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Year Four, Day 324: Pandemic Times Day 73, "Stay Home - Stay Safe" Day 60: The Church is Essentially the People



Hello Friends!


Today is day 60 of  "Stay Home - Stay Safe" here in Washington.



Amazing. 2 months of quarantine. And the virus still rages.

I've been blogging daily since the coronavirus was declared a pandemic. On 3/27/2020 there were 93,105 known cases of covid-19 and 1,516 deaths in the US. Here's a link to my blog on that date:
https://soulrunnings.blogspot.com/2020/03/year-four-day-267-pandemic-times-day-16.html

Today there are 1,647,782 cases and 97,036 deaths in our country.  In a little over a month there are 1,554,677 more cases and 95,520 more deaths related to this pandemic.

Numbers put it into perspective, no?

I have lost a few friends and family online (at least FB followers) who claim these figures are not accurate and call me a "brainwashed, liberal democrat".  Especially since I took a stand on the opening of churches this weekend.  President Trump deemed churches "essential" and ordered them to open at once. He threatened to override the mandates from the governors of individual states.

Thankfully many churches are pushing back and most of them have declared they will put the health and safety of their parishinors first. One of my pastor friends on FB, declared that "Of course we are essential! That's why we've been worshipping, serving and caring throughout this pandemic...just not in our buildings!"

AMEN! I'm not sure who to give credit for this quote, so forgive me!

I feel very strongly about churches taking time to make sure they are able to hold services in a way that will not jeopardize their people.  There are so many passages from the Bible about taking care of each other, but here is a lovely passage from Galations: 

Galatians 6:10 English Standard Version (ESV)

10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

And I absolutely love what this pastor from Chicago said on a video that has now gone viral:

“We’re not coming back to church until the Lord — the righteous judge — sweeps me up out of my sleep and says it’s time to come back to the building,” Sharpe said during his sermon on Sunday, May 17. “The church is still open. The building is closed. We’re still doing ministry every week, but we will not return into this building until the Lord himself wakes me up out of my sleep, slaps me three times, pours water from heaven on my face and warms my feet with the fire of the Holy Ghost, and I have no choice but to jump out of my bed and say, ‘Yes, God!’ You don’t have to call us, you don’t have to email me, you don’t have to DM me. We ain’t coming back up in here until it is absolutely safe.” ~Pastor Reginald W. Sharpe Jr. Senior Pastor of Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois.
https://rollingout.com/2020/05/23/pastor-goes-viral-after-preaching-church-is-still-open-but-building-is-closed/


I need to close now. I am needed upstairs to babysit my granddaughter.

Be safe. Be healthy. Be positive. Be blessed!

Talk to you tomorrow.

Love,

ZIta

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