Churches Not Locking Down During The New Wave Of Covid

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Comments

  • Gee DGee D Shipmate
    If churches are going to hold services - and I think they should - they must be rigorous about cleaning, policing social distancing and mask wearing: to do otherwise is, IMO, un-christian.

    Totally agreed, and we are, now that services in church are allowed again. We'd add allowing the prescribed space between congregants (except family members of course) and very strict procedures about distribution of the elements.
  • I'll note that you could hold a safe, maskless wedding, but it would take extraordinary actions. Because the obvious point is that, if nobody has the virus, you don't need masks, then if you put everyone through a strict quarantine / isolation regime, you can isolate a group of people who don't have the virus. If you keep them isolated, they can then safely enjoy maskless mingling.

    But strict isolation is hard - and don't forget that you need to isolate your catering staff, cleaners, and so on as well. It's not completely impossible - you could look at what the NBA was able to achieve, for example - but it's not easy. And the thing about quarantine and bubbling is that you can't half-ass it and think you'll get away with it. A bubble is like the Schengen treaty - you don't have any internal barriers, and put all your trust in your exterior wall. If the virus gets in, you all get it. Whereas if you wear masks, distance, and minimize your contacts, then your group is more resilient against accidental virus exposure.
  • ChastMastrChastMastr Shipmate
    edited December 2020
    I think it's definitely not helping that here in the US and in Florida (double whammy there), we have so many people refusing to pass rules, even to require masks, and many of those who do wear masks are wearing them wrong (nose sticking out of the top, wearing them on their chins, etc.), and of course you take your life in your hands if you dare say anything to them about, the grocery stores don't want to take the risks of having an anti-masker freak out (I've quietly asked at some I go to)--again, this is from my POV here in Florida. I'm in the gay community and I've been vexed as well to see, in my local Facebook groups, all kinds of local bar events all the time, and supposedly they're being held in safe ways, but the photos people post afterward don't show masks, social distancing, etc. All of this is kind of the background of my worry about churches. It's like everything around here, sacred or secular, is pretty laissez-faire about anything that would help protect people, and today the US hit 300,000 deaths. Florida broke its record high (from July) of new Covid cases the other day, and then broke that record again the next day. The local Episcopal churches seem to be having some rules, yes, but given circumstances, I think our area (and state, and country) has gone far beyond where very strict rules should have been implemented, but neither the (current--counting the minutes till 20 January) president nor the governor have the slightest interest in doing so. So the count keeps rising. Prayers welcome. :(
  • I'm planning to go to 11am mass tomorrow in the city. It was necessary for me to book online to go. I am pretty sure this mission oriented church will have other ways to book, but it is interesting that here in Melbourne numbers are limited for indoor services. It is a large church, probably about a 500 person capacity, maybe more.

    We have technically eliminated community transmission here, but have a few cases from Australians in quarantine who have returned from overseas. I really wish they would move quarantine away from the cities. It seems like a no-brainer to have people serve their quarantine period in facilities mothballed from our detention of asylum seekers and have workers there operate on a FIFO basis. We have worked too hard to have an outbreak get out of control again.
  • Gee DGee D Shipmate
    ChastMastr wrote: »
    All of this is kind of the background of my worry about churches. It's like everything around here, sacred or secular, is pretty laissez-faire about anything that would help protect people, and today the US hit 300,000 deaths. Florida broke its record high (from July) of new Covid cases the other day, and then broke that record again the next day.

    We've had 908 deaths altogether, with a population a bit under 10% of yours. I think the reason is that restrictions were brought in rapidly and largely accepted. There has been some dissent but little. Also a few very silly government actions such as allowing some US show-business person to fly his private plane into a beach resort; OK, he was given strict restrictions but some of his actions don't seem to be in compliance with what you'd expect.
  • Our church is open, but places have to be booked in advance, distancing is strictly observed, there's no singing etc. Demand for places has been low. The service is simultaneously available via Zoom. Zoom has proved very popular, and we seem to be reaching people who did not attend church previously. Conversely, we are failing to reach the computer-illiterate elderly. However a surprising number of our older members are online. After church we have break-out rooms with random allocation , which has been a delight. I think we will return to the building a more cohesive group, having chatted to people we don't usually chat to. Personally, Zoom is working very well for me and I haven't attended in person.

