© New Deliverance Evangelistic Church
He stood in defiance of social distancing orders and carried out preaching during the pandemic. Pastor Gerald O. Glenn's life was claimed by the coronavirus. His daughter is urging people to treat the threat seriously.
On March 22 pastor Gerald O. Glenn held his last service at the New Deliverance Evangelistic Church in Richmond, Virginia. He then told his congregation that he would not adhere to measures being announced by the governor, asking people to avoid gathering in groups of more than 10.
Virginia wasn't under lockdown at that time, but the pastor argued he would not stop preaching “unless I'm in jail or the hospital,” he said. “I firmly believe that God is larger than this dreaded virus. You can quote me on that,” he said, repeating it a second time to claps, saying that “people are healed” in his church.
Sadly, his health deteriorated soon after this last public appearance. His family did their best to care for him at home, but after a week he had to be hospitalised and he was confirmed to be COVID-19 positive in early April. News of his death first came on April 12, becoming a global headline by April 14.
Because the 66-year-old was suffering from a condition that often made him feverish (diverticulitis), he ignored early symptoms of the disease. Speaking to local TV station WTVR his daughter Mar-Gerie Crawley pleaded with people to treat the threat seriously.
“It becomes very real to you,” she said. “I just beg people to understand the severity and the seriousness of this, because people are saying it's not just about us, it's about everyone around us.”
