Area churches cancel service as part of social distancing

JACKSON, Tenn. — Several churches in Jackson decide to close their doors to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Officials with these churches say it was a hard decision, but feel it’s best for their congregation.

“We want to be good neighbors, and we want to care well for our community, and we felt like this was the best way for us to do that,” Englewood Baptist Church senior pastor, Adam Dooley said.

“They thought the best course of action would be to cancel our services in the meantime, to try to stop the spread, even though it’s not here yet that we know of,” Dr. Loren Carroll, M.D., said.

Englewood Baptist Church and North Jackson Church of Christ are just two of several churches in Jackson closing their doors to in-person worship services to prevent any possible spread of coronavirus.

“We wanted to act before it happened,” Dr. Carroll said.

Doctors and church members, Dr. Loren Carroll and Dr. Britton Little, met with church elders on the decision.

“By social distancing, by trying to stop these large crowds of individuals coming together, we hope that allows some time for this virus, essentially, to kind of burn out before it has the ability to continue to spread,” Dr. Little said.

Dooley says towards the end of the week, it was obvious to him that this was the best decision for all involved.

“If large crowds contribute to its spread, we want to do our best to slow that down as much as possible,” Dooley said.

Englewood put an alternative in place to still worship together Sunday.

“We have opted not to cancel our services, but to take them online instead. At 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m., we will be streaming our services,” Dooley said.

Other churches made similar decisions.

Campbell Street Church of Christ cancelled Sunday services until further notice.

Fellowship Bible Church is also canceling any events with gatherings of 30 or more people, and First United Methodist Church in downtown Jackson cancelled services for the next two weeks (3/15 and 3/22).

Skyline Church of Christ, West Jackson Baptist Church, and First Baptist Church cancelled services for Sunday.

Wednesday evening service for March 18 at West Jackson Baptist is also cancelled.

Humboldt First United Methodist Church is also suspending worship activities for the next two weeks.

First Presbyterian, Calvary Baptist, Northside Assembly of God, Love and Truth Church, and East Union Baptist Church are still holding Sunday worship, but urge congregation members to not shake hands during service.

Several are also encouraging senior members over 60 and those with underlying health issues to stay home and watch their live stream.

Some churches are monitoring information about the virus and will make decisions at a later time.

If you’re not sure if your church is having service, please contact them for more information.