Easter Sunday

This is a different kind of Easter service than most people expect, and it’s probably gonna piss some folks off.  Too bad.

There’s a huge controversy right now about whether church services – of any denomination – ought to fall under the ban for large gatherings.  The issue became especially relevant – or a great talking point for those seeking re-election – as Easter Sunday approached.  The Kansas governor included them, the legislature tried to overrule it and the Kansas Supreme Court came down on the side of the governor. 

Louisiana went through the same thing – with one pastor of a freelance evangelical group deciding that he was going to hold services regardless of the law.  He was not only encouraging attendance, he deployed their fleet of 16 buses to make sure that he had a good crowd there, despite the pending criminal charges against him for doing the same thing at last week’s services.

In Louisville, Kentucky, the Court determined that the prohibition on all church services and funerals was unconstitutional and overruled the Mayor’s directive.  The governor, who has strongly encouraged canceling services, indicated that law enforcement will be taking tag numbers of those in attendance and they will be mandated to do a 14-day quarantine.  While I doubt that is practically enforceable, it does have a nice ring to it and is absolutely within his authority as governor.

Churches have long claimed that they ought to be exempt from these types of directives.  During earlier plagues – bubonic and such – the priests and monks were allowed to continue traveling about as if nothing was amiss either under the delusional thought that they were somehow protected or because the urge to keep that collection plate circulating was stronger than fear of the pestilence that was striking.

Those in charge – Popes, Archbishops, Senior Rabbis and Imams – usually got it and worked to limit assemblies.  Given the understanding of germ transmission at the time, they tended to do pretty well, too.  It was those at remote monasteries or traveling, jack-leg preachers that tended to be problematic as they were not as concerned with protecting their flocks as much as with making a buck.

Enter today’s freelance churches, often with self-ordained ministers that are accountable to no one and little or no formal governance structure. 

Clusters of Covid-19 outbreaks are readily traceable to those who attended church services, weddings or funerals.  In North Carolina, there is a somewhat closed religious sect in Rutherford County. 

They have found themselves on the wrong side of the law for any number of reasons – unemployment fraud, assault and battery, various tax violations – but recently their founder and leader demanded first that everyone in their community attend church as if nothing was out of the ordinary, regardless of factors that might expose them to more risk.  Oh, and they may not allow their contributions to the church to drop, regardless of whether they were now unemployed or otherwise experiencing hardship.   One of their members, who was reported to have been required to attend, has now died of Covid-19.

On top of that, Rutherford County – which has a population of 67,000 – as the fourth-highest number of cases as a percentage of population in the State of North Carolina.  If we take out a couple of counties that had breakouts in nursing homes/congregant living facilities, it moves up to second, just behind Mecklenburg County, the most densely populated area in the state.

Think about that for a moment.  Rutherford County has ONE tiny hospital, and the county ranks #40 out of 100 in the state in terms of population, and yet they have jumped ahead of all but the most populous county in terms of per-capita infections.

Because of one church. 

Here’s the thing.  Churches seem to think that they are entitled to some type of special treatment.  When I worked for city government, they were always trying to get around building and zoning codes, arguing that it shouldn’t apply to them.

The reality is that the physical part of a church is just a bunch of people in tight quarters, with someone standing up in front talking.  Doesn’t matter if it’s a college classroom or a church on Sunday Morning or the community theater.  That means it needs appropriately marked exits, sprinkler systems, parking spaces – all the things that any other building designed to hold large groups of people would need.

Circling back to what we know – germs treat everyone the same.  We also know that Covid-19 is an incredibly communicable disease, and there is a significant history of it being passed among individuals who attend religious services in person.

Therefore, I will say this unequivocally -- If you insist on gathering together for any type of religious service right now, you are a damned fool and deserve whatever happens to you.

That’s not what makes me angry about this, though.  If you’re an adult, you can make whatever decisions you want.  If it were up to me and you took children with you, I’d prosecute you for child endangerment, but that’s not my call.

What isn’t your call and what you are responsible for, though, is when you become infected and continue about your life – now you’re unnecessarily exposing those essential individuals who are keeping us all alive. 

If you get sick and go to the hospital, you’re also potentially infecting all of those healthcare workers who are there trying to keep your sorry ass alive.  You are responsible for exposing them – as well as the EMT’s, police officers, and other first responders and all of their families to this potentially fatal illness.

The sheer stupidity of all this is obvious when you realize that there are so many other options available and virtually all of them are infinitely safer than a traditional Sunday morning service.

Watch on television – although I note that the reports seem to indicate that NONE of the big TV preachers have donated a nickel to any type of support or relief, although they will happily take your credit card according to the scroll across the bottom of the screen.

Stream your own church online.  It’s amazing how even some of the smallest churches have the ability to put the sermon up, not just with audio but with video – you can probably see and hear better, plus you don’t have to put on special clothes unless you want.

If you just HAVE to go somewhere to church, go to one of the drive-in services that some congregations are holding.  At least that is going to limit your exposure somewhat.

Better yet, take a hint from our seniors – most of them recognize that it does not make sense to be out and about OR GO TO CHURCH during a regular flu season, much less in the midst of a pandemic.  Staying home is not evidence of a lack of faith but is instead proof that one has the ability to make rational decisions based on the evidence in front of you.

As Grandma used to say, “Use the common sense the Good Lord gave you.”