In pandemic, faithful still see a higher power at work

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Dan Frachey of Springfield said he doesn’t believe in “a capricious or mercurial God.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused deaths, stripped people of their livelihoods and even shuttered places of worship.

But Frachey, a Roman Catholic and program director for the Chiara Center, a spiritual retreat center in Springfield, rejects any theology that pins the blame on God.

“When bad things happen, people write that maybe God’s trying to teach us something,” Frachey said. “I don’t believe in that God.”

Driss El Akrich, a Springfield Muslim, said even in the miasma of a pandemic he sees people’s faith lives more deeply planted and more prayer and sacrifice being offered. He said Muslims can look to the words of the prophet Muhammad for encouragement.

“Muhammad said God never gave us any significant disease without giving a cure for it.”

With Christians marking the beginning of Holy Week today as a lead-up to Easter on April 12, the Jewish community celebrating the first night of Passover Wednesday and Muslims a little over two weeks from the start of Ramadan, they do so in a time of upheaval, with the coronavirus seemingly touching every facet of life.

Over 50,000 people worldwide have succumbed to the virus. Political leaders have implemented “stay at home” measures and discouraged large gatherings leading most places of worship to re-fashion how they stay connected with their communities, mainly through online streaming services.

People of faith say they still see God at work amid the uncertainty.

For Willa Barger of Chatham, God is multi-faceted. There is the wrath of God, Barger said, but also “a God of grace and mercy. I have faith in God because he’s still in control. He’s taking care of things behind the...