--- title: "A Pastor Refused to Close Church Due to COVID. Then It Killed Him" description: "Bishop Gerald Glenn, an evangelical pastor in a community near Richmond, Virginia has passed away on Saturday evening from illness related to COVID-19." date: "2020-04-14" modified: "2020-04-14" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/pastor-refused-close-church-covid-killed-him" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "coronavirus" - "covid19" --- # A Pastor Refused to Close Church Due to COVID. Then It Killed Him ![Bishop Gerald Glenn, an evangelical pastor in a community near Richmond, Virginia has passed away on Saturday evening from illness related to COVID-19.]() *\Image: Images via Pixabay/Victor Tangermann\* Bishop Gerald Glenn, a prominent evangelical pastor in a community near Richmond, Virginia has passed away on Saturday evening from illness related to COVID-19, [according to local news](). The news comes after Glenn told his congregation on March 15 that "I firmly believe that God is larger than this dreaded virus" — just days after Virginia governor Ralph Northam urged residents to avoid gatherings of more than ten people, [according to *The* *Washington Post*](). According to a video of the sermon, Glenn told those who gathered "just imagine if the government had the authority to say, you and me, we can’t go to church. Aren’t you glad you were free to get up and come?" Religious leaders in other parts of the country have also chafed at the idea of staying home during church. Three pastors in California decided to sue officials over measures that stopped worshippers from attending church service, [*CNN* reports](), even in Sacramento County, one of the largest outbreak clusters in the nation. Seventy-one people connected to a single church were infected, according to *CNN*. Despite the very real danger, 11 state governments decided to make exceptions for religious gatherings, [according to *CNBC*](). The list even includes New York, currently the state with the most cases, despite "strongly recommending" to halt in-person services, as [*Newsweek* reports](). Places of worship are "not subject to penalty," while "public and private gatherings of any number of people" from more than a single household are barred, according to an [order]() signed by Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer. Not all religious institutions are fighting for their right to congregate. The Mormon church, for instance, has come out in [support]() of suspending religious gatherings. **READ MORE:** [Prominent Virginia pastor who said ‘God is larger than this dreaded virus’ dies of covid-19]() \[*The Washington Post*\] **More on the virus:** *[Why Rolling Coronavirus Patients Onto Their Stomachs Is Saving Lives]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()