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Ok, time for my promised list naming and shaming any churches in #ManateeCounty who are still holding services on Easter at this point. I'm going to be going down the Manatee Chamber of Commerce list of houses of worship.
Hopefully this is a short thread. https://www.manateechamber.com/houses-of-worship/
Hopefully this is a short thread. https://www.manateechamber.com/houses-of-worship/
A lot of these smaller churches have zero internet presence, but so far the small ones who do have web presence are livestreaming on their Facebook pages or doing church by conference call.
I'm also discovering just how many local churches have rebranded with more "hip" sounding names in recent years. A lot of the Chamber of Commerce list I'm only finding by searching phone numbers.
Revelation Church is meeting in person. They were meeting at the AMC theater--when theaters closed, instead of taking a hint they moved outside. Not only that, the announcement post says kids will be playing together in the house
https://www.facebook.com/RevelationChurchAG/posts/843112472832114?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARDzsVZUxIjBxRbtnnR_pPRTV-ANoNQ_W-xmQHClSXGF4_bNiot0m7XYELE7A-5UAyJzjj1ZkP_HR19D-ofD7CYsaKAAi3LKE_XQ4qMwdyJHnUaLa-44As3qff_6AmYU4Q0BUsQ8bTSPrLNov3D8gfGO2YAw_ITt0RSQ_0nk70N4caPZDYl2lZIAr-KtGic2gPwwCaoy8wwnvrSboJPKiYFh1oD9s6PkBUzkhp5n-W3yf8IFyWDtZ-C6QwBaJs8mR_iBfHnlWkU7gMtHjBYpeYkIWBgefXSUkkCQtS1XwhRr5FDoNmtO9we2piMe6lXJQ9LqYGqK0YPzZsCH2AdjQqU&__tn__=-R
https://www.facebook.com/RevelationChurchAG/
https://www.facebook.com/RevelationChurchAG/posts/843112472832114?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARDzsVZUxIjBxRbtnnR_pPRTV-ANoNQ_W-xmQHClSXGF4_bNiot0m7XYELE7A-5UAyJzjj1ZkP_HR19D-ofD7CYsaKAAi3LKE_XQ4qMwdyJHnUaLa-44As3qff_6AmYU4Q0BUsQ8bTSPrLNov3D8gfGO2YAw_ITt0RSQ_0nk70N4caPZDYl2lZIAr-KtGic2gPwwCaoy8wwnvrSboJPKiYFh1oD9s6PkBUzkhp5n-W3yf8IFyWDtZ-C6QwBaJs8mR_iBfHnlWkU7gMtHjBYpeYkIWBgefXSUkkCQtS1XwhRr5FDoNmtO9we2piMe6lXJQ9LqYGqK0YPzZsCH2AdjQqU&__tn__=-R
https://www.facebook.com/RevelationChurchAG/
Theoretically, Revelation Church could have had outside church while maintaining distancing, but having the kids playing together in the house while the adults have a service outside throws any social distancing out the window. They're endangering people. https://www.facebook.com/RevelationChurchAG/
Welp, @mybayshorecc is having church in the parking lot. The pastor is justifying it because DeSantis irresponsibly exempted churches. This is incredibly dangerous, if people were staying in cars it would be ok, but elsewhere on FB they say bring chairs. https://www.facebook.com/mybayshorecc/posts/1412235195623147?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARAaFgvw3FQ0C8dBWeguy7JSN0Afjof0PSih8g2IdE71yyUNl7pM6SsKxT9s099FOpKJx_FZEyF_-MXE43F9MLDroTHyLb-5cozpZKUrTzb4b1S5ur-WD6mUQgL6y1r49-KmWTxhtRwIUhIxtgM_w500Jyw6Ppak97wyVU4n-6q09cfW4rZnwbFsbBKLjtOb8DZ3eC0bJHDs7hSGGND8odrzPRkS9x3xoGoCfW0mrFaeXyBzbI6MfIiY1ugDULCj16pXHznYmyI4pK6O_bFQOgDO3yRu6aJIbf09dP-S1yA4w96HA0Lse_7OudNgaMCxe1HS5ol-_Wg2i0kwCosf9ibxOASdhA1qQpvJ5g&__tn__=-R
I'm going to jump in here before continuing just to say that there's nowhere in the Bible that it says pastors should kill their members by turning worship into a plague vector. A number of the laws in Leviticus are specifically about isolating people to not spread disease.
It would be so easy for these churches who are holding parking lot services to make them drive-in services where people stay in their cars, and some of the churches I've come across are doing just that. The ones that are refusing to do so are just being irresponsible.