    This Sunday we are having a Christingle Service. Christingle kits are being delivered to all who want one, in advance of the Zoom service - as of last Sunday 93 had been requested and I assume that number has risen since. It helps that we're a village church and not a scattered congregation.

    After Covid I think we will continue to live stream services as we seem to have stumbled upon opportunities which we hadn't realised were there.
  • Berkeley wrote: »
    I'm in Greater Manchester. My local Anglican Churches are open at the moment and preparing for Christmas services where possible with covid safety measures in place and online services running along side. Interestingly all the local Methodist churches remain closed and have been so since the first lockdown in March. Independent churches also seem to be remaining closed from what I can tell. I wonder if there is a correlation between a church's view on the status and importance of the Eucharist and whether they are open or not.

    Not here. We're a Baptist church and have been open as soon as was practically possible. Communion/Eucharist is very important for us given our ecclesiology and focus on covenant, fellowship and the body.

    Practically, it meant - and means - a lot of hard work, as we are also running online alongside. In practice we have a rotating invitation system over a monthly period to ensure everyone has a fair crack at being part of "live" worship - socially distanced and risk assessed - provided they want to. There's also a % of seats left for anyone who comes in off the street.

    IMHO it's important to be visible and to show that you are so within Government guidelines. All the above happens alongside some support ministries to basically anyone in need. Covid hasn't stopped us caring and showing that we do; this area has other unique economic pressures aside from Covid, which are more long term. A big encouragement in lockdown has been the growth of team work.

    Sadly, the latter is not true for a number of other local churches who may be Covid explosions waiting to happen, given their demographic
  • orfeoorfeo Shipmate
    Gee D wrote: »
    ChastMastr - a major difference between the US and here is that from the start, the various governments imposed heavy restrictions on gatherings, and have enforced them by moderately hefty fines. Most people seem to have gone along with these. The extreme right in Victoria and extreme left here (NSW) have fought against them, but got nowhere.

    A very, very wealthy businessman has started legal action to get the restrictions set aside and is arguing the case himself. Basically he's relying upon a provision of the Aust Constitution which provides that "On the imposition of uniform duties of customs, trade, commerce, and intercourse among the States, whether by means of internal carriage or ocean navigation, shall be absolutely free." An odd provision which has sparked more litigation than any other, in the course of which several fortunes were made. I have zero expertise in the area, but doubt that he'll be successful.

    Do you mean Clive Palmer?

    If so he already lost.
  • Baptist TrainfanBaptist Trainfan Shipmate
    edited December 2020
    ChastMastr wrote: »
    Many of those who do wear masks are wearing them wrong (nose sticking out of the top, wearing them on their chins, etc.), and of course you take your life in your hands if you dare say anything to them .
    Nothing to do with church, but I have been annoyed by the number of people who get on the bus, correctly masked - and then pull the mask down and chat as soon as they've passed the driver and sat down. It's mostly, but not exclusively, younger people who do this.

  • Berkeley wrote: »
    I'm in Greater Manchester. My local Anglican Churches are open at the moment and preparing for Christmas services where possible with covid safety measures in place and online services running along side. Interestingly all the local Methodist churches remain closed and have been so since the first lockdown in March. Independent churches also seem to be remaining closed from what I can tell. I wonder if there is a correlation between a church's view on the status and importance of the Eucharist and whether they are open or not.



    IMHO it's important to be visible and to show that you are so within Government guidelines. All the above happens alongside some support ministries to basically anyone in need. Covid hasn't stopped us caring and showing that we do; this area has other unique economic pressures aside from Covid, which are more long term. A big encouragement in lockdown has been the growth of team work.

    Our (much smaller) Place has found what @ExclamationMark says to be true.


  • Bishops FingerBishops Finger Shipmate
    edited December 2020
    Forgot to add - the indoor Christmas Bazaar I've been whingeing on about has been reduced to a single stall, in the church, selling cakes and crafts on behalf of a certain well-known Christmas charity.

    It seems that not enough people willing to take the risk were available to help...
  • tclunetclune Shipmate
    edited December 2020
    Not here. We're a Baptist church and have been open as soon as was practically possible. Communion/Eucharist is very important for us given our ecclesiology and focus on covenant, fellowship and the body.

