Pastor Sorry For Ignoring Masks After COVID Cases Among Flock Becomes “Too Great To Keep Track Of”

These stories have become so routine that I almost only need to swap out the names of the pastor and the church.

A Tennessee pastor has apologized to his congregation as the coronavirus has infected countless church members — including himself and his family members — weeks after the church resumed indoor worship services and also hosted a state convention meeting in June. Kelvin Page, pastor of Westmore Church of God in Cleveland, Tennessee, posted a 20-minute video on Facebook expressing deep “regret” and taking full responsibility for the decision to resume indoor services.

“Boy, did it hit hard,” Page said. “The thing I most did not give attention to was masks. I’ll have to say today that masks must be considered by everyone, but especially those that are vulnerable. Perhaps when we all wear masks, the vulnerable are less likely to be vulnerable. So that is something that we have got to really take seriously.” Page explained that while there were initially 12 confirmed cases of coronavirus within the congregation, that number has since become too great to keep track of.