I haven& #39;t been to church since March and won& #39;t be going back for a while. But I think the current Twitter discourse would benefit from a bit more charity and understanding from those telling people of faith they must forego this part of their lives indefinitely.
I don& #39;t want churches recklessly reopened either. And the performative culture-warring from all the usual suspects who are cynically seizing on this issue is exhausting. There& #39;s no point in trying to engage with that.
But so much of the analysis on here carries a whiff of condescension. As with a lot of the COVID discourse, a little humility goes a long way. Acknowledging that you may not fully understand how difficult this particular sacrifice is for some folks doesn& #39;t undermine your point!
Church isn& #39;t just prayer and sermons. (I can pray at home, and my 7yo has gotten pretty good at sermonizing to us on Sundays.) It& #39;s about community. And for some, it& #39;s the only regular source of peace/hope. That& #39;s not a reason to reopen before it& #39;s safe—just worth keeping in mind