temporarily suspend church services and gatherings when they were urged to do by the state. On the other hand, a number of the latter reluctantly complied with the state's recommendations. With relaxation of state-mandated precautionary measures, they are eager to relaunch their church services and gatherings, seeing a return to normalcy as they see it as a vindication of their view of the pandemic. Any assessment of what other churches are doing should include an assessment of the motives of the leaders of these churches in deciding to relaunch church services and gatherings.

“You are a Compromised Coward”—Discussing How to Resume Gathered Worship

In the next few months, pastors will face the task of leading divided congregations to make unified decisions. I don’t know when, and that’s a local decision, but what I do know is this: as of now, it seems we are running headlong into a very divisive time. Read More

5 Transformative Questions to Ask before You Reopen Your Church or after You've Done It

Although pastors have always sensed that life and death hang in the balance of their decisions, that’s actually even more true now. And as you know, re-opening your church building is a far more complex task than closing your building ever was. And, as many leaders are discovering, initial attendance on re-opening is much lower than anyone expected. Read More

Should Kids Wear Face Masks?—CDC Gives Guidance on Children’s Face Coverings

As businesses and restaurants begin reopening around the country, the most common measure to protect against COVID-19 is to wear a face mask while in public. In many states, this practice is not just recommended, but now required. That’s because according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, face masks can help prevent the transmission of respiratory droplets from an infected person to those nearby. Read More

6 Tips For Surviving a COVID-19 Summer With Your Kids

Erika Coles, clinical director at the FIU Center for Children and Families, shares some tips on how parents can survive the summer with their kids while staying home. Read More

‘Sorry, No Mask Allowed’: Some Businesses Pledge to Keep Out Customers Who Cover Their Faces

In the emergent culture war over masks, a handful of businesses — the Liberty Tree Tavern among them — are fashioning themselves as fortresses for the resistance. Read More

I am prompted to wonder whether legal grounds exist for taking such businesses to court for discriminating against customers who are wearing face masks to protect themselves, their families, and their communities from the spread of COVID-19. The attitude displayed by the Texas bar owner and one of his customers in this article is what makes the task of suppressing COVID-19 in the United States more difficult than it may be in other countries where the population has a greater sense of social responsibility. The Texas bar owner and the Kentucky gas station-convenience store owner are going beyond saying that wearing a face mask is a personal choice and the decision to wear one should be left to the individual, a view which is itself problematic. They are actively discouraging the wearing of face masks and thereby endangering the public.

Thursday's Catch: Preparing for the Second Wave and More

Is Your Church Prepared for Future Pandemics? 6 Things to Do Now

How should we prepare now for the second wave of COVID-19 or another future pandemic so that we, as the church, won’t be caught off guard? Here are steps I would urge you to take.... Read More

100+ People Get Coronavirus After Service at Church in Germany

Over 100 people connected to a May 10 service at a church in Germany have tested positive for COVID-19. Those who contracted the virus either attended Evangelical Christian Baptist (ECB) church (located in Frankfurt in the state of Hesse) or came into contact with someone who did. German officials are now trying to trace everyone who took part in the service that day. Read More

Key Takeaways from CDC Guidelines for Church Reopenings

Here are some key takeaways, but pastors and church leaders should read the entire guidelines to best prepare their congregation. Read More

As well as a link to the CDC's document, Interim Guidance for Communities of Faith, I am including a link to the State of California's COVID-19 Industry Guidance: Places of Worship and Providers of Religious Services and Cultural Ceremonies. I recommend that church leaders compare the two sets of guidelines and adopt the more stringent guidelines. The CDC's recommendations for churches have been diluted. The recommendation that churches adopt a phased-approach to regathering has been omitted. The language is ambiguous in a number of places. Its ambiguity may cause churches to take less stringent precautionary measures than they should.

Welcome to Pandemic America

By Robin G. Jordan

A recent Washington Post article, “Coronavirus may never go away, even with a vaccine” tells us what we need to hear while saying what we do not want to hear. We prefer to listen to those who talk about “post-COVID-19.” As I observed in an earlier post, they are whistling past the cemetery, trying to stay upbeat in what is a dire situation, hoping for the best possible outcome.

