(PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW) -- The pastor of a Hempfield church apologized Monday after roughly 200 people attended a Sunday service at Word of Life Church, against the advice of government and health officials.
“Please believe me when I say it was not out of arrogance or defiance, but solely for the purpose of praying for our churches, communities, and nation,” Pastor Tom Walters wrote in a post to Word of Life’s Facebook page.
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In speaking with congregants on Sunday, Walters said that the national reaction to the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected around 43,000 Americans and killed nearly 460 as of Monday, “could possibly be, disguised in everything else, a direct attack on the church.’” The global death toll is nearly 16,500.
