ATLANTA -- For the first time in weeks, Jason Dees looked out as he preached Sunday and saw faces, instead of just a camera lens. The group of Christ Covenant Church worshippers was considerably smaller than before the coronavirus pandemic -- 40 people this week, wearing masks as they sang and prayed
ATLANTA — For the first time in weeks, Jason Dees looked out as he preached Sunday and saw faces, instead of just a camera lens. The group of Christ Covenant Church worshippers was considerably smaller than before the coronavirus pandemic — 40 people this week, wearing masks as they sang and prayed, a small fraction of the congregation’s 500 members — but they were there.
The coming days bring a significant test. Many houses of worship have laid the groundwork for returning, and expect to resume some form of in-person worshipping next week. Some faith leaders found a measure of comfort in the president’s words, hearing an acknowledgment of religious liberties and an affirmation of the central role worship holds in the lives of millions, especially at a time of confusion, pain and loss. Still, many are preaching caution. Though religious services have already been allowed to resume in more than half the states, many congregations have decided to remain closed for the present.
Even so, there were fears of grave consequences. Houses of worship have the potential to help the virus spread widely through a community, given the close quarters, robust choirs and rituals like communion. Many churches, including mainline Protestant denominations, have congregations that skew older, a demographic especially vulnerable to the virus.
About half a dozen of the denomination’s 200 bishops have died of the coronavirus, he said, adding, “The black pastors seem to have a heavier responsibility now, since our statistics are so much higher.” The National Council of Churches, a partnership of 38 Christian denominations, planned to hold a virtual memorial service Sunday evening. It was aimed mainly at acknowledging the grief caused by the virus as the U.S. death toll nears a grim marker of 100,000. But organizers have also cast it as a quiet rebuke of the president and others who they fear are moving too hastily and injecting politics into a process where it should not be a consideration.
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