    Wow! Talk about pond differences... In the US, Baptists don't even recognize communion as a sacrament. Indeed, since the late twentieth century, it has become fashionable to relegate communion to separate services for those fuddy-duddies who still want such things, in the belief that it is off-putting to "seekers." Apparently Christ is not what they are seeking...
  • Yes, but supposing they don't know they have the Plague...

    As others have said, or implied, the best way to keep the rate of infection down is to restrict contact with other people as much as possible.

    Shops and buses are necessary - Christmas Bazaars are not.

    I totally agree with your second sentence.

    I should have added before that I avoid almost everyone anyway.

  • Yes, but supposing they don't know they have the Plague...

    As others have said, or implied, the best way to keep the rate of infection down is to restrict contact with other people as much as possible.

    Shops and buses are necessary - Christmas Bazaars are not.

    Yes ... and of all people, one would expect people of faith to be considerate of others ...
  • RuthRuth Shipmate
    I'll note that you could hold a safe, maskless wedding, but it would take extraordinary actions. Because the obvious point is that, if nobody has the virus, you don't need masks, then if you put everyone through a strict quarantine / isolation regime, you can isolate a group of people who don't have the virus. If you keep them isolated, they can then safely enjoy maskless mingling.

    But strict isolation is hard - and don't forget that you need to isolate your catering staff, cleaners, and so on as well. It's not completely impossible - you could look at what the NBA was able to achieve, for example - but it's not easy. And the thing about quarantine and bubbling is that you can't half-ass it and think you'll get away with it.

    It's not impossible, but it's only practical if you have a lot of money. All the staff people isolating for two weeks or whatever ahead of time would need to be compensated, and supported in that isolation. The NBA was able to maintain a bubble because of the gobs of money they have.
  • Yes, but supposing they don't know they have the Plague...

    As others have said, or implied, the best way to keep the rate of infection down is to restrict contact with other people as much as possible.

    Shops and buses are necessary - Christmas Bazaars are not.

    Yes ... and of all people, one would expect people of faith to be considerate of others ...

    Quite.

    Having heard that our Christmas Bazaar has been greatly reduced in scope (!), I now wonder about the wisdom of having a *Crib and Christingle* service on Christmas Eve. ISTM that policing social distancing and mixing-and-mingling at such an event (should any children actually turn up) is likely to be difficult.

    The Bonkers Amnesty™ may not happen, as it is being reported that *English* ministers are to consult with the other countries of the (ahem!) *Union* on the whole question of a Christmas relaxation. If so, it may mean that churches would be ill-advised to go ahead with such plans - although AFAIK no other churches in our area have such plans, anyway.
  • Yes ... and of all people, one would expect people of faith to be considerate of others ...

    Why would you expect that? During the last plague the most gleeful and vicious voices were people of faith who were happy that the plague was killing all the "right" people.
  • Bishops FingerBishops Finger Shipmate
    edited December 2020
    Yes, well - not ALL *people of faith* would approve of that...but point taken, and the question as to which *god* such people as Falwell actually believe in might legitimately be asked...
  • Baptist TrainfanBaptist Trainfan Shipmate
    edited December 2020
    tclune wrote: »
    In the US, Baptists don't even recognize communion as a sacrament.
    That is awful. Admittedly, many Baptists in the UK would call Communion an "ordinance" rather than a "sacrament"; and churches will vary in the prominence they give to it and the frequency they celebrate it. But none would sideline it in the way you describe; indeed, about 50 years (and before charismatic Christianity tended to become more pervasive), there was quite a strong liturgical/sacramental movement within some English Baptist churches and possibly elsewhere in the UK.

    However, we are rather getting off the point ...

  • AFAIK, those of our local churches which have NOT fully reopened are mostly the ones with the largest congregations, where the logistics might be more difficult, although I think pretty well all churches are *online* in one way or another.

    Those of us with a weekly (or even daily) Eucharist generally have smaller numbers attending, and larger buildings (!), so the restrictions/guidance/diktats can be complied with a little more easily.

  • TheOrganistTheOrganist Shipmate
    edited December 2020
    At first (July) our numbers were low, then picked up a bit but have changed since October. Eucharists are down by c40%; Choral Matins, on the other hand, is now attracting more than before the plague.

