The pandemic has forced churches across California to keep their doors shut for much of the last year. For some, that has meant losing loyal congregants who lack internet service and, therefore, have been unable to watch sermons online. For others, the shift to streaming solely on social media has allowed them to actually expand their congregations.<\/p>\n
City of Refuge is one the churches that has grown and Jones has used the opportunity to speak to more people about the dangers of COVID-19 and the safety of vaccines. In fact, the biggest reason he wanted to get vaccinated was to set an example for his congregation of 20,000, and for the hundreds of others who also now watch him online every Sunday.<\/p>\n
Too many members are reluctant to get vaccinated, he said, despite the risks they face. They insist that the vaccines are \u201cevil,\u201d he said, and that the coronavirus was manufactured and that Donald Trump had something to do with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just the same old conspiracy stories. There\u2019s no proof for any of that,\u201d said Jones, 71, who also happens to be the brother of model and actress Grace Jones. \u201cSo what I do is I go in and say, where\u2019s the proof? Let\u2019s talk reality.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n The disparities in the distribution of #COVID19<\/a> vaccines continue to be not great. As of Sunday, Black Californians had only received 2.9% of the doses. <\/p>\n For my latest column, I spoke to @BishopNoelJones<\/a> about the power of Black churches to help fix this. https:\/\/t.co\/3DwIpU5vEq<\/a><\/p>\n — Erika D. Smith 🦅 (@Erika_D_Smith) February 18, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n