Sun | Oct 5, 2025

Church struggling spiritually with COVID

Published:Wednesday | August 25, 2021 | 12:05 AMTanesha Mundle/Gleaner Writer
Andrews Memorial Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Andrews Memorial Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Trevor and Linette Johnson
Trevor and Linette Johnson
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The church is often seen as a refuge in times of crisis, but as the death toll from COVID-19 continues to rise locally, some Christians are finding it harder to deal with their spirituality, and the emotional and psychological effects of dealing with the loss of loved ones.

The unexpected and devastating loss of relatives has left one Christian questioning his faith and the power of prayer.

Roshane Johnson, a member of the Andrew Memorial Seventh-day Adventist Church who recently lost both his beloved parents to the virus, said their death has not only left him in a state of disbelief, anguish and confusion, but has also left him questioning God.

“I have always been a Christian ... have always been challenging, but I have never had a challenge like this before, and I am constantly been reminded of Job, and not for myself. Other persons remind me because, honestly, the strength I need I don’t think I have, at least not right now,” said the utterly distraught son.

Since the shocking loss, Johnson, who had prayed earnestly for weeks for his parents to recover, said he has been left questioning God why he thought it was possible for him to handle what has happened, even though he had grown up hearing the popular phrase that ‘God never gives us more than we can bear’.

However, he said, “This is more than I can bear. It is, and it’s funny that others will look at me and say, ‘Bwoy you are strong’, and they don’t know how they would handle it and it is more than they could imagine. But I am still imagining that this is not real, at least on the rare occasions when I managed to get a nap, I wanted to wake up believing this was not true.”

Wife expecting second child

Johnson’s current nightmare is made worse by the fact that in the midst of his pain and emotional confusion, he will have to summon the strength to be strong for his wife, who is expecting their second child any day now.

But on top of everything, a present dilemma for Johnson is that he is not sure if he should even be happy in this moment, as he feels guilty for even laughing.

Nevertheless, Johnson, who hasn’t had a moment yet to properly process his grief, said he is struggling emotionally and spiritually, but harbours no thought of giving up on God, although he is not actually convinced that God is hearing his prayers now.

The day before his parents passed last Thursday, Johnson said, was the hardest he had ever prayed, yet their lives were not spared.

“I am struggling to believe, not that God exists or that he cares, but I am extremely confused. I am broken and hurt, and experiencing every possible feeling that you can think about, except happiness,” said Johnson, who noted that he is contemplating getting professional help.

Jamaica is currently experiencing a third wave of the virus, which has seen the highest surge in cases and deaths since the virus first hit the island’s shores in March 2020.

Over the past week, the virus has snuffed out the lives of 88 Jamaicans, including well-known Christians; Pauline Knight, retired senior public official and wife of veteran attorney-at-law and retired politician K.D. Knight; and Linette, Johnson’s mother, a retired nurse who, coincidentally, died minutes apart from her husband, Trevor.

Knight, who was also a member at the Andrews Memorial Church, was an active part of the church’s Religious Liberty Department, and Linette Johnson was a member of the Wild Cane Seventh-Day Adventist in St Ann.

Both their deaths have dealt a massive blow to their respective church communities, which, for the first time in both instances, have had to come face to face with a direct COVID-19-related death.

Elder Keith Nugent from Andrews Memorial Church said the mood of the church has been very sombre, as many are in disbelief and are very distressed.

“People are emotionally distraught. They have been shaken because it is the first one that has hit personally. We are not overwhelmed, but seriously shaken as faith-believing people,” he said.

However, he added that the church has been rallying around its members and offering support as best at it can, given the restrictions which prevent them from visiting and fellowshipping with the grieving brethren in Christ.

“We do what we have been known to do; we pray, and prayer has been key,” said Nugent, while adding that the church leadership has sought to strengthen its faith response and has had several prayer sessions in an effort to better reach distressed members.

Question their faith

At the same time, he said that from his experience, the families who have been impacted have sought to cling closer to God and have asked for more prayer.

Nugent also said that although persons in times of crisis will from time to time question their faith, he has not come across anyone whose faith has waned or has shown signs of moving away from God as a result of their suffering associated with COVID-19.

Reverend Gary Harriott, moderator for the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Island, said the virus has also affected many members of his church body, both in terms of contraction and death, and, coupled with its impact on families and friends abroad, has left many feeling scared and really concerned.

Noting that the virus has hit very close to home in a number of its branches islandwide, the minister said that one of its ministers, who last week lost a sister-in-law, suffered another blow with the passing of his brother on Saturday night. Meanwhile another minister who had been hospitalised with COVID and was in a critical state, though now stable, is still struggling with his breathing.

In the wake of what is happening, Harriott also admitted that persons in the church, especially those who have been directly affected, have been struggling psychologically and spiritually.

“But we have found that the wider church has been able to rally round persons spiritually, psychological and emotionally to offer to counsel online, to pray for people online, to connect with them through calls. So while the persons who are directly affected through illness have their own moments when they are down, the wider church community has rallied around them to encourage them on the journey,” he said.

Harriott added that the loss of the physical face-to-face encounters, which mean more to some persons, have seriously impacted the church, as persons are missing the social encounter.

However, he said the church has been connecting with most of its members virtually and has found that the WhatApp groups have been fostering more bonding and fellowship among members.

In terms of its older members who are not able to navigate the virtual space, Harriott said the church still visits with care packages and to pray and have conversations with them, as a number of them have been experiencing feelings of loneliness.