    For Christmas we were only having one service but so many have signed up we're going to put on another one. Now the schedule is for a eucharist with (choir) carols at 10am and Choral Matins at 11am.

    People are asked to sign up for services so we can control numbers.
  • Those of us with a weekly (or even daily) Eucharist generally have smaller numbers attending, and larger buildings (!), so the restrictions/guidance/diktats can be complied with a little more easily.

    Then there's this news story from about a week ago highlighting an alternative strategy: simply ignoring the restrictions/guidance/diktats.
    A San Jose pastor appeared in court Tuesday afternoon on a contempt charge after he defied Santa Clara County's coronavirus health orders by holding weekly indoor church services for hundreds of people.

    Mike McClure, pastor with Calvary Church San Jose, continued to hold indoor services even after the church was slapped with hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and was ordered by a judge to halt services, according to the county, who added that the church held such gatherings as recently as Thanksgiving eve. [ ed. - November 25 for non-Americans ]

    Many of the attendees for the services reportedly were not wearing masks or social distancing. The county has argued it is a matter of protecting people from a deadly virus.

    This seems to meet the @Anteater standard of pandemic safety measures, where your own judgment is always considered an adequate standard. Maybe Pastor McClure's judgment is a bit different than @Anteater's as far as specifics go, but they're following the same principle so everything will surely work out fine.
  • There have been AFAIK a few similar cases in the UK (but with smaller numbers involved), and *threats* have been made by other churches...

    What a law-abiding lot we must be, though, in general!
    :wink:
  • At first (July) our numbers were low, then picked up a bit but have changed since October. Eucharists are down by c40%; Choral Matins, on the other hand, is now attracting more than before the plague.

    For Christmas we were only having one service but so many have signed up we're going to put on another one. Now the schedule is for a eucharist with (choir) carols at 10am and Choral Matins at 11am.

    People are asked to sign up for services so we can control numbers.

    Just spotted this - it's interesting that Matins is attracting more peeps. Is this partly, at any rate, due to choirs now being allowed to sing? Choral Matins is not quite so audience-participation-friendly, IYSWIM, as the Eucharist, at least as far as singing is concerned.

    Matins is also, obviously, not so *hindered* by restrictions on The Peace, receiving Communion, etc. etc....
  • We think its because the choir do the whole thing and the PP leaves it alone ...
  • :lol:

    I did wonder...but, in that case, who officiates?
    :wink:

    That's not a frivolous question, as such services can of course be legally conducted by Lay Ministers of various shades...
  • I think that churches that are open are picking up folk from other churches that aren't.
  • tclune wrote: »
    Not here. We're a Baptist church and have been open as soon as was practically possible. Communion/Eucharist is very important for us given our ecclesiology and focus on covenant, fellowship and the body.

    Wow! Talk about pond differences... In the US, Baptists don't even recognize communion as a sacrament. Indeed, since the late twentieth century, it has become fashionable to relegate communion to separate services for those fuddy-duddies who still want such things, in the belief that it is off-putting to "seekers." Apparently Christ is not what they are seeking...

    It is the place where we proclaim Christ and are "re - membered"
  • Yes, but supposing they don't know they have the Plague...

    As others have said, or implied, the best way to keep the rate of infection down is to restrict contact with other people as much as possible.

    Shops and buses are necessary - Christmas Bazaars are not.

    Yes ... and of all people, one would expect people of faith to be considerate of others ...

    Quite.

    Having heard that our Christmas Bazaar has been greatly reduced in scope (!), I now wonder about the wisdom of having a *Crib and Christingle* service on Christmas Eve. ISTM that policing social distancing and mixing-and-mingling at such an event (should any children actually turn up) is likely to be difficult.

    The Bonkers Amnesty™ may not happen, as it is being reported that *English* ministers are to consult with the other countries of the (ahem!) *Union* on the whole question of a Christmas relaxation. If so, it may mean that churches would be ill-advised to go ahead with such plans - although AFAIK no other churches in our area have such plans, anyway.

    Tbh we found that it was easy to police this last Sunday. Just do booking through event brite, give people time to arrive, have enough stewards to show them to their seat. Christingle stuff in a bag - assemble in the service - stewards light a family candle for each group who pass it around their group. Worked irl and on paper, risk assessed.
  • AFAIK, those of our local churches which have NOT fully reopened are mostly the ones with the largest congregations, where the logistics might be more difficult, although I think pretty well all churches are *online* in one way or another.

