By Vivian Shipe
KNOXVILLE, TN — Even before the doors opened at noon, pastors from all over the city were at the door.
The kits were ready for them. In the faith leaders tool kits were packages of masks, boxes of gloves, towels, cleaning products, hand sanitizer, laminated signage for their buildings, even a 60-page operational workbook on how to safely open every department of the church. Not only would they receive the free kits from C.O.N.N.E.C.T., there was also an opportunity for pastors to bulk order, top of the line contactless thermometers, which they would receive in two weeks.
Despite Trumps order urging all churches reopen the weekend of Memorial Day, the decision as to when to reopen their doors lies squarely with each church. Many pastors have adamantly said they are taking their time and do not plan to rush back into their buildings. The tool kits they received allows them to have a top resource
workbook for the churches. Photos by Vivian Shipe
to make the difficult decision for when they come back together in a physical space.
Cynthia Finch coordinator of the project and author of the church workbook said, “These Faith Leader Tool Kits serve as a roadmap for planning. It has items in the kit that causes you to think about necessary items you need in preparing your church building.” Finch said, “The most important thing in the kit is the workbook which provides a step by step guide. We want to go into our buildings, but we do not want to die.”