An evangelical pastor who boasted about packing his church with people despite warnings from public health officials has died from coronavirus.
Bishop Gerald O. Glenn of the New Deliverance Evangelistic Church in Richmond, Virginia held his last in-person service on March 22. At the time, he had been warned against holding gatherings of 10 or more people.
But he did it anyway.
“I firmly believe that God is larger than this dreaded virus,” he preached. “You can quote me on that.” Then he said “people are healed” in his church, which is why he was refusing to stop holding services.
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Glenn went on to say that he enjoyed being “in violation” of safety protocols issued by public health officials, saying that he would keep preaching “unless I’m in jail or the hospital.”
“I am essential,” he boasted. “I’m a preacher! I talk to God!”
Then he went to the hospital. And now, his church announced yesterday, he is dead, just one week after being diagnosed with COVID-19.
“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved Bishop Gerald O. Glenn, the Founder and Pastor of New Deliverance Evangelistic Church on Saturday, April 11, 2020 @ 9:00 PM,” the church wrote in a Facebook post.
Glenn’s wife is also sick with the virus. Now, their adult daughter, Mar-Gerie Crawley, is urging everyone to stay home.
“It becomes very real to you,” she told WTVR-TV after her parents’ diagnoses. “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.”
Glenn is one of many pastors who have refused to cancel church services during the coronavirus pandemic.
Just last weekend, Greg Locke of the Global Vision Bible Church in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee held a Good Friday event during which he crucified his 16-year-old son. Two days later, he welcomed over 250 into his church for Easter service.
The week before that, Tony Spell of the Life Tabernacle Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana was charged with six misdemeanor counts of disobeying the powers of the governor when he bussed in 1,825 people for his Sunday morning service.
Related: Antigay pastor refuses to cancel church, invites hundreds of people to watch his son be crucified
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
• You play stupid games
• You win stupid prizes
jeanrvasbinder
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jayceecook
Either God couldn’t resist playing a massive prank on Glenn or forgot to mention the last time they “talked” that he was going to kill him with COVID-19.
I guess god didn’t think he was that essential after all.
Ricanthony
Good riddance!!
WSnyder
It’s a pity that people like this, who claim to be ‘Men of God’, fail to consider that God may speak to mankind through science? Reminds me of the joke where a man sat on the roof of his house during a dangerous flood and after several people came by to rescue him, he refused their help claiming God would rescue him. He dies while praying and upon his arrival to heaven confronts God and asks why he was allowed to die. God replies, ‘I sent you two boats and a helicopter, why did you refuse my help?’ Instead of expecting a burning bush, these Holy Men should consider that common sense and scientific fact might come from God instead.
Jared MacBride
Another Darwin award winner.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
“I am e$$ential,” he boasted. “I’m a preacher! I talk to God!”
msfrost
No one is absolutely essential. Just an ironic death! I never celebrate the death, of any human, not even Adolf Hitler.
Dwight
I’d think it funny except this shithead and his asshole followers likely spread this disease to lots of innocent people.
Malibu Eric
Schadenfreude never tasted so good. Pastors based in hate and evil.
ricdardc1
… So Let It Be Written So Let It Be Done, Hey at Least he wasn’t caught in a Motel with Hookers, Claiming to Repent for their Souls, but then again that could have been next weeks Appointment !
jaack
The Almighty gave you a BRAIN to use. When your life is in danger, you do not ignore the message or you DIE! To follow an ignorant person shows ignorance in yourself. So don’t do that. Stupidity usually is not inherited but usually learned, same as hatred. Preacher forgot THE message Jesus gave mankind “to love one another as you love Me”. Jesus NEVER said to hate anyone, maybe he was not happy with the hypocrites but never said to hate.
Kangol2
He’s the second loud-mouthed Virginia minister who claimed Covid-19 wasn’t serious and is now 6 feet under. Maybe he didn’t drench himself in the blood of Jesus enough!