While medical science has made tremendous strides since the nineteenth century, what may prove to be the best measures that we can take against more COVID-19 cases and deaths are the measures that humanity has been taking since ancient times. These measures including quarantining those who may be vectors of a disease and avoiding those who may be infected with the disease.

In a number of ways the COVID-19 era represents a return to the past—a past when outbreaks of cholera, typhus, yellow fever, and smallpox were a regular occurrence in the United States. A major difference is that we have a better grasp of how such infectious diseases spread and what we can do to prevent their spread. It is quite apparent from the reactions of one segment of the population that there is a pressing need to educate the public regarding such matters.

In some places the COVID-19 pandemic is revealing the strengths of the American character but in other places the pandemic is exposing its weaknesses. What we are seeing are not the actions of mature adults but the kind of bravado, recklessness, defiance, and poor judgment that one associates with immature teenagers. What we are not seeing is any concern for the safety of others.

Frustration with government mandated protective measures and subsequent business closures does not justify the kind of protests that we are seeing in a number of states like Tuesday’s hanging of Governor Andy in effigy here in Kentucky. Politicians are making matters worse by downplaying the seriousness of the pandemic and egging on the protestors. Fringe groups are also exploiting these protests for their own ends.

COVID-19 is not a disease that we can take lightly. It is much more serious than the flu which it is often compared. Taking a laissez faire attitude toward the virus as some would-be influencers of public policy argue will not save lives. It will increase the toll of suffering and death caused by the virus.

Countries that may cope better with COVID-19 may be those that have a greater sense of social responsibility than does the United States. Americans are prone to the attitude, “You do your thing; I’ll do mine.” They see protective measures like sheltering in place and wearing a face mask as a personal choice. They are unwilling to see a link between their actions and the consequence of their actions for others. This attitude, however, is itself a threat to the health and safety of the community. Our actions are not divorced from their consequences to others. If we become infected with COVID-19 but choose not to isolate ourselves because we are not feeling sick, we are contributing to the spread of the disease as did the out-of-town visitor who was the first confirmed COVID-19 case in my county.

As we are being confronted by the challenges of the COVID-19 era, serious issues are being raised. When does the constitutionally guaranteed right of free expression of religion give away to the need to protect the community from a dangerous, highly infectious disease? While individuals and groups have rights under the Constitution, so do communities. They include the right of a community to protect itself from the acts of individuals and groups that are endangering the health and safety of the community. In the COVID-19 era what we may see is a balancing act between the rights of individuals and groups and those of the community. Partnering with the community in protecting the health and safety of the community may be the best way for churches, mosques, synagogues, and temples to maintain this balance. In this way religious organizations will be seen as allies in the fight against COVID-19 rather than contributors to its spread. They can model social responsibility for the rest of the community.

One might hope that COVID-19 might engender in Americans a greater sense of social responsibility. But I must admit that I am not optimistic. If Americans are to be successful in mitigating the effects of COVID-19 in this new era, they will need a greater sense of social responsibility—a “we are all in this together” attitude rather than “everyone for himself….” We are on a new frontier but it may not be a frontier where rugged individualism serves us best.

I believe that churches can help to encourage a greater sense of social responsibility. Jesus emphasized love of neighbor and treating others the way we would want to be treated. He also exemplified self-sacrifice. In this regard churches will need to become countercultural. They will need to go against America’s me-centered culture.

Hunger Program’s Slow Start Leaves Millions of Children Waiting

Child hunger is soaring, but two months after Congress approved billions to replace school meals, only 15 percent of eligible children had received benefits.

As child hunger soars to levels without modern precedent, an emergency program Congress created two months ago has reached only a small fraction of the 30 million children it was intended to help.

The program, Pandemic-EBT, aims to compensate for the declining reach of school meals by placing their value on electronic cards that families can use in grocery stores. But collecting lunch lists from thousands of school districts, transferring them to often-outdated state computers and issuing specialized cards has proved much harder than envisioned, leaving millions of needy families waiting to buy food.

Congress approved the effort in mid-March as part of the Families First act, its first major coronavirus relief package. By May 15, only about 15 percent of eligible children had received benefits, according to an analysis by The New York Times. Just 12 states had started sending money, and Michigan and Rhode Island alone had finished.

