From ‘Copenhell’ to ‘Copenheaven’: Danish Church Takes Over Heavy Metal Venue - The New York Times
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Patrick Kingsley, an international correspondent, and Laetitia Vancon, a photojournalist, are driving more than 3,700 miles to explore the reopening of the European continent after coronavirus lockdowns.Read all their dispatches.
COPENHAGEN — From a warehouse wall in eastern Copenhagen, a vast mural of a wolf stares down on an industrial wasteland. Usually, it forms the backdrop for a heavy metal festival called Copenhell, held every June.
But in a world upended by the coronavirus, this year’s festival has been canceled. In its place, the wolf now looms above a group of evangelical Christians, who have held a drive-in church service here almost every Sunday since the Danish lockdown began.
They call it Copenheaven.
“We are the Christian sheep,” said the group’s pastor, Thomas Christensen, walking between his congregants’ cars, preparing to lead a service last Sunday.
“That is the big bad wolf,” he said, half in jest. “And I’m the shepherd, protecting the flock.”
Like all sections of society, religious groups have struggled to adapt to the pandemic.
By their very nature, religious services of many faiths became a health threat because they encourage people to gather, find fellowship and sing in proximity to each other. Religious gatherings in France, South Korea, the UnitedStates, and Malaysia were found to have accelerated the spread of the disease in those and other countries.
“We say, if you want to get baptized, put your windshield washers on,” said the pastor, Thomas Christensen, in jest. “If you want to turn to God, put your blinkers on.”Credit...Laetitia Vancon for The New York Times
In recognition of that risk, most conventional religious gatherings were canceled, with pastors, imams and rabbis pivoting to online broadcasts or other solutions. Muslims in southern Germany prayed in the huge parking lot of a furniture store, with worshipers kneeling in their own parking spaces.
But among the most unconventional responses began here among the warehouses of eastern Copenhagen, where Mr. Christensen’s congregants have driven every Sunday since late March to sing, pray and honk their horns, while still cocooned by their windshields from potentially infectious fellow worshipers.
The drivers park in front of a small stage that is erected and dismantled every Sunday morning. A small choir and backing band belt hymns and prayers, amplified by a wall of speakers provided by a company that usually equips musical events.
A man-made ski slope stands in the distance.
Mr. Christensen reads his sermon into a microphone. There’s no communion, though individual worshipers have sometimes brought their own bread and wine to consume in their car.
Mr. Christensen preaching to his congregants.
"Your kingdom come, your will be done,” the lead singers sang at one point from the stage. “Hear us in heaven.”
Of that, there was never any doubt.
Instead of saying “Amen,” the congregants simultaneously blared their horns — all 26 cars of them.
“Who let the cars out?” asked the pastor, in between hymns last Sunday.
Honk.
Honk.
Honk, honk.
Honk.
“We try to have fun with it,” the pastor said later.
“We say, if you want to get baptized, put your windshield washers on,” he added, again in jest. “If you want to turn to God, put your blinkers on.”
Last Sunday, there were few vestiges of a traditional church service — no Lord’s Prayer, no readings from the Bible. But that’s only partly because of the coronavirus.
Even before the pandemic, Mr. Christensen’s evangelical church, the Open Church, which has three branches including the one in Copenhagen, prided itself on its unconventionality, hoping to attract worshipers put off by the more formal approach of other Christian groups.
When churches closed at the start of the lockdown in March, the Open Church began broadcasting its services on the internet.
But Mr. Christensen’s congregants found it alienating to worship through a screen, cut off from their community.
Praying online “required a lot of concentration,” said Benjamin Lund, a 23-year-old professional soccer player behind the wheel of a gray car near the stage.
And Mr. Christensen was worried. It was a time of great difficulty. People were anxious. He felt his congregation needed the church to help “navigate through.”
But how?
Then Mr. Christensen saw a video of an American congregation at a drive-in cinema, watching a livestream of a church service taking place elsewhere.
A church leader in a lion costume entertaining the congregation under the watchful eyes of a wolf.
