Sunday, February 12, 2023

COVID Guidelines for Worship

The Diocese' current COVID guidelines for worship are: [bold added]
1) Masking is strongly encouraged as an individual choice. This protects the individual from catching a virus AND it insures that the individual won’t be the cause of spreading any viruses.
2) Being up-to-date on one’s vaccination status regarding COVID and pneumonia shots is always a prudent health practice, whether in church or elsewhere.
3) Using a hand-sanitizer when entering church is strongly encouraged.
4) Keeping the church as well-ventilated as possible when people are gathered for worship or other indoor activities.
The take-away is that none of these guidelines are mandatory.

Generally speaking, everyone under 60, about half today's congregation of 25 people, were not masked. The choice was the individual's, not the bishop's or priest's.

The Episcopal Church is a strong advocate of free will and claims that it tries to minimize the occasions where beliefs and behaviors are mandatory. It's nice to see it following this principle with regards to COVID.

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