West Charlotte Church chooses to render services virtual, offers COVID-19 testing to community

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (WBTV) – Shon Hagwood, senior pastor at First Mount Zion Baptist Missionary Church, announced Thursday that his congregation will no longer meet in person for worship services during the month of January. Instead, the services will take place virtually.

The pastor said the change will come due to the continued spread of COVID-19. The percentage of people testing positive for the virus in Mecklenburg County has increased in recent days.

Hagwood spoke to WBTV in an interview Thursday night, explaining that his congregation takes the virus very seriously.

“We have a large number of senior members in this church, so I am very, very concerned for their well-being,” said the senior pastor.

Hagwood said his church killed a few members after contracting COVID-19. He explained that one of the church’s deacons died after contracting the virus at the start of the pandemic.

“It really touched us very hard and I think that was also very revealing. Preaching his eulogy, it couldn’t be done here, ”said the senior pastor. “You’re talking about a man who served 20 years in the United States Navy – all the benefits, he should have got all the rights, all the military rights. There were literally 10 people at his funeral, including the two funeral directors and myself.

Hagwood said his congregation had attempted to organize in-person services during certain times of the pandemic. They still have pews stuck together for social distancing. The pastor said the shrine will remain closed for in-person worship for at least January.

“We don’t know where this variant of omicron is going, but that doesn’t mean the ministry is stopping, so we determine which pivot we need to do, we make that pivot,” the pastor explained.

As in-person worship hangs at church, COVID-19 testing intensifies. Hagwood said First Mount Zion is proud to partner with Andor Labs to offer COVID-19 testing in the church parking lot.

“We have already seen enough deaths. How can we minimize this? Get tested, ”Hagwood said.

The test is open to the public Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The First Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church is located at 1515 Remount Road in Charlotte.

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