The pace is accelerating, with millions of families expected to receive payments in the coming weeks. But 16 states still lack federal approval to begin the payments and Utah declined to participate, saying it did not have the administrative capacity to distribute the money. Many Southern states with high rates of child hunger have gotten a slow start.

As of May 15, states had issued payments for about 4.4 million children, out of the 30 million who potentially qualify, the Times analysis shows. If all states reached everyone eligible, an unlikely prospect, families could receive as much as $10 billion.

“The program’s going to be very important, but it hasn’t been fast,” said Duke Storen, a former nutrition advocate who leads the Virginia Department of Social Services, which began sending money last week. “The intent is to replace lost meals at school, but the meals have been lost for months, and few benefits have gone out.”

Among pandemic-related hardship, child hunger stands out for its urgency and symbolic resonance — after decades of exposés and reforms, a country of vast wealth still struggles to feed its young. So vital are school meals in some places, states are issuing replacement benefits in waves to keep grocers from being overwhelmed.

The lag between congressional action and families buying food is, in many places, less a story of bureaucratic indifference than a testament to the convoluted nature of the American safety net.

Many officials have worked overtime to start the program amid competing crises. Yet even in delivering a benefit as simple as a school meal, federal, state and local governments can all add delays, as can the private companies that print the cards, which can only buy food. Read More

In some communities and neighborhood school lunches provided children from low-income families with two meals a day--breakfast and lunch. They met a large part of a child's nutritional requirements for the day. While some low-income families receive SNAP, this does not guarantee that children will be fed. For a number of reasons a low-income family may still have difficulty in putting food on the table. In rural communities inadequate or no transportation can limit how often a low-income family is able to purchase food. Low-income families may live more than 10 miles from a supermarket, placing them in a rural food desert. A number of inner city neighborhoods are located in urban food deserts. Low-income families living in these neighborhoods may also lack access to adequate transportation. This article points to a number of needs that local churches and local associations or networks of churches might play a role in meeting. Local churches and local associations or networks of churches can also play an important role as advocates for children with Congress and their state legislature as well as the federal, state, and local government. Being pro-life involves more than protecting the unborn.

Wednesday's Catch: COVID-19 and the Shape of the Church's Future and More

Coronavirus Is Shaping the Future of the Church

Disruption creates the environment where lasting transformation takes place. Read More

The Safest Place for the Weakest People

Isn’t church meant to be the place that deliberately and specifically welcomes the weak? Shouldn’t the most vulnerable factor most prominently in our planning? Read More

5 Key Ministry Modifications to Anticipate After COVID-19

COVID-19 will leave a mark on our world, one way or another. Many things will change—for better or worse. And the way we do church is no exception. Here are a few long- and short-term changes we’ll see in some of our churches in the weeks and months ahead. Read More

Recovering Tolerance as a Christian Virtue

Postmodernity has radically changed the concept of tolerance. The result of this disfigurement of meaning is that a lot of Christians today are wary of any talk of tolerance. This is unfortunate because the older meaning of the word is something much needed at a juncture in time when secular and religious politics threatens to tear apart the seams of brotherly love. Read More

Church Communications during a Global Pandemic

Here are three ways your church needs to rethink communication as this COVID-19 crisis continues. Read More

6 Ways to Boost Discussion in Your Online Group

By now you’ve learned that teaching online is different than teaching in a classroom or living room. Your group members may not have fully adjusted to this new virtual environment, but you can have great discussion if you boost discussion. Read More

Issues in Pandemic America

Each of the articles to which I have provided a link below touches upon an important issue in pandemic America. Whether or not we are willing to accept it, we have entered the COVID-19 era. The virus that has been ravishing the United States and other countries is not going to mysteriously disappear overnight. It is likely to be with us well into the next century even if an effective vaccine is developed. While a number of church leaders who post articles, podcasts, and videos on the internet speak hopefully of a time that they describe as “post-COVID-19,” I believe that they are whistling past the graveyard. COVID-19 is not going to go away anytime soon if ever. Diseases that have afflicted humankind since ancient times still threaten us even in this day of modern medical science. While medical science has given us new tools with which we can battle these diseases, we still must rely on older methods such as quarantine to prevent their spread. Take a look at these articles. The issues upon which they touch will shape the COVID-19 era. They are issues with which we must wrestle whether we like it or not.

