Sunday services will go on at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, but without its most famous worshipers.
The Rev. Tony Lowden said Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter are not expected to attend on Sunday, while the church works to educate and protect the congregation from the spread of the coronavirus.
The church will meet, but the Carters will not come because their ages put them in a high-risk category, “which I think is a wise decision,” Lowden said.
"We are educating our congregations on the CDC recommendations of prevention, and for those that want to stay home, they can watch us online" he said.
Credit: Bita Honarvar
Credit: Bita Honarvar
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while everyone is at risk of contracting the coronavirus, older adults, particularly those over 60, and people with severe chronic illness are more likely to become severely ill from the virus.
Rosalynn Carter is 92.
The former president, who is still recovering from last year's surgery to relieve pressure on his brain, is 95.
Attendance at Maranatha ebbs and flows according to the Carters. Up to 400 people usually attend when Carter teaches Sunday school. About 100, usually members, attend on normal Sundays.
Lowden, who became the church's first black pastor in 2019, has also been reaching out to the community. A little more than 40 percent of the population of Plains, which has a nearly even split in the number of black and white residents, lives below the poverty line. The median household income is $21,731.
This week, Lowden sent a message to the congregation, which has also been relayed to the Plains community, urging them to be diligent in their safety and health. It included detailed safety tips from the CDC as well as simple instructions on how to wash your hands.
"I am encouraging everyone to be praying for our country as well as those in that are vulnerable to this virus," Lowden wrote.
