Panic Response

Below is the latest news in the ongoing saga of Coronamadness in the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia. It arrived yesterday by email in the form of an “urgent update” from Bishop Susan Haynes.

Short version: they’re shutting down public worship in churches again because they’re afraid of the Omicron variant. Since the Omicron is widely acknowledged, even by regime organs such as the CDC, to be nothing worse than a bad cold, this Covid nonsense has reached a new level of madness. It is full Corona Psychosis.

Some people may have a bad cold, so no one may go to church. Since when has that been the institutional response to a normal winter season of respiratory viruses? Up until February of 2020, if people had symptoms of a cold or flu, they stayed home from church, out of respect for elderly members of the congregation and those who might be at risk. Now everybody without symptoms has to stay home. And there doesn’t have to be a single person with symptoms in the area — all it takes is a single positive “test”, which even St. Fauci has more or less acknowledged is useless at detecting the Wuhan Coronavirus. But the bishop, in her infinite wisdom, has determined that the rate of “statewide positivity” requires good Christians to stay home.

According to Bishop Susan it is a “Christian imperative” to “mitigat[e] the risk of COVID transmission” by shutting everyone up in their houses and not allowing them to mingle in Christian fellowship. The faithful are being trained to regard their fellow human beings as deadly enemies who must be avoided. What kind of Christianity is that?

The bishop, however, has graciously granted parishes the right to appeal for an exemption to the new policy. Among the usual conditions — masks, social distancing — imposed upon those churches allowed a limited reopening is a requirement that “contact tracing be assured”. That is, if you want to attend church, you will have to give your contact details to the block warden so that the Bureau of Corona Enforcement can track you down if you are determined to be unclean.

It used to be that Christians were asked to place their trust in God, but now they are ordered to place their trust in Science — their new god. And a false one, in my opinion.

By the way — this comes after virtually every Episcopalian who still attends church has been injected with the miracle mRNA cure that was supposed to end all this rigmarole. It didn’t quite work out as expected, did it?

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Consider the larger institutional ramifications of the diocesan decision. I assume that Bishop Susan is being instructed by the ECUSA — the Covid Vatican for Episcopalians all across the country — and that most dioceses are following a similar policy.

When people don’t go to church, they don’t put any money in the collection plate. I’m sure that most churches send out emails begging parishioners to send checks (or better yet, use electronic contact-free means to transfer money) to the church. However, if their congregations are like my little dissident group that meets for worship in a private home, the pleas for cash will mostly fall on deaf ears.

And of all those people who have disgustedly stayed away from the limited, sanitary, “safe” services, how many will never return to church? For my part, I’ve lost interest in corporate Episcopal worship after all the rampant stupidity. Even in the unlikely event that the diocesan satraps regain their sanity, I can’t imagine ever returning. How many others feel the same way?

By now there must be a huge budget shortfall in the Diocese of Southern Virginia, given the lack of donations. I don’t have any actual fiscal data, but I assume the Winter Palace has had to terminate programs and lay off staff and/or cut them to part time.

The bishop’s actions will eventually lead to a situation where the diocese can’t meet its salary obligations to her. But she doesn’t seem to care. Covideology is more important, and takes precedence over everything else, including institutional survival.

I assume that Presbyterians, Lutherans, and Methodists are behaving in a similar fashion. If so, it would appear that mainstream Protestantism in the United States is in the process of committing institutional suicide.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

The full text of the bishop’s message is below:

Pandemic Response: Urgent Update

As the pace of coronavirus transmission accelerates, driven by the omicron and delta variants, safeguarding public health and mitigating the risk of COVID transmission becomes a Christian imperative. Accordingly: Effective immediately public worship is suspended in the Diocese of Southern Virginia. Individual parishes may, if desired, request an exception to enable gathering for worship so long as appropriate protocols are implemented.

