While the CDC urges everyone to practice social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic, one pastor in Florida is refusing to obey, keeping his church doors wide open to the people.
On Sunday (Mar 29), there was a room jam-packed with worshipers, sitting elbow-to-elbow, listening to Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne as he held service at The River Church in Tampa. The pastor has vowed to never close his doors, despite the need for everyone to quarantine.
The megachurch pastor boasted, “We brought in 13 machines that basically kill every virus in the place, and uh, if somebody walks through the door it’s like, it kills everything on them. If they sneeze, it shoots it down at like 100 mph. It’ll neutralize it in split seconds. We have the most sterile building in, I don’t know, all of America.”
Ahead of today’s service, on March 17, Howard-Browne mocked “pansies” who are scared of the virus. He laughed, “We are not stopping anything. I’ve got news for you, this church will never close. The only time the church will close is when the Rapture is taking place.”
Contrary to the Howard-Browne’s opinions, fellow megachurch leader, Pastor Joel Osteen has closed his Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas; opting for virtual services to protect his congregation.
