How an atlanta church fought covid-19 early on​​

By mid-February 2020, before the U.S. documented a single case of COVID-19, he encouraged church members to watch the documentary and “pay close attention to … how that flu hit all seven

continents.” He monitored statements from the World Health Organization and relied on information from Harris-McBride and Lonon to track the virus’s progression. “I’d ask LeBrentha and

Benita, ‘What are you seeing?’ ” Mack says. On March 13, 2020, President Trump declared COVID-19 a national emergency. Two days later, Atlanta’s mayor signed an executive order banning

gatherings of 250 people or more. That Sunday, Grace Place held its last meeting before going virtual. Mack delivered a sermon titled Coron-No-Know Virus, to call attention to the fact that

there was little information about the quickly spreading pandemic and “because we don’t know what this is going to be, but we pray that it doesn’t grow any bigger,” Mack says. “After that

sermon I became very intentional about messages around the virus.”  FIGHTING COVID MISINFORMATION   From the beginning, the pastor addressed speculation and rumors about COVID-19, treatments

and, eventually, vaccinations head-on. He took stances that weren’t always popular, including sticking with online services to keep people safe. In fact, the church still meets virtually.

Every Zoom worship was an opportunity to talk about COVID-19 and its dangers. And Mack was able to combat misinformation he says he heard on conference calls with some local clergymen, who

were reading religious significance into virus developments, continuing to hold in-person services or presiding over funerals where large groups gathered. “The virus was being politicized,

spiritualized and theorized,” he says. His goal, he says, was to constantly evaluate new information with the congregation. Those conversations took the form of, “Let’s look at this. Let’s

weigh this to see what merit this has.” With his own congregation, the pastor says, he tried to focus on a middle path — no extremes. “I was really proud of our congregation in the way that

they responded to this.” Lonon recalls having to counter disinformation that fueled vaccine hesitancy. “They would always throw the conspiracy theory in your face,” she says. “ ‘Remember

Tuskegee?’ ” Lonon says she felt confident in listening and responding, providing data about the numbers of Black Americans who received vaccine doses without suffering negative effects.

“They’re not being injected with anything that’s harmful,” she says she told parishioners who had questions. Simply having those conversations in a respectful way often made people

reconsider getting a COVID vaccine, she says.