Cortez Road Baptist Church is still open. They say to stay home if you're sick, but otherwise, "Come pray for this fear stricken world." So far, more IFB churches than not seem to be open.
https://www.facebook.com/cortezroadbaptist/posts/3113060712051599?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARDDJFdoCLOYl-mX2Eg9ZsuXEdBXu0aL91nf68J-CyiDaijKhKA-ySl1FCZ6PrrQlogpNIsug2EMW5heT177xmv8K6QgA9XhmNQzLaRRRp_7KMsJvKncRzTLOH9VAWmoTg83qDpfAbLeQ_jnq7ADdo3n65A_shUIsrurriEYOYla0nwUofMJTOV_lDqcNYs9D7g0M0lCs6rrIx3MwLGzLCEfpqBWSQNr6eNB2na1NwH-OHKnodV_TUKJjHxoSm0fMykc8YLCFqptXag3rmMkt327DcsvEh2OTCyIXtINCjDrt7xY2PWP34ZJe_b4ywh7qPNz_pHzbX1Kz5HI8O0TmA&__tn__=-R
https://www.facebook.com/cortezroadbaptist/posts/3113060712051599?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARDDJFdoCLOYl-mX2Eg9ZsuXEdBXu0aL91nf68J-CyiDaijKhKA-ySl1FCZ6PrrQlogpNIsug2EMW5heT177xmv8K6QgA9XhmNQzLaRRRp_7KMsJvKncRzTLOH9VAWmoTg83qDpfAbLeQ_jnq7ADdo3n65A_shUIsrurriEYOYla0nwUofMJTOV_lDqcNYs9D7g0M0lCs6rrIx3MwLGzLCEfpqBWSQNr6eNB2na1NwH-OHKnodV_TUKJjHxoSm0fMykc8YLCFqptXag3rmMkt327DcsvEh2OTCyIXtINCjDrt7xY2PWP34ZJe_b4ywh7qPNz_pHzbX1Kz5HI8O0TmA&__tn__=-R
As an aside, a lot of churches in this town really need to update their websites. So many of them haven't been touched in at least two years.
See this? This is the right way for a fundamentalist church to look at their own theology and recognize that they need to follow CDC recommendations and stop meeting in person. They get a cookie for exercising common sense. https://www.evangelbaptistchurch.com/covid-19-response/
I don't want to give the impression that almost every fundamentalist church in this town is staying open, a lot of them have closed and some are doing extra things like an Easter hunt from the car, but the ones who are staying open are exercising terrible logic.
So far all the Southern Baptists seem to have closed, and most of them actually updated their websites. Looks like the SBC canceling the annual convention really made the whole thing sink in for Southern Baptists.
Suncoast Baptist, and IFB church in Palmetto, is hiding behind the First Amendment and claiming not holding services would be disobeying the Bible. This is not about obeying the Bible, it's about not killing your members. https://www.facebook.com/sbcpalmetto/videos/1574070146091097/?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARBUWinp4MIqDlL7GdHzewG6PG0NnI3sztR_3zQxoqAK93ijrIFhSRVNJchyffZaGMQt7sSVyXtlsV1pRISsc0sd54MmGCkVlqhXby_0SSk2C_xF9NFR3f_l9TQeWV86-yUBa7oJbhQJqOxiqUtmF8IdWq8Vv-Zhk599euq8cF_GSRcgKUKiOvj61b4k4pkQoDkAPKGWc5njFE7ot7WehU_kBUjhsZ8XHvu_B97dqXdvk1G3aZ3E2bedNogXorKsM8xMX4hfM0BLiQXL0UwjPu2A_JxAeOrOoZBz5R2XnnQq9o9w6I_Oo1fLJ5uDAIsZmWfBM3hYw8EuU0l36qAIfdcpPxtEGid7QhwCgA&__tn__=-R
As of their latest update on March 18, Cortez Church of Christ is still holding Sunday services. They also shared someone's FB post arguing that the, "where two or more are gathered in my name," verse doesn't mean you don't have to hold church services.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2421501948160791&id=1603591746618486&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARBDgJ6-FT1piDFGOT7TWu6jJEWVsHHgdWTng3mO0UtmY-rKJjnNSfPL8e_VwPVLDX4hzWyfyO9KYEuTLkUm7s0UmSKFztuo56phZGbQWiBmBQu-ipkzmCVRv6bQ-slOaxxjYFhvfxWlD0HXEHcrSbPwqgZKjkL0XcEij66ncLybVKmC66-NUnZp_2ARJYcdGbDVVyCFbtyOnsZwG4Mbsgp7zGqsoRDZ7JuPSoJII6pdHBmCg6ow_lZErhRaZQKWbLJwsReC_N9US0UV9GBpuF_e0Oi5MNcxWvqdnBlcXqrVt37m1nwbjbvZ7pHw3LjYTi-a5so7SvZD7uZFUkiFkJEY&__tn__=-R
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2421501948160791&id=1603591746618486&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARBDgJ6-FT1piDFGOT7TWu6jJEWVsHHgdWTng3mO0UtmY-rKJjnNSfPL8e_VwPVLDX4hzWyfyO9KYEuTLkUm7s0UmSKFztuo56phZGbQWiBmBQu-ipkzmCVRv6bQ-slOaxxjYFhvfxWlD0HXEHcrSbPwqgZKjkL0XcEij66ncLybVKmC66-NUnZp_2ARJYcdGbDVVyCFbtyOnsZwG4Mbsgp7zGqsoRDZ7JuPSoJII6pdHBmCg6ow_lZErhRaZQKWbLJwsReC_N9US0UV9GBpuF_e0Oi5MNcxWvqdnBlcXqrVt37m1nwbjbvZ7pHw3LjYTi-a5so7SvZD7uZFUkiFkJEY&__tn__=-R
Most of the Churches of Christ churches in Manatee County don't have internet presence, but of those who do, Cortez Church of Christ is the only one who has not made a decision to cancel all services.
