Thank you for sharing this story, Steve. I really believe there needs to be a book written on this specific subject of the failure and betrayal of church leaders to properly fulfil their duty to obey biblical commands to gather, serve, and care for their flocks during Covid.
Great piece, Steve. I think this is very challenging for a communitarian/humanist like yourself to deal with a low empathy community that you had previously thought was not. The transition to larger amounts of emotional differentiation from ostensible peers is very difficult. Utterly predictable from the memetics. See: https://empathy.guru/2021/08/22/elite-risk-minimization-and-covid-empathy-in-the-time-of-coronavirus-ix/
My family has experienced very similar things. Losing our church parish, but finding our faith. Fortunately our children attend a private Christian school that has lived its values and focused on academics and the children’s healthy development (in person). We actually transferred them from a “Catholic” school to their new school at the beginning of the 20-21 school year. Finding a school that lives it’s Christian values and has focused on the kids and community has been our shinning light. Thank you for this article.
I like your article. I am curious, though--you mention that the church that was "open" didn't fit your theology. I have no idea what their theology was, so maybe it wouldn't fit mine either. But I've observed through all of this that the churches that take the Bible seriously and spend their time teaching what it says have been more able to recognize that there is more to life (and death) than risk avoidance. While the churches that function largely to make people feel better about themselves......continue to just do that, which means placating people's feelings about masks, etc.
Have you any more insight into *why* one church is closed and the other open? I have to imagine theology plays an important role.
le escribo en español, aunque leo perfectamente el inglés lo escribo mal.
Ahora mismo en Madrid cae la tarde, veo a través de una ventana los olmos todavía amarillos, la noche se presenta fría y la ciudad está muy bella.
Por casualidad, y a través de un científico americano, he leído su escrito.
Su lectura me ha emocionado y confirmado que, a pesar de las circunstancias, somos muchos los que seguiremos viviendo en cercanía, amor, respeto y solidaridad con nuestra familia, amigos y vecinos.
This is one of the most profound articles I have ever read on Covid. One question I have-with the latest information on omicron and breakthrough cases, do you still think that vaccinated people should be allowed to act normally?
To me, the masks serve as a continual reminder of people top be afraid and prolong the panic. It really feels like something out of the middle ages or a horror movie.
Without them, when people eventually and inevitably came out of their shell, and they would see a world that looks fairly normal.
I see them as a tool for those media entities that profit from the panic and want it to keep going.
I am a single mom in California. My son is severely disabled. My faith was always very important to me. Our church shut us out by switching entirely to virtual worship (no, not everyone can do that, my son would howl and smash things because mommy was looking at a screen). When it reopened (a year later) the elders said we could only come back if I had him with me in the service and made sure he kept a mask on at all times, AND we had to do a “full quarantine” for 14 days beforehand, meaning I had to stop all his in-home therapy. When I said no, we were tossed out.
I found a different church but I haven’t been able to trust people or fully integrate. I’m struggling with feelings that God doesn’t really want me or my son in His family after all.
I thought Jesus was bigger than illness and death and we have nothing to fear from those things. I thought that was sort of the point. Now I don’t know what I believe.
Thank you for sharing this story, Steve. I really believe there needs to be a book written on this specific subject of the failure and betrayal of church leaders to properly fulfil their duty to obey biblical commands to gather, serve, and care for their flocks during Covid.
Great piece, Steve. I think this is very challenging for a communitarian/humanist like yourself to deal with a low empathy community that you had previously thought was not. The transition to larger amounts of emotional differentiation from ostensible peers is very difficult. Utterly predictable from the memetics. See: https://empathy.guru/2021/08/22/elite-risk-minimization-and-covid-empathy-in-the-time-of-coronavirus-ix/
My family has experienced very similar things. Losing our church parish, but finding our faith. Fortunately our children attend a private Christian school that has lived its values and focused on academics and the children’s healthy development (in person). We actually transferred them from a “Catholic” school to their new school at the beginning of the 20-21 school year. Finding a school that lives it’s Christian values and has focused on the kids and community has been our shinning light. Thank you for this article.
I like your article. I am curious, though--you mention that the church that was "open" didn't fit your theology. I have no idea what their theology was, so maybe it wouldn't fit mine either. But I've observed through all of this that the churches that take the Bible seriously and spend their time teaching what it says have been more able to recognize that there is more to life (and death) than risk avoidance. While the churches that function largely to make people feel better about themselves......continue to just do that, which means placating people's feelings about masks, etc.
Have you any more insight into *why* one church is closed and the other open? I have to imagine theology plays an important role.
Mr. Templeton,
le escribo en español, aunque leo perfectamente el inglés lo escribo mal.
Ahora mismo en Madrid cae la tarde, veo a través de una ventana los olmos todavía amarillos, la noche se presenta fría y la ciudad está muy bella.
Por casualidad, y a través de un científico americano, he leído su escrito.
Su lectura me ha emocionado y confirmado que, a pesar de las circunstancias, somos muchos los que seguiremos viviendo en cercanía, amor, respeto y solidaridad con nuestra familia, amigos y vecinos.
Muchas gracias desde España.
Iñigo Toledo
Steve, your story breaks my heart. May I ask: was this an LCMS congregation?
This is one of the most profound articles I have ever read on Covid. One question I have-with the latest information on omicron and breakthrough cases, do you still think that vaccinated people should be allowed to act normally?
Thank you for your wonderful blog!
To me, the masks serve as a continual reminder of people top be afraid and prolong the panic. It really feels like something out of the middle ages or a horror movie.
Without them, when people eventually and inevitably came out of their shell, and they would see a world that looks fairly normal.
I see them as a tool for those media entities that profit from the panic and want it to keep going.
I am a single mom in California. My son is severely disabled. My faith was always very important to me. Our church shut us out by switching entirely to virtual worship (no, not everyone can do that, my son would howl and smash things because mommy was looking at a screen). When it reopened (a year later) the elders said we could only come back if I had him with me in the service and made sure he kept a mask on at all times, AND we had to do a “full quarantine” for 14 days beforehand, meaning I had to stop all his in-home therapy. When I said no, we were tossed out.
I found a different church but I haven’t been able to trust people or fully integrate. I’m struggling with feelings that God doesn’t really want me or my son in His family after all.
I thought Jesus was bigger than illness and death and we have nothing to fear from those things. I thought that was sort of the point. Now I don’t know what I believe.