Within the last 3 weeks, Indiana, Ohio and Idaho Conferences each sent letters to their employees, informing them that they are required to be vaccinated by January 9, or submit to weekly testing and infinite mask wearing. Pastors who declined would likely be fired.
To our knowledge, the only Conference that had the courage to say we will not require our pastors to be vaccinated is the Georgia Cumberland Conference. Good on them.
Michigan took a ‘wait and see’ approach. That was wise for the moment.
The only Union in the NAD with the courage to push back against the Biden Mandate was the Southwestern Union who requested that the NAD and office of the General Counsel help them oppose the Biden OSHA mandate. This kind of courage is all too rare among North American Adventism, and very much needed. To our knowledge, the NAD did nothing to help this Union, and certainly made no attempt to protect any of its members from this unconstitutional mandate.
When I learned of the Ohio (my own state) Conference employee mandate, I thought “This is jumping the gun. The Supreme Court has not even ruled on the OSHA mandate.”
The main motivator in the three conferences who capitulated to the proposed mandate is fear. Fear of possibly losing money, as stated in their letters to conference employees. Aside from the Southwestern Union, there was zero courage to stand alongside of the Southern Baptist Seminary, and the Kentucky Methodist Seminary (among others) in their challenge of the OSHA mandate.
Jumping the gun? Yes. The above three Conferences hastily placed their employees (pastors and teachers etc) in this quandary before the constitutionality of the mandate was even ruled on.
It is also noteworthy, that a small group of General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist officials stated in an October 25 Statement that they have no opposition to government vaccine mandates. In other words, they’re cool with it.
However, today, the Supreme Court ruled on the constitutionality of the Biden (or whoever’s back of him) OSHA vaccine mandate for companies with over 100 employees. They ruled 6-3 that it was a (Constitutional) overreach of the Biden/Harris White House to make this mandate.
Liberal response to this ruling has been malevolent outrage. Why is it they never go look in the mirror after such rulings and say “I guess I was out of line with the US Constitution. I apologize”?
It will be interesting to see which Conferences go ahead and try to mandate vaccination for pastors and employees, in spite of this Supreme Court ruling, thus outing themselves as progressives first and Adventists second or third. Keep your eyes on Oregon and other woke conferences. It could be revealing.
Friends, stand up for what you know to be God’s truth. Stand for principle over compromise, righteousness over popularity, and freedom of conscience over coercion.
The only other option is capitulation over principle, risk management over Christian courage. And ultimately, Sunday over Sabbath.
****
“When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn” (Proverbs 29:2).
