A century later, have we learned the lessons of the ‘Spanish flu’ pandemic of 1918?

In Philadelphia, one of the hardest-hit cities in America, “fear came and stayed,” Barry wrote. “Death could come from anyone, anytime. People moved away from others on the sidewalk, avoided conversation; if they did speak, they turned their faces away to avoid the other person’s breathing. People became isolated, increasing the fear.”

How some Christians responded to the 1918 pandemic

Although health officials have avoided comparisons between the outbreaks, the impact of influenza one hundred years ago on community life, such as church services, seems eerily familiar today.

In Providence, Rhode Island, evangelist Billy Sunday held a crusade, with one newspaper reporting that ten thousand people “grasped Mr. Sunday’s hand.” Although he vowed to “pray down” the epidemic, people in the crowd, sick with the flu, collapsed. The influenza canceled three weeks of his nightly services.

Government officials around the country called a halt to public meetings such as church services for safety’s sake, just like during the coronavirus outbreak. With no place to meet, pastors sent their sermons to local newspapers to print. One pastor in Los Angeles had Boy Scouts deliver Sunday school lessons to his church members. Other pastors encouraged their flocks to meet in homes, like the apostles did.

In Ennis, Texas, a man said that he wouldn’t be able to attend worship services for the first time in twelve years. But he told the Gospel Advocate, “We had three funerals here Sunday.”

Some churches protested restrictions on indoor services. Others got around them by meeting outside. At the First Baptist Church of San Francisco, the theme of one such Sunday service was “The Spanish Influenza, One of the Last Plagues.”

The “Spanish…