A group of pastors from the community will meet to develop guidelines for opening church facilities during COVID-19, according to a joint news release from City of Jackson Mayor Scott Conger and Madison County Mayor Jimmy Harris.
“I’d like for them to lead the charge on what they feel is best for the health of their congregation as well as people in the community that their members interact with,” Conger said. “I’ve admired the creativity and ingenuity that churches have used to continue meeting via online streaming or drive-up services. We want people to continue to exercise their religious freedom but have to acknowledge that large groups of people accelerate the spread of this virus.”
The goal of this committee is to recommend guidelines for the city moving into May.
“We expect that individual churches will use different plans to meet their specific needs but thought this would be a good opportunity for pastors to get together and share what has worked best for their church and what could be done moving forward,” Harris said. “Tony White will participate in the meetings on behalf of the county and Alex Reed will participate on behalf of the city. This is a joint effort and we are looking forward to receiving the pastors’ recommendations.”
The first virtual committee meeting will be Friday, April 24.
Pastor Ronnie Coleman – Soulquest
Pastor Sky McCracken – FUMC
Pastor Eugene Brand – Fellowship Church
Pastor Jeremy Brown – Journey
Pastor Lovel Hayes – East Jackson Church of Christ
Bishop Nathaniel Bond – Light of Light Ministries
Pastor Justin Wainscott – First Baptist Church
Pastor William Watson – Historic First Baptist
Pastor Dennis Blaylock – New St. Luke MBC
Pastor Adam Dooley – Englewood Baptist Church
Pastor Ernest Polk – St. James MBC
Pastor Larry Mercer – Cerro Gordo Baptist Church
Father David Graham – St. Mary’s
Pastor Danny Sorrell – Campbell St.
Pastor Andy Neely – West Jackson Baptist Church
Pastor Claude Bass – St. Paul CME