Bishop Who Defied Social Distancing Dies After Contracting Covid-19

A Virginia bishop who defied warnings about the
danger of religious gatherings during the
pandemic and vowed to keep preaching “unless
I’m in jail or the hospital” died over the weekend
after contracting Covid-19, his church said.
The bishop, Gerald O. Glenn, 66, the founder and
pastor of New Deliverance Evangelistic Church in
Chesterfield, Va., died on Saturday night,
according to Bryan Nevers, a church elder.
Mr. Nevers announced the death of Bishop Glenn
during an Easter sermon, which was posted on
the Facebook page of the Richmond-area
Pentecostal congregation. He said that Bishop
Glenn had transitioned from labor to reward.
“The first thing I asked God is, ‘Why?’ ” Mr.
Nevers said. “The bishop has touched our lives in
so many ways.”
Mother Marcietia Glenn, 65, the bishop’s wife,
also tested positive for the virus, Mar-Gerie
Crawley, their daughter, said in an April 4 post on
the church’s Facebook page. Ms. Crawley said at
the time that her father was on a ventilator at the
hospital.
“It becomes very real to you,” Ms. Crawley said
on Facebook. “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.”