Should Church Gathering Attendees Wear Face Masks?

By Robin G. Jordan

I have sifted through dozens of articles on church regathering since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States and I have attended a number of webinars on the subject. I am registered for two such webinars this afternoon. I try to be careful about what I post on Anglicans Ablaze because it can make the difference between life and death during the COVID-19 pandemic. I shy away from articles that describe what churches have done when they regathered. While they may contain useful information, they also contain questionable practices.

For example, one church which was regathering in an enclosed space left the wearing of face masks to the discretion of the attendees at its gatherings. While some attendees may object to wearing a face mask, wearing a face mask provides an important layer of protection in an enclosed space. If one or more of the attendees has the virus but has not developed symptoms or is asymptomatic, wearing a face mask, combined with social distancing, adequate ventilation, and a moratorium on congregational and choral singing and responsive, antiphonal, and unison recitation can significantly reduce the risk of infection. Wearing a face mask is not a matter that should be left to the attendees’ discretion.

The alternative is to test every attendee for the virus and turn away those who test positive. At this present time there is no reliable test that can be administered to attendees and which will provide those administering the test with results in a space of a few minutes.

Some people cannot wear face masks for legitimate reasons. Face masks are not recommended for children two years of age or younger. They are also not recommended for those who have difficult breathing when wearing a face mask. The latter in my opinion fall in the high-risk category and should not be attending gatherings at this stage. COVID-19 can be life-threatening for individuals suffering from respiratory disorders or other conditions that may affect their breathing.

Those planning to attend a gathering should advised beforehand that they will be expected to wear a face mask. The rationale for wearing a face mask should also be explained. Those who refuse to wear a face mask because it is “unmanly,” it is a sign of weakness, and so forth, should be politely but firmly turned away. To ensure that attendees have a proper face mask, the church may wish to supply the masks.

A number of churches that became the epicenter of a new cluster of COVID-19 cases and deaths following their regathering admitted that they may not have been as stringent in implementing necessary precautionary measures as they should have been.

One of the problems here in the United States is that CDC recommendations often use ambiguous language. The original recommendations may have been stronger but the White House has weakened them for political reasons. The rationale appears to be that the White House is seeking to court favor with a particular segment of churchgoing population by providing churches with greater latitude in what precautions they take. In doing so, the White House, however, is increasing the risk to the larger churchgoing population. Rather than science informing what steps a church should take to protect its congregation and its community, politics is informing these steps.