I haven't been to church since March and won'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.

Love it when someone cartwheels into the mentions to immediately prove your point

I don'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'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't undermine your point!

Church isn't just prayer and sermons. (I can pray at home, and my 7yo has gotten pretty good at sermonizing to us on Sundays.) It's about community. And for some, it's the only regular source of peace/hope. That's not a reason to reopen before it's safe—just worth keeping in mind