Episcopal bishops grapple with life in a COVID-19 epicentre
[photo: A byproduct of COVID-19 restrictions, small funerals with fewer familiar rituals—such as this service held in Ontario—have left some faithful Episcopalians struggling with grief, New York Bishop Andrew Dietsche says. Photo: The Rev. Ralph Carl Wushke
Since the first cases appeared there in early spring, the COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged the United States. The Centre for Disease Control reports, at writing, that there have been more than 3.8 million cases in the country and upwards of 180,000 deaths caused by the virus.
For leaders in the U.S.-based Episcopal Church, this unprecedented time has been a test of leadership, wisdom and patience.
In New York, cases spiked in April and May. “Living here in Manhattan, it was just the constant background sound of sirens, day and night,” says Bishop of the diocese of New York Andrew Dietsche. “Overlapping sirens—couldn’t even count how many, just roaring through the city taking people to the hospital. It was scary, and it was tragic.”
By early July, at the time of his interview with the Anglican Journal, Dietsche says New York was on the other side of that mountain of cases. While he worries about a second wave—especially as cases rise in other parts of the country—the diocese is beginning to restart in-person worship in some churches.