Covid Observations: My Take
By: Rob Toornstra
Tags: Covid Diaries, Theology, Covid 19, Masks, Vaccines

I’ve been a pastor for 15 years. I’ve conducted funerals for teens who have committed suicide, and young moms who have died of breast cancer. I’ve navigated thorny church issues with varying degrees of success. I’ve dealt with difficult people, and I’ve parsed tricky theological questions that have more relevance to daily life than one might think.

Covid has been, hands-down, the most difficult leadership challenge during my time in ministry. There is not even a close second. There are a few reasons why — but in my judgment, one of the underlying problems is that people tend to absolutize their convictions and beliefs on all things Covid. This means that rather than viewing the question of whether or not to wear a mask, get a vaccine, gather for worship, stay home, follow government mandates, resist undue government authority, or any of a number of other questions, many of us tend to elevate our personal convictions into “The” right position — perhaps even the one approved by God. And to the extent that we elevate our convictions into near-biblical absolutes, we’ll find that humility in our own beliefs is sorely lacking. As a pastor, I see my official role as non-partisan. I have tried to lead in a way that doesn’t take needless partisan sides, but rather gives clear direction on what our church ought to be doing without stepping too far outside of my area of expertise. In other words, I have tried to avoid giving too much of my opinion in my role as pastor, instead trying to lay out the course of action that our church needs to follow.

But in this non-official platform, let me offer my opinions on some Covid matters, and then (in a separate article) make some observations regarding what I see as spiritual issues that have surfaced.

First of all — masks. My sense is that they are probably not effective at preventing the wearer from getting the virus, but there is probably a more than 50% chance that it reduces the spread of the virus to others. There seems to be credible evidence that mask mandates, when put in place, lead to a corresponding reduction in the spread of the virus, even if this decline is slight. The implication of this is that wearing a mask when in crowded spaces seems to be a reasonable step to take in preventing harm to others. So, I’m willing to wear a mask even if I find it bothersome, because it’s a relatively simple step that may cut down on the chances that someone else will get ill.

Second, vaccines. I’m surprised at the the extent of resistance to vaccinations that we have seen in our culture. Social media has made it easy for misinformation to spread, and with the click of a mouse, or the tap of a finger, we can pass along information that is wildly inaccurate. mRNA vaccine technology has been around for 20 years or more, and while this particular adaptation was tailored to combat the Covid virus, the actual science is not new. behind this type of vaccine has been around for awhile. Essentially, microbiologists and virologists create vaccine “attachments” that are customized to the basic vaccine. It’s a simplified explanation, but my point is that the vaccine isn’t a start-from-scratch therapeutic that was never properly tested. I have intelligent and thoughtful friends on the other side of this issue, so I’ve come to respect those who would prefer to refrain from getting the vaccine. But, I view this medical science as a means by which God has provided for our collective health, and thus a gift to be received.

That said, I also believe that personal liberties are important and that the government has no right to mandate a vaccine. This is, in my judgment, government overreach. Here in Oregon, the state has mandated that school districts (and local and state governments) require their employees to be vaccinated; I disagree with this on the grounds of undue government intrusion. At the same time, I believe that businesses should have the freedom to make their own choices about whether employees (and customers) should be vaccinated (or masked) or not. But personal freedom also entails personal responsibility, and those who choose not to be vaccinated should accept responsibility for those choices. Given that something like 85% of hospitalized Covid patients are unvaccinated, and given that this in turn spreads the cost of such decisions to others (by, for example, reducing the availability of hospital beds for others in need of care), the question becomes who should shoulder that burden? The simplest answer in my judgment is the one responsible for causing it. Delta Airlines recently announced that while they will not require vaccinations of their employees, those who choose not to be vaccinated will pay an additional $200.00 per month for their health care premiums. This approach seems to me to be the appropriate balance between personal freedom and personal responsibility.

Enacting and enforcing mandates is also a subject of much debate. Around my state, local law enforcement officials have publicly stated that they will not enforce the state’s mask mandate. And, increasingly it seems that the public is willing to defy the state’s mask mandate (which applies to both indoor, and outdoor gatherings). This is more complex than it might seem at first glance, and my opinions run in several directions on this. First, I think any criminal (!) enforcement borders on the absurd, as it gets us uncomfortably close to a police state. But then, what about private organizations? What about businesses? This, to me, is where a mask mandate should be enacted, and enforcement then could be up to businesses. Restaurants, schools, grocery stores, shopping centers and the like should have the option to require masks or not. In other words, I would prefer to see mask mandates left to the discretion of the private sector — especially now that vaccinations are widely and freely available to anyone that wants them.

But that too isn’t as easy as it might seem. One of the jobs of government is to enact basic safety measures for the protection of its citizens. Again — fine line, but requiring masks can be argued to be a measure that (potentially — see above) protects others from adverse health effects, by creating an environment where the spread of illness is mitigated. It’s a little like laws that ban smoking in public places — I don’t go to Denny’s expecting to breathe in someone else’s cigarette smoke (well, I actually don’t got to Denny’s at all, but I digress…) because the laws here in Oregon (and many other places) have outlawed smoking in restaurants.

At the church I serve, we’ve walked a fine, if imperfect line on this. We’ve complied with the state mandate on this, asking our members to mask up, because that is required of us , and because submission to the government is a part of what God requires of us (see Romans 13). But we’ve also struggled with how to enforce this — should we turn away people who won’t wear a mask? Create a “mask” and “non-masked” seating section? Both of these options only create more problems. I’m not prepared to divide a church, literally, over the question of mask wearing, and neither am I prepared to turn people away from worship. If there was no vaccine available, that might be different, since we’d not have the other resources to prevent the spread of the virus, and more strict enforcement might be needed. But we do, and that means that those who attend do so knowing that there may be some who choose not to wear masks, even if it is asked of them.

Keep in mind, these are all my opinions — there are cases to be made for differing viewpoints. But all this said, I’d suggest that there are other, more critical issues, which I’ll address in a separate article.