(RNS) — An Idaho church plans to reopen in person despite its pastor being hospitalized for COVID-19.
On Monday (Sept. 14), Candlelight Christian Fellowship in Coeur d’Alene posted a notice on the church website with an update on the condition of its pastor, Paul Van Noy, and his wife, Brenda. Both have been recovering from COVID-19.
As of Monday, Pastor Van Noy had spent 11 days in the ICU and was still on oxygen. His wife was recovering at home.
“I am watching in prayer that there are no new cases and we can all be back together — worshipping together as called — very soon,” Van Noy wrote in the update. “Please pray for health and strength for all. We are called to such a time as this — to represent the Lord!”
According to the Candlelight website, the congregation plans to hold two in-person services this coming Sunday. The church had been closed for two weeks and was deep cleaned in preparation for reopening. In addition to their pastor and his wife, five staff members were infected, a church leader told the Spokesman-Review newspaper in Spokane.
“We didn’t want, obviously, to be spreading the virus,” Eric Reade, a church leader, told the Spokesman-Review.
About 60 people from several churches gathered in a parking lot outside Kootenai Health last weekend to sing and pray for Van Noy’s recovery. The parking lot was visible from intensive care,…
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