    Those of us with a weekly (or even daily) Eucharist generally have smaller numbers attending, and larger buildings (!), so the restrictions/guidance/diktats can be complied with a little more easily.

    I can see that but we're one of the more well attended institutions and are open. One or two of the others aren't. A lot of smaller ones aren't or where they are part of a group, only 1 is open.
  • Yes - mine was purely *anecdotal evidence*.
    :wink:
  • :lol:

    I did wonder...but, in that case, who officiates?
    :wink:

    That's not a frivolous question, as such services can of course be legally conducted by Lay Ministers of various shades...

    Sometimes a retired priest, otherwise the Choir just does it with one of the gentlemen leading.
  • Crœsos wrote: »
    Yes ... and of all people, one would expect people of faith to be considerate of others ...

    Why would you expect that? During the last plague the most gleeful and vicious voices were people of faith who were happy that the plague was killing all the "right" people.

    Apparently you and I have different understanding of what it means to be a "person of faith" ...
  • I ll know for sure that our local churches are being Considerate of Others when they leave the doors and windows Open!

    If they don’t, then there is No consideration for the safety of their fellow worshippers
  • Nick TamenNick Tamen Shipmate
    edited December 2020
    tclune wrote: »
    Not here. We're a Baptist church and have been open as soon as was practically possible. Communion/Eucharist is very important for us given our ecclesiology and focus on covenant, fellowship and the body.

    Wow! Talk about pond differences... In the US, Baptists don't even recognize communion as a sacrament.
    Hmmm. I know what you mean, but I wonder if it’s slightly askew or misleading to say American Baptists don’t “recognize” Communion as a sacrament, as though perhaps they recognize anything else as a sacrament. The concept of “sacrament” as such isn’t part of American Baptist theology or ecclesiology. They don’t recognize any sacraments.

    Consistent with what @Baptist Trainfan says, American Baptists would recognize Communion as an ordinance, along with baptism and, among some, foot washing. And all the Baptists I’ve encountered definitely believe that observation of the ordinances is binding on the local church.

    As for not having Communion at regular or seeker-friendly services, I haven’t seen or heard much evidence of the trend you describe in these Southern Baptist-dense parts. But from a Baptist perspective, it does make some sense not to have Communion at a service specifically designed to be seeker-friendly, since Baptists in these parts generally practice closed Communion.


  • Gee DGee D Shipmate
    orfeo wrote: »
    Do you mean Clive Palmer?

    If so he already lost.

    He certainly lost the action in which he appeared for himself. My memory is that he has at least one other where one of his companies is a plaintiff and of course he has to be represented in that.
  • Ethne Alba wrote: »
    I ll know for sure that our local churches are being Considerate of Others when they leave the doors and windows Open!

    If they don’t, then there is No consideration for the safety of their fellow worshippers

    I claim an exemption for having a building the size of a barn, a handful in the congregation and walls, doors and roof that are, shall we say, "self-ventilating".
  • orfeoorfeo Shipmate
    edited December 2020
    Gee D wrote: »
    orfeo wrote: »
    Do you mean Clive Palmer?

    If so he already lost.

    He certainly lost the action in which he appeared for himself. My memory is that he has at least one other where one of his companies is a plaintiff and of course he has to be represented in that.

    He has other cases against Western Australia, but as far as I'm aware they are not section 92/border closure cases or otherwise about COVID restrictions, which is what you were referring to.

    On the border closure question, he lost. The High Court has ruled that the closure of Western Australia's border was legal (and has also ruled that the COVID restrictions in Victoria were legal, rejecting the claim that there is some kind of constitutional protection of freedom of movement).
  • I attended church today having booked online. My name was checked off as I entered, and the pews were roped off. I was escorted to my seat and there was me and another bloke in the pew, on my side of the aisle. The Priest gave communion in our pews and there was a fella going around in front of him giving us a squirt of hand sanitizer before we received the host. There was about 50 people there, and I reckon that was fully subscribed.
  • Gee DGee D Shipmate
    orfeo wrote: »
    Gee D wrote: »
    orfeo wrote: »
    Do you mean Clive Palmer?

