In early March, before First Assembly of God church in Greers Ferry, Ark., called off all of its activities to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, just like other churches across the country, dozens of participants gathered there for a children’s program.
Now, 34 people who attended that event have come down with the coronavirus, according to a deacon at this rural evangelical church 75 miles north of Little Rock, who spoke to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
The church’s pastor, the Rev. Mark Palenske, and his wife, Dena, are both suffering from the illness.
Palenske hasn’t been up to using the computer much. After 12 days with the coronavirus, he says he and Dena are still under the weather. They have headaches, chills and “intense body aches.” Recently, he said, their main symptom is “a lingering nausea that keeps us wanting stillness and very small amounts of food.”
But he wrote two lengthy Facebook posts, urging his local community and people farther afield to take the coronavirus seriously, even as some Christian leaders have questioned whether churches should really stop hosting services.
“The intensity of this virus has been underestimated by so many, and I continue to ask that each of you take it very seriously. An act of wisdom and restraint on your part can be the blessing that preserves the health of someone else,” Palenske wrote.
He urged his Facebook followers to stay at home, as public health experts are recommending. “We must keep the affected population to as low a number as possible. Our singular act of stubborn independence can have far reaching effects on someone else’s life.”