2 California Churches Identified as Potential Coronavirus Hot Spots After Holding Mother's Day Services
Social Distancing Is Not Enough
There Are 3 Things We Have to Do to Get People Wearing Masks
Trump’s seeding of a culture war over masks just got a lot less subtle
5 ways to prevent another 100,000 coronavirus deaths in the US (and beyond)
‘An international example of bad judgment’: Local officials stunned by raucous Memorial Day festivities
Missouri health officials call for self-quarantine of partiers at Lake of the Ozarks

Churches Are Essential, So Let’s Not Rush to Reopen, Pastors Reason

Despite President Trump’s declaration that churches are essential and that governors should allow churches to reopen immediately, not all congregations are moving quickly. For a variety of reasons—including logistics, risk factors, and effectiveness—some churches say their doors will stay closed for now.

On Friday, the CDC released revised pandemic guidelines for faith communities, and Trump urged governors “to do the right thing and allow these very important essential places of faith to open right now, this weekend.” He added he would “override the governors,” if necessary. That sparked further debate about reopening churches, especially as Pentecost—the target date many were aiming for—approaches on May 31. Read More

5 Ways to Step into the Marathon of COVID-19 Response and Recovery

As we continue to find ways to adapt our lives and ministries amidst changing pandemic realities, there are still ways to stay engaged and involved as we seek to serve and care for our neighbors, churches, and communities. While our movements and face-to-face interaction may be momentarily limited, our ability to serve those around us doesn’t have to be.

Over the past two months, students in our M.A. Humanitarian and Disaster Leadership (M.A. HDL) program at the Wheaton College Graduate School have had the unique opportunity to apply what they’re learning about emergency management, disaster response, and caring for the vulnerable as they take action to respond to the challenges created by COVID-19.

Their responses offer a template for how all of us can step into the marathon of COVID-19 response and recovery. Here are five ideas, drawn from their experiences, for how you can serve your church and community in this time. Read More

Why Church Leaders Have an Incredible Window of Opportunity [Podcast]

At ChurchAnswers.com we have been walking with many church leaders who desire to open the window of opportunity presented as a result of the pandemic. Thom Rainer and Kevin Spratt discuss several reasons why church leaders have an incredible opportunity ahead of them. Listen Now

Playing It Safe in Pandemic America: Is It Possible?

A Guide to Staying Safe as States Reopen

Can I eat at a restaurant? Can I go shopping? Can I hug my friends again? Experts weigh in.

May marks a new phase of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States. Across the country, retail stores, restaurants, and other businesses are beginning to reopen. According to the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation, just over half of states had eased their public-health restrictions in one way or another as of the start of this week, with more states to follow soon.

This new phase, though, doesn’t necessarily mean that the ongoing risks of the pandemic have materially changed. “If your favorite watering hole reopens, that’s not a guarantee that it’s safe to go have a beer with your friend,” Andrew Noymer, a public-health professor at UC Irvine, told me. “That’s one possible reason that it’s reopening, but another is that the pressures to reopen businesses have been so enormous.” He said that if the U.S. were solely concerned with containing the virus, “reopening shouldn’t even be in the conversation” yet.

That said, many (but not all) parts of the country have at least gotten out of an “acute emergency phase” for the time being, according to Elizabeth Carlton, a professor at the Colorado School of Public Health. She now sees “a shift towards trying to come up with strategies that allow people to resume some parts of their old lives that are the least risky … We need to find a way to slow the spread of the virus that also allows us to maintain our mental and financial health.” The safest thing to do, if you can manage it, is still to stay at home, but now is the time when—unlike the past six weeks or so—people in some parts of the country can consider cautiously reintroducing some nonessential activities into their life after weighing the risks to themselves and others. Read More

8 Ways to Go Out and Stay Safe during the Coronavirus Pandemic

People are starting to leave their homes again. Here’s how to do that and stay as safe as possible.

Americans are getting tired of staying inside. Support for social distancing requirements is falling in the polls, and survey and cellphone data shows people are starting to trickle out of their homes. Most states, ready or not, are moving to reopen parts of their economies.