    If so he already lost.

    He certainly lost the action in which he appeared for himself. My memory is that he has at least one other where one of his companies is a plaintiff and of course he has to be represented in that.

    He has other cases against Western Australia, but as far as I'm aware they are not section 92/border closure cases or otherwise about COVID restrictions, which is what you were referring to.

    On the border closure question, he lost. The High Court has ruled that the closure of Western Australia's border was legal (and has also ruled that the COVID restrictions in Victoria were legal, rejecting the claim that there is some kind of constitutional protection of freedom of movement).

    Certainly the WA litigation that I know about has nothing to do with s.92 and I made no such assertion. The claims in that litigation are for an astronomical figure.
  • orfeoorfeo Shipmate
    You "made no such assertion"... but then I'm at a loss as to why your response to my first remark was to say that he had other cases. If you agree that the other cases are irrelevant to the topic at hand, why did you bring them up?

    Never mind. The original point was that our courts have supported our governments in having restrictions.
  • @Simon Toad, except for actually escorting people to their seats, that sounds like the weekend procedures in most of the Catholic parishes in the ACT and surrounding areas, although some have queue spacing marked in aisles for communion, rather than the priest walking up the aisle. From experience, the priest distributing communion is much less movement and more peaceful.
  • Hello, ChastMastr! Sounds like a really tough situation where you are. Like other Scottish churches referred to on this thread, we're still open (Tier 2 at the moment for us). There have been individual members who have had to isolate because of contact with Covid-19 positive people - none yet so far as we know connected to a church service, though one wonders if that's only a matter of time. But we do try to follow the guidelines fairly accurately.

    And the two extra Christmas services we're running have to be booked for, just like the Sunday services. We've limited the numbers for the Christmas Eve and Day services because I didn't want to put extra strain on our stewards, and it just makes everything more do-able if we have clear numbers well within our capacity, and can plan our resources accordingly. I notice, too, that a few of those who are booking in for the special services are folks who haven't come back to church yet, for various reasons. Many church members are also saying they're happy to back out in favour of others (eg, families with children, or those who haven't been yet) if numbers are too much. But I don't think that will be a problem.

    We'll have a kind of Christingle/Crib service on Christmas Eve, featuring made up party bags of what's needed, which will be left on the pews; and people will stay in their seats throughout. We're not allowed congregational singing, so I'll have recorded music lined up. Not even the worship leader is supposed to move around that much, according to our guidelines, so it all makes for an interesting challenge!
  • Anselmina wrote: »


    We'll have a kind of Christingle/Crib service on Christmas Eve, featuring made up party bags of what's needed, which will be left on the pews; and people will stay in their seats throughout. We're not allowed congregational singing, so I'll have recorded music lined up. Not even the worship leader is supposed to move around that much, according to our guidelines, so it all makes for an interesting challenge!

    Sounds sensible and well-organised @Anselmina!

    I hope our Crib/Christingle service (Christmas Eve afternoon) has been arranged along these lines, but, given that it's being advertised as being intended *For The EXCITED Of ALL Ages!!!!!*, I suspect that there may be too much milling around for comfort or safety.

    OTOH, no-one (or only a handful) may turn up, which is where some sort of booking system is such a Good Idea. I wonder if there's also a psychological aspect, too, inasmuch as people may think *O, if we have to book in advance, it MUST be worth attending!*...IYSWIM.
  • Baptist TrainfanBaptist Trainfan Shipmate
    edited December 2020
    I hope our Crib/Christingle service (Christmas Eve afternoon) has been arranged along these lines, but, given that it's being advertised as being intended *For The EXCITED Of ALL Ages!!!!!*, I suspect that there may be too much milling around for comfort or safety.
    Typical Anglican understatement, I see. I hope the service lives up to its billing ...
    OTOH, no-one (or only a handful) may turn up, which is where some sort of booking system is such a Good Idea. I wonder if there's also a psychological aspect, too, inasmuch as people may think *O, if we have to book in advance, it MUST be worth attending!*...IYSWIM.
    Or, "What a pain we have to book in advance, I don't think we'll bother".

