Many congregations canceled services, and some Christians focused on feeding and nursing the poor.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Nashville saw its first case of the “Spanish flu” in late September 1918. By November, 1,300 had died — 1 percent of the city’s population.
The influenza would kill almost 700,000 in the United States and 50 million globally. It was the worst pandemic in modern history.
Amid the dramatic lifestyle changes brought by the worldwide coronavirus outbreak, the experience of Christians more than a century ago is worth revisiting.
