As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“It’s too early to know exactly how vaccinations are going to play out in the church, but I don’t think you have to be an inveterate skeptic to imagine it’s more likely to bring division than unity.
“Our church has used state guidelines to inform our decisions in order to protect our congregation and the public at large as we see this as the best way to love our neighbor and be a good witness to our community.” - C.Post
“Among U.S. Christians, about three-quarters say churches should be subject to the same rules as other businesses.
“It is legal to meet for worship in California. But, to do so, churches must follow the regulations put in place to limit the spread of the coronavirus, which involves meeting outside with masks and with distancing. How a church does that is up to them, but it is possible, as we have discovered.” - RNS
Curiosity might kill cats but it’s a really good thing in humans. We could all use more of it. I offer the following to the masks-vs-COVID curious. My view on both mask use and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) use—along with most other COVID-related questions—has been that being dogmatic isn’t appropriate either way.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is God’s training ground. What are we learning? What will we be prepared to do in the future because of what God has taught us through this pandemic?” - M.R. Conrad
“More than a quarter of pastors (27%) say they’re struggling with maintaining unity and dealing with conflict or complaints…. Several pastors mentioned difficulties surrounding special services like weddings and funerals or reaching out to members in hospitals and nursing homes.” - F&T
According to the study, “Christian nationalism is the leading predictor that one engaged in more frequent incautious behavior related to COVID-19” and the “second strongest predictor that Americans took fewer precautions like wearing a mask or sanitizing/washing one’s hands.” - CPost
“Harvest met in a white tent half the size of a football field to comply with state orders restricting indoor worship. After the first week of meeting under the tent, pastor Greg Laurie said, ‘Our church loved it,’ so Harvest added a second morning service.” - C.Today
“While the federal government does not have the constitutional authority to issue a nationwide mask mandate, state and local governments do have a broad ‘police power’ that legally allows them to pass such regulations to protect public health and safety. The political question remains whether this is the best policy.
Discussion