  • Well, there is that...
    :disappointed:

    One of our neighbouring parishes is having a ticket-only Crib Service - they usually get a fair-sized crowd, so I'll be interested to learn how they fare this year.
  • I know my parents have booked for midnight at their church, but that is a smallish parish church with a fair size congregation so they need to control numbers. They normally do that rather than the family orientated Christmas morning service. St Quacks has a sufficiently generous congregation to space ratio that we don't have to worry.

    The local cathedral has run multiple carol services, and actually held a ballot for tickets for the main Christmas services!

    The parish we live in have sent an invite to their Christmas carol service, which has in person and Zoom options. I am thinking about getting the link from the parish office, given that Dragonlet 1 can't go to anything before Monday.
  • As some of you may have seen in my posts, I've been concerned about Covid spread in my own church (local, diocese, national). A few weeks ago, I sent an email to the diocese (and to my local and national church) with my concerns.

    Yesterday, after a couple of email exchanges, I got an email back from our diocese, in which the bishop's assistant said the bishop would like to call me (!) to talk about my Covid concerns. We arranged a call for 3 PM today. The call never came, and when I called, I got voicemail twice, and I gave up after more than an hour of waiting.

    This is the email I sent afterward. Names deleted, of course.

    Dear [name],

    In the absence of Bishop X's 3 PM call--I hope everything is all right, as I called twice and only got voicemail, and gave up waiting after more than an hour--my basic concern is this:

    I'm an Anglo-Catholic, sacramentally. Communion is very, very important to me, and I miss being able to receive it regularly. (My household and I have not attended church since the pandemic started.) But even given that, I think right now is a catastrophically bad time to leave the decisions about whether or how to keep our churches open to individual churches, just as it is a bad time to leave similar decisions up to individual businesses or whatever people feel like doing. As you know, the US has been handling this crisis especially badly, and within the US, Florida has been handling it even worse. (See articles from reliable sources linked below.) I see on the Diocese's website that, according to the letter of 24 September 2020, none of the suggestions for churches, however strong those suggestions may be, are actual requirements. Given that next week will be Christmas services, which are likely to have many more people who are visiting (whether as tourists or as winter residents), or people who are "Christmas and Easter" attendees, in addition to the skyrocketing Covid cases (the US is now breaking records, as is Florida), why in heaven's name aren't we going back to the rules from months ago? Things have become worse since then, and it appears that the rate of things getting worse is also increasing.

    (part 1)
  • (part 2)

    NIH head Francis Collins, himself a Christian and a churchgoer, said:

    "The virus is having a wonderful time right now, taking advantage of circumstances where people have let their guard go down," said Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health. "Churches gathering in person is a source of considerable concern and has certainly been an instance where super spreading has happened and could happen again." . . . "Most churches really ought to be advised to go to remote services, if they're not already doing so," Collins said. . . . In his Zoom conversation, NIH Director Francis Collins noted how some churchgoers initially are compliant with public health guidelines, entering the church with their masks on and remaining six feet away from other churchgoers. "Then you get to the end of the service," Collins said. "You can't get a bunch of Christians not to hug each other and not want to shake hands with the pastor as they go out the door and maybe have a conversation a lot closer than six feet away. And that's where the trouble happens."

    (From https://www.npr.org/2020/12/03/942449806/nih-director-tells-churches-to-do-the-altruistic-loving-thing-and-stay-closed)

    As of yesterday, the US has reached an all-time high of 3,600 Covid deaths per day. (https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/health-news-florida/2020-12-17/u-s-surpasses-3-600-daily-coronavirus-deaths-breaks-prior-hospitalization-record) Here in Florida, we've literally just had the third most coronavirus cases ever in a single day. (https://www.wfla.com/community/health/coronavirus/florida-coronavirus-state-reports-13148-new-cases-322-new-hospitalizations/) These are basic, simple, clear facts.

    As Christians, shouldn't we be more, not less, responsible about such matters than the secular world? And as Bishop of our Diocese, don't you also have the responsibility to us, your flock, as well as to everyone in the Diocese coming into contact with churchgoes, who could be infected as a result of such lax rules?

    I eagerly await the vaccine and a time when churchgoing will be safe again, but that time certainly isn't now.

    Blessed (and safe!) Advent and Christmas,

    [my name]
  • An excellent letter, so I do hope you get a response.
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