Mindful that statewide positivity now exceeds 25% and the number of coronavirus cases per 100,000 people exceeds 150, the Health Advisory Panel deems this course change essential. The rapidity with which the virus is spreading is breathtaking. Emergency Rooms are at or beyond capacity and are requesting that patients not come unless critically ill. Those patients who do visit ERs and Urgent Care facilities are facing extended wait times. Some must be transported across state lines to receive necessary care. Our health system is quaking, and our health care workers are overburdened. Unvaccinated people are extraordinarily vulnerable to the spread of the virus, and asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic people are unwitting spreaders. Breakthrough cases remind us that even the vaccinated may be vulnerable. Consequently, suspension of worship until further notice is necessary.

Requests for exceptions to the suspension may be submitted to Canon Roy Hoffman at rhoffman@diosova.org. Any such request will be evaluated on a parish by parish basis, but at minimum must require that masks be worn, physical distance be maintained, and contact tracing be assured. Parishes requesting an exception should document local transmission rates and their impact on local hospitals and urgent care facilities.

Our baptismal covenant to seek and serve Christ in all persons and respect the dignity of every human being is central to our commitment as Christians and lies at the heart of our response to the threat the pandemic poses. Together, we can and must do our part, trusting that “those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

28 thoughts on “Panic Response

  1. Many of those churches have endowments from wealthy parishioners who left their fortunes to the church in their wills. They don’t need to pass the offering plate and they say “Good riddance” when conservative members of their congregations break away.

  2. In part psychotic… in part, some cannot let go of an emergency that has provided a framework for their lives…

    Absurdistan.

  3. The fellowship that we attend, Calvary Chapel Chino Hills has grown to the extent that a fourth service had to be added. Those who attend the services online, my household for one due to inabilities to remain seated for extended periods of time, now encompass the globe.
    This is not to boast but to point out the results of our commitment in putting Jesus Christ and His Word first in all things. We are going through the Book of Romans on Sunday morning and Hebrews on Wednesday evenings and we all sit at His feet during these times and learn of Him.
    The founder, Chuck Smith, was a FourSquare pastor who decided it was better to minister the Truth of the Word of God rather than someone else’s doctrine. Having been a Foursquare member back in my dismal past, I couldn’t agree with him more.
    So a Blessed New Year to one and all and maybe we will hear the sound of the last trump (and no not him! you don’t want to know what the Abrahamic Accords nearly accomplished).

    • Yes, I know. But there isn’t an Orthodox church within 50 miles of here. It’d be a long commute.

      • Read the reply of the guy who watches Calvary Chapel Chino Hills. Jack Hibbs teaching is “like butta”. I hope you know what that means. Ha. Just get his app REAL LIFE or his sermons are also on YouTube.

  4. Here in New Zealand my spouse has been advised by the higher ups that, since my spouse has declined the Pfizer jab, my spouse may not continue as Vicar of our Anglican parish. We got less than a week’s warning when the government changed the rules. It probably saved us a lot of trouble, as most of our local church leadership were demanding not only double-vaxxed only people at services but double-masked too.

    We’re in the process of moving out out the vicarage. As far as I know my spouse may be the only Priest in the country to resist the plutocracy, certainly the only priest in our Diocese. So with a week’s notice we lose our income, house, church and one or two friends we thought we had.

    Perhaps the most surprising thing to me, given our obvious sacrifice, is that out of all the people we are in contact with, only one person has even asked us why we are declining the jab. It seems that people are so conditioned by media and government organs (but I repeat myself) that anyone who is against the jab is a conspiracy theorist and not to be listened to. This attitude hasn’t been helped by the head of NZ’s Interchurch Bioethics Committee saying that the only reasons for not getting jabbed are literally “conspiracy theories”.

    Despite having written out my list of reasons for declining the jab, no-one is even interested in hearing them. Briefly they are: the illness is so mild the jab is unnecessary; the jabs are unsafe; the jabs are ineffective; and the jabs are immoral (associations with aborted tissue).

    In addition Dr Robert Malone, in his very interesting podcast with Jo Rogan, noted those who are pre-diabetic (like me) are between 2-4 times more likely to suffer adverse events from the jab. Additionally NZ’s top specialist on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome says its sufferers should be exempt the jab as we are more likely to get ill and to die. Alas the government here simply dismissed the concerns with CFS sufferers without any reasons being given: “you’ll just be worse off if you catch covid”.