Goforit
Where on earth did these “christians” get the idea that their right to congregate supersedes everyone else’s right to stay alive? The blood of 20,000 (and counting) American souls is on Trump’s hands. Just ad this “pastor” to the growing list.
o.codone
All the other issues aside, the gay community here on Q is apparently happy that someone died of Covid. Who laugh’s at other’s deaths? Proud of yourselves? Seriously? Wow.
michel_banen
I’m not ‘happy’ the man died but I’m not surprised either. Guess this is only a very serious warning to other preachers thinking they are immune because they ‘talk to God’. Guess that only proves they are mentally ill because they talked to an entity that isn’t there.
Cam
The right wing troll accounts will ALWAYS try to deflect from the topic to attack LGBT people.
The topic is, an Evangelical Pastor put his entire congregation in danger, and ended up dying following the Republican and Fox News line that the Corona Virus is nothing dangerous.
jayceecook
Maybe a few are “happy” as you say but I don’t think that’s actually the case with most comments including my own. I’m not happy he died. I’ve said it here on this site before that I’ll never applaud another person’s death. However that doesn’t mean they get a pass for their past words and actions. Or that everybody should mourn them.
This man made serious claims, that were not only unverifiable but egotistical at best, about the pandemic that put many people in potential danger including himself. Then he died from the very thing he said he wouldn’t.
On top of that he was part of a systematic institution that seeks to instill discrimination and persecution into law. As well as strip certain people of bodily autonomy. All because they chose to be a part of said institution. So is it really surprising that those people who are the targets of this man’s (and his religion’s) hatred are finding it hard to show sympathy? There’s always going to be some jerks who just want to revel in saying the worst things possible but I don’t think that means we all who visit this site feel the same way or agree with it.
Compassion breeds compassion. So does hate. He chose the latter during his lifetime. What he sowed now reaps.
o.codone
@Cam. Cam will always accuse others of being trolls. Forever and ever, he has nothing else to say.
Well Cam, you’re definitely the angriest man on Q. But, your name calling and anger will not distract readers from the truth. In this case a member of the gay community (here on Q) is apparently happy that someone died of Covid.
C’mon Cam, you know that’s what happened, and, since you cannot defend that statement, you divert. Not gonna work anymore dude.
Cam
@o.codone
Translation: The right wing troll account, still desperately trying to deflect from the fact that right wing evangelicals are fine with murdering their flocks so they can continue to pass the collection plate.
Kangol2
@o.codone, Frapachina has everyone else on Queerty beat in the anger department by many, many miles!
michel_banen
They say Karma is a bitch but I like her 🙂 Karma seems to be divine indeed….
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
These abhorrent reprehensive smcubags prey on ignorant lemming-like followers. Their only motivation to continue to have persons congregate together is to fill the collection baskets.
What upsets me is the fact that they congregate together spread the virus and not only do they kill themselves but they kill innocent people exposed to the virus grocery workers, first responders, nurses, and doctors.
So am I glad people like him are dead? Absofreakglutly! once enough of them died and they start seeing that there are dire consequences from ignoring the guidelines then they’ll cease their reckless behavior causing thousands of innocent people to die
Jim
And we care about a leader of a church that practices Human Sacrifice because . . . . . .
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Excellent way of putting it!
UltimateSin
He had it coming, He had it coming. He only had himself to blame.
Rock-N-RollHS
When you gotta go, you gotta go.
Let’s hope he takes most of his flock with him. . .
Tombear
It’s called natural selection. Stupid people die so the gene pool doesn’t get more contaminated than it already is.
ingyaom
Textbook psychosis:
“A severe mental disorder in which thought and emotions are so impaired that contact is lost with external reality.”
hayesj
Finally, some good news to come out of all this.
midwest sensible
Hey dipshit, how’s that “religious freedom” working out for ya?
woodroad34
Given that he had all the information about Covid-19 and made the decision to ignore those warnings…isn’t that suicide and murder, because he’s possibly taking people with him? Isn’t that a major sin? Doesn’t sound like he’s going to Heaven.
CityguyUSA
I guess he wasn’t considered an essential worker by God.
wikidBSTN
Well, he was right – God IS bigger than this virus. But Glenn wasn’t. Nor are the rest of us.
trojanboy
Its pretty obvious, these nutters weren’t batting for God. They were steeped in the shit of the other fellah.