“For 40 years, I’ve been able to offer comfort to families and to help in the transitioning of their loved ones. Now all I can do is tell them that I’ll mask up and glove up and meet you all at the cemetery.”
Photo: Courtesy of Reverend Dr. Johnnie Green On Palm Sunday, the Reverend Dr. Johnnie Green put on a black suit, hung a silver cross around his neck, and sat at his dining-room table. The past few weeks had been the most difficult of his 40 years in the ministry. He’d lost seven members of his congregation, six to COVID-19. Twenty had tested positive.
Now, confined to his home, he is guiding his followers through their most trying time yet. Every morning, he goes online to lead the community in worship and share news about congregants who have fallen ill or died. He makes himself available by phone, day or night, to pray with members and try to lift their spirits. “I want to deliver hope but not false hope,” he said on a video call, a silver-and-blue tracksuit zipped up to his chin, his eyes somber behind rimless glasses.
The next day, he presided over his usual Sunday service at Mount Neboh. The theme was “Quitting Is Not an Option!” Looking back, he wonders if concerns about the coronavirus were already lurking in the back of his mind. “The sermon was meant to encourage the congregation never to give up, no matter what we have to go through,” he said. After he spoke, he didn’t stay to give the benediction. He went straight to his office in the church, where he realized he was drenched in sweat.
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