Going beyond letter of law

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This article was published 24/05/2021 (1941 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In the midst of climbing case counts, anti-mask demonstrations and a low uptake of vaccinations, one Christian church in Winkler has quietly but consistently walked the straight and narrow path.

Located a few kilometres east of Boundary Trails Health Centre, where medical personnel are struggling with a surge in COVID-19 cases, the people of Emmanuel Mennonite Church are committed to keeping their southern Manitoba community of 13,000 as safe as possible.

“We’d like to follow the spirit of the law, not simply the letter of it, so we’re not trying to find loopholes and backdoor ways of gathering,” said Corey Hildebrand, pastor of family ministries at the 300-member congregation.

“We’re trying to see this time as opportunity rather than a threat and (see the rules) as helpful guidelines to keep us safe versus restrictions and telling us what to do.”

Hildebrand’s congregation is affiliated with Mennonite Church Manitoba, a denomination considered the least conservative among Mennonites.

In the early days of the pandemic, Hildebrand and other church leaders consulted some of the congregation’s 25 or so medical professionals, including five doctors, asking their opinions as scientists on how to deal with COVID-19, and what might be the safest way to proceed.

They made the swift pivot to online worship with a recorded service on March 15, 2020, just when Manitobans were first beginning to see the effects of the novel coronavirus.

Since then, the church has met in person only a few times, opening briefly last summer when case levels were down and provincial guidelines allowed up to 30 per cent capacity, provided people were seated two metres apart.

“We didn’t want to be a church that just complied, but exceeded restrictions,” said Hildebrand. “For a time, we were the only church (in Winkler) that wasn’t meeting. And that was hard.”

After a second consultation with medical professionals, Hildebrand said the congregation decided to continue live-streaming instead of reopening when religious institutions were allowed to have smaller gatherings earlier this year, fearing case numbers would rise again with the projected third wave.

“We took a fair bit of heat for that,” said Hildebrand, recalling talk on the street his congregation was afraid.

“We were not afraid actually. We were trying to be good neighbours.”

That neighbourliness extended to offering rides to people with appointments at the vaccination supersite in Morden, about 11 kilometres west on a busy four-lane highway. Not many folks took them up on that offer, perhaps due to reluctance to get into a car driven by someone outside of their household bubble, or because they didn’t want to get vaccinated.

“We just don’t want it to be a barrier,” Hildebrand said of the distance to the vaccination centre in an area with no public transportation.

This week, the people of Emmanuel Mennonite Church plan to take their support for public health measures and vaccinations more public, offering free ice cream Wednesday to an estimated 500 front-line workers in Winkler. Scheduled to take place from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., Hildebrand intends this drive-thru giveaway of packaged treats on the church parking lot to show support to the people who have been risking their own health to help others.

“Not that a free ice cream really matters, but we just want people to know they matter,” said Hildebrand.

One of the congregation’s doctors appreciated how church leaders reached out to consult early in the pandemic instead of waiting for doctors to weigh in.

“I think having that support from our faith community is so important and it’s one less thing to stress about and allows us to do our jobs,” said Dr. David Chudley, a Winkler family practitioner who also takes shifts in Winnipeg’s intensive care units.

“They didn’t choose the popular route but did what is the most loving thing by protecting people.”

Blessed with about 20 Christian churches, including Mennonites, Baptists, Lutherans and others without any denominational affiliation, the religious perspectives in Winkler are diverse and varied, said Rev. James Peters, an executive member of Winkler and District Ministerial.

“By far the majority of churches are following the guidelines to do the best they can without reproach,” said Peters, congregational care pastor at Winkler Evangelical Mennonite Mission Church, a congregation of 600.

Since May 2, Peters’ church has added the option of drive-in services on Sunday mornings. Previously, the church livestreamed their services and opened their doors when religious services were permitted.

Peters declined to comment on the practice of any specific church, saying only different churches “have a wide range of responses.”

As a lifelong resident of Winkler, Hildebrand understands the diversity inside his community in a way not always reflected in recent media coverage about vaccine hesitancy and anti-mask rallies.

Compared to the rest of the province, Winkler and the surrounding R.M. of Stanley have a low percentage of people vaccinated against COVID-19. Last week, the province appointed Cordella Friesen, originally from Niverville, to meet with faith groups in southern Manitoba as part of her work with the Manitoba vaccine implementation task force.

Hildebrand would prefer reframing the conversation away from polarization to one of proximity, where people closer to a situation may understand it better than those further away.

“I try never to make it me versus them,” said Hildebrand. “I try to lean in and ask why and ask the right questions.”

He hopes those questions result in new understanding of perspectives within Winkler, and a willingness to move forward together once pandemic restrictions ease.

“It comes down to me putting my own preferences aside so I can be the best neighbour in my community,” said Hildebrand.

brenda@suderman.com 

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