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Every once in awhile we take in a scene that speaks volumes. For example, at the height of the pandemic, passers by could write long dissertations on depraved heart indifference, as inspired by the folks filing out of church services without a mask among them. As the institutional church continues to accelerate its free-fall, people from all walks of life are asking the adherents: Just what is your attitude towards the most vulnerable, the least of these? If you really cared about anyone other than yourself, would reasonable precautions really be all that inconvenient? Is this congregation Jesusonian or Luciferian?
Right now Co-Vid variants are rising as vigilance is falling. You don’t need to be an epidemiologist to understand that increased mutations of the virus are wholly dependent upon increased replication. Those refusing to mitigate the spread are in no way helping. While this simple fact may be rejected by the most self-absorbed, it is fortunate that the surgical team performing life- saving procedures on such shrinking hearts, cares enough about others to wear masks when a chest gets cracked open.
Epidemiologists use an investigative methodology that includes certain essential questions called the 5 W’s: diagnosis or health event (what), person (who), place (where), time (when), plus the causes, risk factors, and modes of transmission that inform them as to the (why/how). Although many of the so-called “superspreader” events occurred before very much was known about SARS- CoV-2, one otherwise blessed event, a wedding in Maine, was linked to at least 170 cases and seven deaths.
At a soccer game in Madrid, a crowd of 45,792 people arrived at the stadium in cars, trains, and buses. They waved, whooped, and cheered and then headed to local bars; later on getting back into those cars, trains, and buses. As many as 7,000 Covid-19 infections were traced back to the event that experts now call “Game Zero” as it occurred two days before nearby Italy had its first confirmed case of the virus.
At a conference in Boston, Biogen held a meeting of 175 corporate executives. They gathered for buffets, cocktails, and networking at Boston’s Marriott Long Wharf hotel. The attendees then returned home, taking the virus to six states, the District of Columbia, and three other countries. 219 people were hospitalized and there were 25 deaths traced to the event.
A five-day prayer meeting at a church in Mulhouse, France was attended by 2,500 people. In Corsica, 263 cases and 21 deaths were traced to attendees who had flown home after the prayer event. Traceable cases were seen throughout, Europe and Africa.
A Connecticut socialite celebrated her 40th birthday with more than 50 guests from around the world. As guests returned home and their daily lives, one attended an event with 420 other people. Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey became Covid-19 hotspots shortly thereafter.
While those events occurring early in the pandemic may be excused as clear patterns were few and far between, there was fully disseminated, actionable intelligence, prior to what happened during the late summer in Harrisonburg Virginia. In September of 2020, a class called Problem Solving Approaches in Science and Technology was held in a ballroom at James Madison University. It was standing room only. JMU had started in-person classes without requiring testing for any of its 20,000 undergraduates. 772 students and faculty were infected.
It may seem strange that such a spread would occur during a class titled Problem Solving Approaches in Science and Technology it’s even more ironic when one considers the most popular majors at JMU are within the category of health sciences. While the University Website states: ”Our students think critically,” it is unfortunately clear that certain administrators do not.
In early April of 2021 the People’s Church in Salem Oregon conducted four indoor, shoulder to shoulder church services on Easter Sunday. A few days later Oregon’s health authority was investigating a potential CoVid outbreak at the Salem church. It is now regarded as one of the state’s largest workplace outbreaks with 74 cases attributed to the Easter Sunday events.
Scott Erickson, holds the title of Senior Pastor for the affected church. It was one of ten litigant churches in Oregon that together filed a lawsuit in May of 2020 asking a Circuit Court to issue a temporary restraining order blocking Oregon Governor Kate Brown from enforcing stay-at-home executive regulations that limited church gatherings to 25 persons or less.
Erickson said his decision to keep the church open was based upon the words of Jesus when he said: ‘I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.’ Of course Jesus also said the Kingdom of Heaven is within you and his definition of pastoral care: to lead, guide, feed, comfort and protect the people, by teaching and and example, was very different from that of those that display such a thin veneer of religiosity. The idea of “pastoral care” suggests that pastors are to care.