Coronavirus Is Forcing Black Churches to Make Tough Choices
What responsibilities do pastors owe to their congregants to keep them safe?
In a world that seeks to push Black people to the depths of despair, Sunday proves those forces do not win. Perhaps that is why the threat of the Covid-19/coronavirus pandemic presented a greater cause for concern. As it swept through the country, coronavirus posed risk to the one day many Black Americans hoped would make sense of the week’s chaos. Among a Sunday kind of people, debates ensued whether traditional worship should take place.
For many, this was an issue of public safety. That, while Sunday has always been symbolic of Black faith, traditional worship now had major health implications. After a Covid-19 outbreak within a congregation and the news that many can be asymptomatic and unknowingly spread Coronavirus, many pastors transitioned away from traditional worship. With the third Sunday being a primarily senior-led worship experience, Pastor E. Dewey Smith Jr. (House of Hope Atlanta) couldn’t reconcile loving his congregants and ignoring breaking news. “I just couldn’t have any peace putting God’s people in that kind of jeopardy,” he says. House of Hope created a fully online worship experience and encouraged members to host small groups in their homes.
There were pastors who understood the risks and still believed it was important for people to be able to have traditional worship. “This week has changed everything and we will never be the same,” says Pastor Courtney Clayton Jenkins (South Euclid United Church of Christ of Ohio). As pastor, Clayton Jenkins took the necessary precautions to ensure the sanctuary was thoroughly sanitized and encouraged most vulnerable members to stream online. Known for opening her sanctuary following major crisis moments, Clayton Jenkins grounds that decision in her experience processing 9/11 in her undergraduate chapel and local church. “There is something about being in the house of the Lord when there is so much trouble beyond you.”
“We know that the average Black church is between 75 and 100 members. Missing a service can mean the difference between lights on and lights off for many…