For the past two months, experts’ guidance has been absolute: As much as possible, stay home and avoid interacting with anyone you don’t live with. In the new reality, with a vaccine likely still months or years away, some experts caution a new approach is needed to get people to stay safe during the coronavirus pandemic — one based on harm reduction.

It might be better for people to stay home all the time, but given that many can’t or won’t, giving them advice on how to reduce the harm to them and others is better than insisting on the ideal. Read More

America’s Patchwork Pandemic Is Fraying Even Further

The coronavirus is coursing through different parts of the U.S. in different ways, making the crisis harder to predict, control, or understand.

There was supposed to be a peak. But the stark turning point, when the number of daily COVID-19 cases in the U.S. finally crested and began descending sharply, never happened. Instead, America spent much of April on a disquieting plateau, with every day bringing about 30,000 new cases and about 2,000 new deaths. The graphs were more mesa than Matterhorn—flat-topped, not sharp-peaked. Only this month has the slope started gently heading downward.

This pattern exists because different states have experienced the coronavirus pandemic in very different ways. In the most severely pummeled places, like New York and New Jersey, COVID-19 is waning. In Texas and North Carolina, it is still taking off. In Oregon and South Carolina, it is holding steady. These trends average into a national plateau, but each state’s pattern is distinct. Currently, Hawaii’s looks like a child’s drawing of a mountain. Minnesota’s looks like the tip of a hockey stick. Maine’s looks like a (two-humped) camel. The U.S. is dealing with a patchwork pandemic.

The patchwork is not static. Next month’s hot spots will not be the same as last month’s. The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is already moving from the big coastal cities where it first made its mark into rural heartland areas that had previously gone unscathed. People who only heard about the disease secondhand through the news will start hearing about it firsthand from their family. “Nothing makes me think the suburbs will be spared—it’ll just get there more slowly,” says Ashish Jha, a public-health expert at Harvard. Read More

Also See:
What You Need to Know about the Corona Virus: The Atlantic's guide to understanding COVID-19
Coronavirus pandemic: Tracking the global outbreak

The Coronavirus Is Deadliest Where Democrats Live

Beyond perception and ideology, there are starkly different realities for red and blue America right now.

The staggering American death toll from the coronavirus, now approaching 100,000, has touched every part of the country, but the losses have been especially acute along its coasts, in its major cities, across the industrial Midwest, and in New York City.

The devastation, in other words, has been disproportionately felt in blue America, which helps explain why people on opposing sides of a partisan divide that has intensified in the past two decades are thinking about the virus differently. It is not just that Democrats and Republicans disagree on how to reopen businesses, schools and the country as a whole. Beyond perception, beyond ideology, there are starkly different realities for red and blue America right now.

Democrats are far more likely to live in counties where the virus has ravaged the community, while Republic are more likely to live in counties that have been relatively unscathed by the illness, though they are paying an economic price. Counties won by President Trump in 2016 have reported just 27 percent of the virus infections and 21 percent of the deaths — even though 45 percent of Americans live in these communities, a New York Times analysis has found.

The very real difference in death rates has helped fuel deep disagreement over the dangers of the pandemic and how the country should proceed. Right-wing media, which moved swiftly from downplaying the severity of the crisis to calling it a Democratic plot to bring down the president, has exacerbated the rift. And even as the nation’s top medical experts note the danger of easing restrictions, communities across the country are doing so, creating a patchwork of regulations, often along ideological lines. Read More

Coronavirus: 'Baffling' Observations from the Front Line

When you talk to intensive care doctors across the UK, exhausted after weeks of dealing with the ravages of Covid-19, the phrase that emerges time after time is, "We've never seen anything like this
before."

They knew a new disease was coming, and they were expecting resources to be stretched by an unknown respiratory infection which had first appeared in China at the end of last year.

And as the number of cases increased, doctors up and down the UK were reading first-hand accounts from colleagues in China, and then in Italy - in scientific journals and on social media - about the intensity of infection.

"It felt in some ways like we were trying to prepare for the D-Day landings," says Barbara Miles, clinical director of intensive care at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, "with three weeks to get ready and not a great deal of knowledge about what we would be facing".

But what arrived in the UK as winter turned into spring took even the most experienced ICU specialists by surprise.

