What would Jesus do? Wear a mask, says Wichita pastor
A friend and I were inside a Wichita retail store recently when we saw someone trying to get our attention from several paces away.
“I’d give you a hug if it wasn’t for COVID,” the man said. “But I just want to thank you for wearing masks.”
The man was wearing a face mask. My friend and I both were wearing ours. As far as we could tell, we were the only ones in the store with our faces covered.
Most public health experts — including Sedgwick County’s top doctor — recommend wearing masks in public as a way to help curb the spread of COVID-19.
It’s not a guarantee, but it helps. Recent research tells us that transmission of the coronavirus decreases dramatically when a large percentage of the population covers their faces in public.
But you know that already. You’ve read it here, you’ve heard it from White House health advisors, you’ve seen the debate after that viral video of a Costco employee refusing service to a mask-less shopper.
Which means, if you’re still choosing to not wear a mask, it must be something else.
Maybe it’s inconvenient. Maybe you feel invincible. Maybe you think masks look stupid. Maybe you don’t care.
Or maybe it’s politics. (See also, that Costco shopper: “I’m not doing it, ‘cause I woke up in a free country.”)
Last Sunday morning, during a virtual service from Chapel Hill United Methodist Church, the Rev. Jeff Gannon took a few moments to address the issue.
“I also want to encourage you to wear your masks in public,” the Wichita pastor said, standing at his pulpit and holding up a blue face mask.
“This is an act of loving our neighbor. This is an act of faith. It’s something we do as followers of Jesus.
“And please, do not fall prey to the persons who say this is a political statement. It is not,” Gannon continued. “It’s a Christian statement, and thank you for bearing witness to the love of neighbor in this way.”
Chatting with Gannon this week, I asked what had prompted the statement. Not surprisingly, it was the same thing most Wichita mask-wearers have experienced recently, ever since the Sedgwick County Commission reopened everything without limits or restrictions.
“As I would go to stores and the like, I would be in a minority as a person wearing a mask,” he said.
“I think that the County Commissioners have really set a tone, unfortunately, that is not encouraging people to be careful. So therefore, we get this trickle-down effect.”
Gannon said he attended a funeral this week where only five or six people out of 100 wore a mask. “We’re just asking for trouble,” he said.
This isn’t the first time the Wichita pastor has waded into political controversies. The father of three was the namesake of a years-long court battle, “Gannon v. State of Kansas,” which ended in a Kansas Supreme Court ruling that ordered millions in additional state funding for public schools.
Masks are a simpler, much cheaper cause, but even more vital to public health and welfare during a pandemic that has claimed nearly half a million lives.
Gannon said he wanted to make the most of increased visits to his church’s Facebook page and urge worshipers to remember Jesus’ words in the Gospel of Matthew: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
No judgment. No shaming. Just a gentle reminder to think of others — particularly those most at risk during this devastating pandemic, or those who care for them — and cover your face when you’re out and about.
This is not about President Trump. This is not about County Commissioners. It’s not about Republicans, Democrats, conservatives or liberals.
“This,” Gannon said, “is about loving your neighbor.”