    Aren’t we glad we have our dear God!

    • First problem is you joined a heretic church, bloody anglicant’s. Second anything goes, women are priests with their feelings. Thirdly, if the people are so stupid and brainwashed, they effing deserve what they get, they are sheep for the slaughter thus no sympathy nor empathy. Time to move elsewhere. Deo Volente!

        • Tolerance is the last virtue of a dying society Marky ole boy. Rough very nasty people such as myself are why you get to sleep peacefully in your bed at night all tucked away with your rainbows and unicorn dreams.

  5. Here in New York the churches have used the Chi Com Fauci Flu as an excuse to get rid of community groups like AA and NA and even Bingo that was so loved by our seniors.

    Without a doubt the Catholic Church is the worse- absolutely no mercy, no humanity, no decency. Our local parish priest couldn’t wait to throw out our AA group in March, 2020 and we have not been allowed back since. I have written to the Cardinal’s office about our situation and they refuse to help.

    This pastor is a sociopath and I believe he serves Satan. I have sent him many letters with quotes from the Bible where Jesus talks about love and charity for the sick and suffering. Doesn’t matter to this creep. The last time he actually spoke to me on the phone, I asked him why he refused to let our group back in the room we had used. He laughed and said it was” because he’s a mean SOB” then he hung up on me.

    The churches in this part of New York seem to have plenty of money. It is never a consideration for them. They don’t care how many parishioners they lose.

    They are now the enforcers for the Government. Whatever Caesar says, goes.

  6. Bishops are nice, but far from essential.

    When the lose their mojo, that fervor that keeps them more afraid for their eternal soul that prioritizing the temporary body in the face of just another disease, they cease to have any worth.

    When the clergy build careers based on the fabrication that their leadership is critical to having a relationship with god, perhaps they are the faithless needing our leadership?

          • Of course the whole concrpt of a bishop as a kind of senior manager or head of department is unscriptual, the bishop is the husband of one wife, his children are of good repute and he has the ability to teach spiritual things.

            The assembly in Antioch (Acts 13 v 1) is run by multiple prophets and teachers, not by a single, unaccountable bish.

            “Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

            Act 13:2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. “

  7. Just like the nation of Israel bears the name of the servant of the LORD God, yet worships the idols made by human hands and the world god of “science”, while simultaneously stoning LORD’s servants and prophets – here is a Church that bears the name of Jesus Christ, who came to the world to take people out of this world, which is ruled by the Lightning bearer Zeus – yet again, this supposedly “christian church” worships the works of man’s hands and conforms to the authority of this world. Solomon would say: “Nothing new under the Sun!”

    But watch out! Great and Mighty Zeus, and his servant the Caesar, and his servant the Pilate, are not guilty of Crucifying Jesus. If anything, they just let it happen. But they knew very well what is happening: That the Jews themselves killed their own king! And the Christian Church seems to follow in the Jews footsteps.

    John 19:14
    “And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King! But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.”

    This is not going to go lightly with the Father in heaven and Jesus, I can guarantee you that. The LORD God has only one commandment where he promises payback for breaking it 😉

    “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”

  8. Bishops are not put in their seats by God to destroy His congregations.

    By the way, are the mosques shut down as well over there? Well, not necessarily: https://richmond.com/news/local/islamic-center-of-richmond-holding-open-house-to-educate-community-about-islam/article_da663306-6230-5678-9ce5-a640ad58b42f.html

    Oh, but there is a common denominator, isn’t there? Not of Islam and Christianity, no. Of Islam and the Corona Cult: it’s the effort to destroy Western civilization altogether with its Christian roots. So now we must make it clear that there is such a thing called the Corona Jihad. One of its weapons is closing down churches.

    Now, the Glen Allen mosque is not even far from the Pittaway Rd. Richmond congregation. Should the good Christians seek refuge at the mosque while their church is closed during the plandemic? A difficult question, because that would be Islamophobic to ban that. But then again, to question orders that come from the Upper Corona Cult would be Coronaphobic. Both phobias are strictly prohibited under the rule of International Corona Communism a.k.a. Globalist Cult, so there is a real clash of religions here.

