A group from a few local churches gathered at the exit of Moscow City Hall each day last week to applaud city employees as they left work. About 12 people decked out in masks held signs reading “Stand by me, support our city” and “Love your neighbor, wear a mask, Moscow together.”
The support came after city employees, fire fighters, police officers and the sheriff’s office began receiving threats and “vile” messages when five individuals were cited by the Moscow Police Department for suspicion of violating Moscow’s mask order during a Christ Church psalm singing event Sept. 23. Three of those individuals, including Latah County commission candidate Gabriel Rench, were arrested.
Two more anti-mask events followed on Sept. 25 and 26, the first hosted by Christ Church and the second by Idaho State Representative Chad Christensen. Shortly after the protests, Moscow City Supervisor Gary Riedner said an assistant logged upwards of 300 phone calls and 300 emails for a single person. As of last Friday, Riedner’s office only received a few of these emails per day.
In addition to showing in-person support for city employees as they left work, the multi-congregation group brought lunches, sweet treats and thank you cards to City Hall, the fire station, the police station and the sheriff’s office. One receptionist came back shortly after leaving and asked the group to pose for a picture before heading home.
Rev. Debbie Sperry, pastor of the First United Methodist Church, said around 15 congregations participated in donating goodies to city workers. All these congregations were invited to join the small crowds outside City Hall. She said the group was also working on sponsoring yard signs so people in the community could voice support as well.
“The thing that’s nice about it, from our perspective, is you get everybody who talks to you trying to say you’re doing something wrong, and it’s nice to hear people who are supportive or understand that, OK, we understand that it’s your job to do this and people shouldn’t be abusing you for doing your job,” Riedner said.
Responses to emails and phone calls varied depending on who was on the other end, Riedner said. If a person on the phone was unable to have a civil conversation, the phone call was terminated. Emails only received replies if one was requested.
The city’s Human Resources department has offered coping mechanisms and telehealth opportunities for employees who may need it, Riedner said.
Rev. Mary Beth Rivetti, with St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, said the congregations are considering keeping up the “5:00 Clap” every day through the election, if weather allows. She said continuing with the goodies and refreshments depends on the amount of energy and resources the church can keep up with.
“Our main focus has been the support of the city employees who kind of had to take the brunt of the wave of indignation that came on the city in the wake of the arrest last week,” Rivetti said.
Susan Hodgin, also affiliated with St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, said she felt like the city workers got caught in the crossfire for trying to respect the mask ordinance, which was recently extended until Jan. 5.
“Simply, the message is believe the science, wear the mask, but, most importantly, the people (working) here on Thursday and Friday, they didn’t even know if they could leave safely,” Hodgin said. “That’s part of this, is to make sure they know the community is supportive, and we believe in our town.”
Anteia McCollum can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @antxiam5.