I would like to acknowledge Pastor Tom Walters of Word of Life Church for his willingness to graciously accept and respond to criticism for his decision to hold worship services this past Sunday (“Hempfield church pastor apologizes for open services on Sunday,” March 23, TribLIVE). He certainly does not deserve some of the hate-filled reactions that he received. This is uncharted territory for all of us.
Beyond the decision to hold worship services, I disagree with Walters’ assertion that the admonition of our government and our leaders “could possibly be, disguised in everything else, a direct attack on the church.” Churches were never listed as one of the many organizations and institutions that were required to close. To say that the government mandate is somehow an attack on the church is to suggest that the government is also launching a direct attack on restaurants, retail establishments and other small businesses.
The pain here is being suffered by all. The church is not being treated unfairly or being asked to suffer in a way that others are not being asked to suffer. There are certainly times when the church should push back against external forces. This is not one of them.
It is not about the numbers or the cause of death, as Walters suggests. If I had a chance to end death from car accidents by not gathering as a church family for a couple of weeks, I would do it. If I could end abortion by not holding worship services in a physical location for a month, I would do it. The fact is, we have, through a series of very reasonable and modest responses, an opportunity to end death from this virus.
It doesn’t matter whether it is one death or 100,000 deaths. We can, in fact, defeat death from this virus in a short period of time if we are all willing to do our part.
The Rev. Bob Ellson
Mt. Pleasant