The Complexity of Church Reopenings During a Pandemic

By Robin G. Jordan

“We do not understand the source of the outbreak. To the best of our ability we followed the guidelines that were given to us.”

These words may be prophetic in the sense that they foreshadow what we will be hearing from more churches as they reopen in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. They are the words that the leaders of a church in Greenbrier County, West Virginia posted on the church’s Facebook when it became the nexus of a cluster of COVID-19 cases upon reopening. The church has shut its doors for a quarantine period of fourteen days. It is the fifth church in West Virginia that has become the epicenter of a COVID-19 outbreak. On Tuesday the Lexington Herald Leader reported a worrisome uptick in COVID-19 cases in rural Kentucky as businesses and churches reopen. Earlier on Monday the Calloway County director of public health reported the largest number of COVID-19 cases in a single day in my county and expressed concern at this development.

While some counties in the United States may be experiencing a decrease in COVID-19 cases, others are not. They are experiencing an increase. Rural areas that previously had not experienced any COVID-19 cases are now experiencing a large number of such cases. Having negligible cases in their area may have lulled the residents of these areas into complacency.

The residents of these areas may have bought into the conspiracy theory that has been circulating in the United States, a conspiracy theory which claims that COVID-19 pandemic is not as serious as the media maintains or is even a hoax. Those who have bought into this conspiracy theory tend to dismiss the need for the precautionary measures that health experts are encouraging Americans to take such as social distancing, face masks, and hand washing.

In some areas the use of these measures is equated with weakness or fearfulness. This attitude toward such measures can be traced to a regional culture that emphasizes toughness and macho behavior. Both woman and men are influenced by this type of culture, incorporating its values at a very early age. Both receive the same message to “be strong” although they learn to embody it differently. Women learn to endure suffering without complaint. Men are expected to display what the culture defines as manliness. This includes various forms of bravado intended to show that the individual in question is fearless. As consequence both men and women will not seek medical attention when they need it and they will not take precautionary measures against contagious diseases or common physical injuries. In the past such a culture may have had some survival value but in a pandemic it complicates suppressing or mitigating the spread of the disease.

The same attitude can acquire a religious veneer. An individual who maintains that Christians should put their trust in God for protection against infection with COVID-19 instead of the precautionary measures that health experts are recommending may actually be embodying this attitude. Such an individual may minimize or ignore the fact that while God can work in miraculous ways, he also works through ordinary means.

A story that many of us have heard from the pulpit is the story of the man who was caught in a flood. He climbed on the roof of his house and waited for God to rescue him. Meanwhile, the water of the flood rose around him. A neighbor in a duck boat offered to take him to safety. “No,” he told the neighbor, “God will rescue me.” He sent the neighbor on his way. The water rose higher. State troopers in an inflatable boat offered to take him to safety. “No,” he told the troopers, “God will rescue me.” He sent the troopers on their way. By now the water was lapping at his feet. National Guardsmen in a helicopter hovered overhead. They offered to take him to safety. “No,” he shouted, “God will rescue me.” He sent the National Guardsmen on their way. As he waited for God to rescue him, the flood waters covered the roof of his house and swept him off it. After struggling in the water for a few minutes, he drowned. When he appeared before God, his first question was, “Why didn’t you rescue me, Lord? Why didn’t you save me from drowning?” God replied, “Three time I tried to rescue you. Each time you turned those whom I had sent to rescue you away.” The man was dumbfounded.

The lesson which may be garnered from this story is that God works in the way that he chooses, not in the way that we may wish him to work. He may choose ordinary means over miraculous ones.

The factors that I have touched upon may account for why some churches may become the nexus of a COVID-19 case cluster upon reopening in the midst of the pandemic. But how do we account for a church like the one in Greenbrier County, West Virginia becoming the nexus of such a cluster. To the best of its ability it followed the guidelines that were given to it. There are several possibilities. It misunderstood the guidelines. It did not have sufficient information to properly follow them. The guidelines themselves were inadequate. They did not reflect the latest findings on how COVID-19 is transmitted and what are the best practices to prevent infection, based upon these findings. Reopening guidelines differ from state to state, county to county. Most are based upon the guidelines that the Centers on Disease Control issue from time to time. These guidelines, however, are vetted by the White House and vital recommendations which do not serve its economic and political agenda may be diluted or omitted. For example, a recommendation that churches avoid singing and loud talking was quickly withdrawn. The explanation for its withdrawal was that the White House had not authorized the recommendation. As health experts who have reviewed CDC documents have observed, the guidelines that are published are often couched in ambiguous language that leaves too much leeway in their application and which can result in the taking of inadequate precautionary measures.

While a comparison is made between churches and businesses like grocery stores and supermarkets, people tend to spend longer periods of time attending church services and gatherings than they do grocery shopping. Many church sanctuaries and worship centers rely on mechanical ventilation. They may have emergency doors that open to the exterior of the building but very few have windows that open. As a consequence the room in which worshipers gather may accumulate a high concentration of COVID-19 particles. Similar conditions may be found in grocery stores and supermarkets but shoppers do not remain in these environments as long as worshipers do in the room that is used for Sunday worship gatherings.

In a proposed set of guidelines that the White House did not authorized without significant changes, the CDC recommended that churches should reopen in phases. When it came to the phase in which gatherings of up to 50 people were permitted, it was recommended that the gatherings should be held outdoors or in a large, open room whose doors and windows were open and which was ventilated with electric fans. This permitted the circulation of air and the dispersal of any concentration of any COVID-19 virus particles. This precaution by itself would not prevent the transmission of COVID-19 but when used in conjunction with other precautions such as spacing of seating, social distancing, face masks, sanitizing of frequently-touched surfaces, hand-washing, and use of hand sanitizer would add to the layers of protection and reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

As can be seen from the foregoing, preventing a church from become the epicenter of a new outbreak of the COVID-19 virus in a community is a complicated undertaking. It is much more difficult than we may have anticipated. In cases of churches like the one in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, denominations, judicatories, local associations, and other community churches need to conduct a thorough investigation into what happened. We all need to know what was done, how well it was done, and what may have been overlooked. This information will prove useful in protecting our own churches and communities. We can learn from each other's mistakes.