    Actually NOT to be Coronaphobic is considered Coronaphobic. I know it is confusing, so I will try and explain it: these words look the same but the first one is the Chinese Flu and the second is the Corona Cult. So if one is visibly not afraid of the Chinese Flu, it means that one is the enemy of the Corona Cult. Simple.

    That said, I have an idea. What about emulating the Islamic Center of Richmond that hosted a Mosque Open House to “address the increase in Islamophobia”? Likewise, some congregations could host an Church Open House to “address the increase in Scientophobia” — this would allow the disobedient sheep to meet up, but still save the reputation of the Church!

    The Richmond Muslims “conduct educational forums and provide literature to learn the facts about Islam”. Now, what about conducting educational forums and provide literature to learn the facts about the St. Rona? Facts, such as it has a 99.97% infection survival rate, therefore no general Corona Fascist ‘restrictions’ are needed whatsoever. And facts such as the Holy Jab has about 0.84 Absolute Risk Reduction (as opposed to the misleading 95% of the relative one). https://www.canadiancovidcarealliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/The-COVID-19-Inoculations-More-Harm-Than-Good-REV-Dec-16-2021.pdf And that all the tests, PCR and others, are useless and brand the healthy as sick. Which means that there never was a pandemic in the first place; it is a casedemic.

    But these facts are so unpleasant and unholy, aren’t they. They would not make one look good. Not in God’s eyes, that’s not interesting; in the eyes of the authorities and higher-ups. Moreover, these facts are not taught in the Church of Scientism — and that would make one a heretic or even an apostate. Which is even more dangerous than Covid — if that is possible at all.

  9. Most Churches are 501C3s beholden to the Government for their tax break. Plus many pastors are part of agenda21(Green New Deal). Like many of our institutions they are corrupt. It is sad. The place we needed most is just part of the Global Reset plan. It’s all about money & control.

  10. Avoid science, falsely so called. Put your trust in the great healer. If your church cannot survive without a 501(C)(3) then your church is lacking in faith and zeal for spreading the gospel. 501(C)(3) is a government muzzle on the freedom of speech in the church and the death knell to faith.

  11. Just think of how shamefully the german churches, evangelical and catholic, behaved during the nazi era. We don’t need a church to worship. God is in our harts.

  12. How will the diocese punish a parish for simply ignoring theur pathetic and cowardly edict?

    • They can’t call in the state police to arrest people. They don’t have a Swiss Guard. Their only leverage is that ultimately they own the church real estate. They could commence a legal process to return the plant to direct diocesan control, and evict the heretics. But that would be very expensive and time-consuming, and they could not be certain of success. As far as I know, there is nothing in the canons of the national church that grants the bishop the authority to exercise such dictatorial control over the parishes. She has arrogated unto herself powers the ECUSA doesn’t grant her. Furthermore, the case would be litigated in the civil courts, which may not be that interested in what the diocese thinks are its inherent powers.

      That’s why I argued, during the heated discussion that preceded the breakup of our church, that we should flip the bird to the bishop and continue to hold services as the congregation saw fit. The vestry, however, had been fully assimilated into the Covid Borg, and voted to obey the bishop. That caused a schism — we, the unassimilated, were in the majority, but it made no difference, so we formed a dissident congregation that meets in a private home. The priest and the organist are part of our little group.

      The rump, so to speak, of the original congregation consists of obedient masked and jabbed people who are deathly afraid of Corona. They do what the bishop tells them, and shut down when commanded. I think there are four or maybe five of them.

      There were also several people who quit attending church of any sort, and have withdrawn completely.

      That’s what Covid did to my little church — it destroyed it. And I’m paranoid enough to believe that was one of the purposes of it.

      • I didn’t think the diocese had such power, at least not such that standing up to it wasn’t all that was required. And good for you, Baron, for standing up and taking action along with the other courageous dissidents!

Comments are closed.