Most people infected with the coronavirus have only mild symptoms, or sometimes none at all. But in many thousands of patients who fall critically ill, Covid-19 is a disease of alarming complexity.

What follows is a summary, often in their own words, of what doctors have learnt about how Covid-19 attacks the human body, and what they still need to know. Read More

The Idiot's Guide to Reopening Your Church

As you know by now, re-opening your church building is a far more complex task than closing your building ever was.

The question is, how do you do it well?

When emotions, adrenaline and fatigue run high (and they’re all running high right now), it’s a perfect set up for decisions you may one day regret.

So, loosely inspired by The ScrewTape Letters (with deep apologies to C.S. Lewis) and by Dwight Shrute’s profound leadership insight from The Office tv show:

Whenever I’m about to do something, I think to myself, “Would an idiot do that?” and if they would, I do not do that thing.

…here’s my (tongue-in-cheek) attempt at an idiot’s guide to reopening your church.

This post pokes a bit of fun, but please hear my heart, I really want you to open well and see your church grow. You are working hard and your community needs you.

I hope this provides some clarity and a smile (we all need a bit of fun right now). So please be kind in the comments and offer some examples of other things you really don’t want to do when reopening your facility.

Also, please know I’ve made my share of idiot moves in leadership (like, perhaps, writing a post called The Idiot’s Guide to…). There are clearly some moments I wish I could get back.

With all that said, if you were aiming to be an idiot when reopening your church, here’s exactly how to do it. Read More

Monday's Catch: A Deadly Checkerboard and More

A Deadly ‘Checkerboard’: Covid-19’s New Surge across Rural America

As the death toll nears 100,000, the disease caused by the virus has made a fundamental shift in who it touches and where it reaches in America, according to a Washington Post analysis of case data and interviews with public health professionals in several states. The pandemic that first struck in major metropolises is now increasingly finding its front line in the country’s rural areas; counties with acres of farmland, cramped meatpacking plants, out-of-the-way prisons and few hospital beds. Read More

Five Reasons Your Church Members Are Disagreeing about When to Regather

It has become a common theme at Church Answers. We are hearing from pastors and other church leaders about members who have divergent opinions on the timing for regathering the in-person services. No surprise here. It might be helpful, however, to understand the reasons behind the disagreements. We see five major themes. Read More

What Is the Attractional Church?

An attractional church conducts worship and ministry according to the desires and values of potential consumers. This typically leads to the dominant ethos of pragmatism throughout the church. If a church determines its target audience prefers old-fashioned music, then that’s what they feature in order to attract those people.Read More

The Coming Pastoral Crash

I don’t want to be a prophet of doom, but as a minister in touch with many ministers, I see a coming pastoral crash. And I’m not sure we can stop it. The impact of the world response to COVID-19 will be felt for many years to come. It will be felt in every career field and in every home. This post does not diminish the hard work and adjustments being done by first responders, law enforcement, health care workers, and the educational structures. But from my perspective, those who serve in ministry are, in my thinking, in particular danger for several reasons. Read More

11 Self-Care Steps For Leaders Who Are Barely Holding On

Motivation is hard. And comfort food feels so good. But it’s more important now than ever to stay healthy. Read More

My 4 Step Method for Outlining Sermons [Repost]

Recently I received a question from a reader regarding how I outline my sermons and what I use for notes while I preach. I want to share his question and my answer with you. Read More

As In-Person Services Resume, Kentucky's Largest Church Sets No Timeline to 'Regather'

On a Sunday morning when churches around Kentucky began to open their doors as COVID-19 restrictions begin to ease, the state’s largest church remained closed to in-person services, and senior pastor Kyle Idleman, speaking on behalf of church leadership, isn’t yet saying when those might resume. Read More

Among the things that I found interesting in this article was the responses of the members of Kentucky's largest church to the senior pastor's poll.“About a third of you think we should’ve started meeting several weeks ago,” he said. “About a third of you think we need to just monitor the situation and continue to take precautions. And about a third of you think we probably shouldn’t regather until there’s some kind of vaccine or proven treatment...." These responses are consistent with my own observations. A segment of the population does not believe that churches should have suspended their gatherings in the first place. This population segment also tends to dismiss the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic and need for shelter-in-place orders and other public health measures that state and local authorities have implemented to mitigate the spread of the virus.