An idea struck him. What if the Open Church went one step further, he wondered — with both drivers and pastor at the same venue?
He remembered the wasteland between the warehouses, up near the man-made ski slope. Before the pandemic, musical events were held there. Why not a church service?
Will protests set off a second viral wave of coronavirus?
Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission.
How do we start exercising again without hurting ourselves after months of lockdown?
Exercise researchers and physicians have some blunt advice for those of us aiming to return to regular exercise now: Start slowly and then rev up your workouts, also slowly. American adults tended to be about 12 percent less active after the stay-at-home mandates began in March than they were in January. But there are steps you can take to ease your way back into regular exercise safely. First, “start at no more than 50 percent of the exercise you were doing before Covid,” says Dr. Monica Rho, the chief of musculoskeletal medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. Thread in some preparatory squats, too, she advises. “When you haven’t been exercising, you lose muscle mass.” Expect some muscle twinges after these preliminary, post-lockdown sessions, especially a day or two later. But sudden or increasing pain during exercise is a clarion call to stop and return home.
My state is reopening. Is it safe to go out?
States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people.
What’s the risk of catching coronavirus from a surface?
Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks.
What are the symptoms of coronavirus?
Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.
How can I protect myself while flying?
If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)
How many people have lost their jobs due to coronavirus in the U.S.?
More than 40 million people — the equivalent of 1 in 4 U.S. workers — have filed for unemployment benefits since the pandemic took hold. One in five who were working in February reported losing a job or being furloughed in March or the beginning of April, data from a Federal Reserve survey released on May 14 showed, and that pain was highly concentrated among low earners. Fully 39 percent of former workers living in a household earning $40,000 or less lost work, compared with 13 percent in those making more than $100,000, a Fed official said.
How do I take my temperature?
Taking one’s temperature to look for signs of fever is not as easy as it sounds, as “normal” temperature numbers can vary, but generally, keep an eye out for a temperature of 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. If you don’t have a thermometer (they can be pricey these days), there are other ways to figure out if you have a fever, or are at risk of Covid-19 complications.
Should I wear a mask?
The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing.
What should I do if I feel sick?
If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.
After a bit of negotiation, the plot’s owners agreed to let him hire the space for about $400 a week, a bill footed by members of the congregation.
On top of a nearby mound, they installed a series of giant letters, spelling the word: “Copenheaven.”
And so began one of the pandemic’s first drive-in churches, an idea so popular that members of more traditional denominations began to attend, in the absence of live services at their own places of worship.
The concept was later borrowed by dozens of other pastors across northern Europe.
“It’s odd times,” said Per Jonsson, a 37-year-old set engineer, who has attended the services with his family since the beginning.
“But it’s better than being at home, just watching it” on a website, said his wife, Carina Jonsson.
“It’s odd times,” said Per Jonsson, a 37-year-old set engineer, attending services with his family.
“We have a physical presence,” said Ms. Jonsson, a 38-year-old civil servant. “I take in the message better here than at home on the internet.”
Now that the restrictions have begun to lift in Denmark, religious groups can begin to gather again in their usual buildings.
But Mr. Christensen intends to keep the drive-in services going — not every Sunday, but every few weeks at least.
Until there is a vaccine or reliable treatment for the coronavirus, some vulnerable people will still be wary of attending regular church, he said.
“And we want to provide a way for them to still go to church on a Sunday,” he said.
But there are still a few technical challenges to overcome.
While talking last Sunday, Mr. Christensen broke off suddenly, and rushed to speak to a man noting down the registration of a parked car.
It was a caretaker working for the site’s owner, Mr. Christensen explained later.
The caretaker hadn’t been told there was a service that morning, Mr. Christensen said.
And he was about to hand out a ticket.
The site usually is home to a heavy metal festival called Copenhell, but has now been nicknamed Copenheaven.
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From ‘Copenhell’ to ‘Copenheaven’: Danish Church Takes Over Heavy Metal Venue - The New York Times
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