Physician calls for halt to in-person worship services

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This article was published 03/11/2020 (2152 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg doctor is calling on local places of worship not to meet while the city is under code red COVID-19 restrictions.

Dr. Tim Hiebert, who specializes in internal medicine at Health Sciences Centre and in palliative care, said even though places of worship can meet at greatly reduced capacity, they should cancel all in-person services.

In a Facebook post addressed to “fellow Christians living in Manitoba,” he says as a Christian and doctor he feels “duty bound” to make such a plea.

Hiebert, who attends River East Church, a Mennonite Brethren congregation in Winnipeg, noted the province currently has a soaring rate of COVID-19 infection and “mass indoor gatherings carry a significant risk of transmission.”

Places of worship continue to be “a significant risk for virus transmission and subsequent outbreak. In fact, Christian churches have been the source of multiple outbreaks both in North America and globally,” he said.

He acknowledges the majority of places of worship in Manitoba are following guidelines and restrictions set out by the province, but state “these steps do not eliminate the risk of spreading the virus.”

Hiebert, one of the organizers behind a recent letter sent to Premier Brian Pallister by more than 200 physicians and academics about the crisis in Manitoba, said he doesn’t think enough congregations understand how dangerous the situation is, and what their responsibility as people of faith should be.

“We should be looking out for the best interest of others,” he said, adding “the most vulnerable people in society are at greatest risk from the virus.”

This concern for others is not only a core Christian value, he noted, but a major tenet of other religions as well.

The province says groups can gather at 15 per cent occupancy or 100 people, whichever is smaller. However, congregations can “choose to follow the minimum standard or choose to do more,” Hiebert said.

At least two denominations are urging their Winnipeg congregations to do more.

Geoff Woodcroft, bishop of the Diocese of Rupert’s Land, sent a note to Anglican churches in the city, urging them to end in-person worship services during the code red period, “Thereby limiting the negative impact upon our own health, the health of our families and equally important the health and welfare of all of our fellow citizens.”

“This is an appropriate faith-based response to the situation we now find ourselves in,” Woodcroft wrote.

Mennonite Church Manitoba is also “strongly suggesting an end to all (Winnipeg) in-person gatherings during code red,” said interim executive minister Rick Neufeld.

Other groups, such as the Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches in Manitoba and the Manitoba Islamic Association, are meeting this week on the issue.

For those who feel in-person services are best, Hiebert noted even health-care professionals, who use the best protective equipment and take the most extreme precautions, are contracting the coronavirus. Wearing a mask does reduce transmission of the virus, but there is still a risk when people are together for a prolonged period of time, he said.

“God calls us to love and care for our neighbours,” he added. “That is more important than what we want for ourselves.

“Right now, that means worshipping physically separated and coming up with creative ways to support each other and the many hurting people around us… God is not confined by our format of worship.”

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