Coronavirus data is readily available in the news. For example, Italy has more than 5,800 cases and 233 were fatal. That’s an increase of 800 cases and 49 deaths over the day before. In response, the government locked down 16 million people. In the Italian church world, the Pope did not do a large gathering in St. Peter’s Square. Instead, he live-streamed his Sunday prayer—for the first time ever.
Closer to home, the crisis is emerging. As of Sunday morning, March 8—and note that time stamp as things rapidly change:
- There are 470 cases in 32 states, 100 of those in New York alone.
- Amtrak canceled nonstop service between New York and Washington D.C.
- South by Southwest was cancelled in Austin for 100,000 people.
Church may have gone as usual this week, but what about next week? China and Italy adopted the quarantine strategy; will the US do the same? In the next fourteen days we may likely see quarantines of cities or states.
In the first week of our online course on “Coronavirus and Church” we looked at the facts and basic prevention tactics that a church can take (if you enroll in the course, you can watch the video).
In the second class of “Coronavirus and Church” we will look at strategies in dealing with the emerging crisis. There will be an update on some new safety strategies for churches, but most of our time will be on strategies for handling the crisis and resulting issues—like a possible quarantine.
I’m devoting most of my time to helping churches with coronavirus strategies—facility issues, communion and offering issues, safety and quarantine issues, and lots more. The “Coronavirus and Church” course is a 5-week walk with me through the process—join the course and get online time, email time and new resources as they emerge.
