Article By Rebecca Johnson // EEW Magazine Online // COVID-19 Pandemic

Last month, some churches in Georgia began resuming in-person worship services amid the COVID-19 pandemic after Governor Brian Kemp lifted the shelter-in-place order. But the state’s reopening plan has not rolled out smoothly for all.

Higher Praise Tabernacle in Covington, which said it followed the state’s reopening guidelines, is now fighting criticism after being forced to close its doors again since several of its members contracted coronavirus and have been hospitalized.

On June 13, a message appeared on the ministry’s Facebook from Pastor Kenneth Morrell announcing that he and his wife, First Lady Arlene Morrell, had begun “receiving messages for prayer requests from people stating that they were very sick.”

The pastor, who informed others in that post that he, too, was sick and would be self-isolating though he had not been formally tested, continued, “It suddenly escalated to a point where we grew concerned and decided to postpone services for Wednesday and Sunday until we could see what we were dealing with. We now have confirmation that several have been confirmed positive with COVID-19. We have no way of pinpointing the how or when this started.”

Though many within Higher Praise’s faith community are supportive of the leadership and have offered prayer during these trying times, there has also been intense backlash.

In an effort to defend the ministry, Morrell said the church tried to “respect and follow the guidelines that were given to us” by canceling services for eight weeks and implementing the prescribed safety measures upon reopening. “We emphasized thumbs ups instead of handshakes, we supplied hand sanitizer at all entrances and tried to minimize people touching doors.”

He added, “Being the people that we are, with our love for worship and each other, we were more than ready to get back to our ‘normal’ way of having church and praying with one another.”

By June 16, that government-sanctioned push to regain normalcy led to five congregants being infected with coronavirus and two being transferred to the ICU. On the ministry’s Facebook page, a steady stream of prayer requests were posted naming people battling for their health.

Kelli Rupard, a member of Higher Praise, responded to a story posted about the ministry’s unfortunate plight on the Facebook page of Larry Reid, by the host of Larry Reid Live, a popular show that airs on Facebook and YouTube.

“We only held live services during the quarantine with a small group of people for the praise team and musicians and our pastor,” said Rupard.

The state, which allowed houses of worship to reopen in Georgia on May 1, rolled out guidelines and recommendations which Rupard said they followed to the letter.

“We were singing to empty pews and a camera to help encourage people at home for the longest time. When the quarantine was lifted, only then did we have normal services with the congregation coming in if they felt comfortable doing so. We hate that families are sick but it’s not anyone’s fault. We followed the state guidelines,” she said.

In a Father’s Day post, Pastor Morrell was still on the defensive, writing on Facebook, “I’ve seen the FALSE information that has been shared. I’ve read some of the nasty comments that have been posted.”  

Yet, he is doing his best to remain positive despite the lingering positive coronavirus cases among his members and public criticism. “I don’t understand this all BUT I believe we are already seeing miracles take place. Broken relationships mended, people circling the wagons, stepping up to the plate offering prayer, love and support,” he said.

On Saturday, the Georgia Department of Public Health reported 1,800 new cases of COVID-19, the biggest single day increase since the pandemic began. More than 2,600 deaths have been reported across the state, and hospitalizations continue climbing.