The purpose of this site is to be an information resource for churches and faith communities as they face the coronavirus pandemic. One objective is for churches to take a comprehensive “all of the above” approach to protecting the congregation and the community. While many groups gather with varying degree of precaution, the presence of one individual who is contagious can cause spread within the group, and secondary spread into families and the community.
Ideally, leaders will learn from the experiences of others. One of the intentions of this site is to show some actual situations, so that those who are willing can learn lessons from the experiences of others, instead of waiting until it reaches their own doorstep.
There is the story of a small community church in Indiana. Their county had statistics consistently well below statewide averages. I was told they were generally not wearing masks or social distancing. Typical attendance was under 75. But then they had some cases and canceled in-person gatherings. Suddenly, the county’s number of cases rose dramatically.
Some of their cases were apparently spread within the church meeting. Others were spread among friends and family. Eventually over 25 church members tested positive. Many were mild cases, but at least three were hospitalized, with one of them having to spend time in intensive care.
They were a small rural church untouched by covid, until it hit them, and they were hit suddenly, and hit hard. After their first-hand experience, they took guidelines and recommendations very seriously.