South Dakota churches were not required to shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving church leaders with a variety of choices to make regarding virus mitigation and the safety of the faithful.
Constanze Hagmeier is the bishop for the South Dakota Synod with the ELCA. She says the pandemic had severe impact on her congregation; not only because of the deaths and health risks, but also the political division that arose as well.
“Lines were drawn in the sand...that go down even to families, where people stood at a divide and they looked at each other and said, ‘I don't know how we got here, but now we're on opposite ends.’”
She also sees closing the political divide as a role of Faith leaders across the state.
“If faith leaders are allowed to be that in their communities...that's where I see the healthiest outcome as we work our way through.”
Bishop Hagmeier says that "sitting in a pew on Sunday" will not be enough to bring the community back together.