“For lo the winter has past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come…” Song of Solomon 2:11-12
The COVID-19 pandemic is over! Perhaps this declaration was prematurely announced in the past, but I feel confident that I can safely declare this now. I am reminding you that we have emerged out of the pandemic because I have noticed signs and practices remaining and I believe it is time to let those go. I ask you to do this both as a sign of hope for your community and as a sign of hospitality for newcomers.
It's time to remove the “keep 6 ft distant” and other covid protocol signs, arrows, instructions, etc.! Reminders to wash your hands are always relevant, and hand sanitizer is still in use; no need to abandon those. Please check your website and Facebook pages. Make sure your service times are clear and visible on the front page, along with accessibility and online options. (Remove mentions of pandemic news!)
We can still pass the peace! Worshipping 6 feet apart and suspending the peace was important during COVID. Now it is time to be a visible sign of the loving community that I have experienced in every parish I’ve visited. People spread out in a large worship space don’t look like a close-knit community! Try roping off the back few pews (you can always remove them after the first reading so late-comers can slip in). Don’t use the side aisles if you don’t need them. Start passing the peace! Of course, shaking hands is still a spreader of germs – hence the importance of handy hand sanitizer. And if for whatever reason you cannot shake hands don’t forget the Asian greeting of holding your hands together and bowing is a lovely way to pass the peace. And raising two fingers in the hippie peace symbol also gets the job done! One lovely thing about a small church is that you can greet everyone at the peace; it is part of our call to reconcile before we share in communion.
Another revenant of COVID-time practices is the various ways we adapted communion. I’ve asked your rectors to have a conversation with your worship committee, altar guild, and/or vestry to bring us back to the important symbol of one bread and one cup.
Of course, we will make accommodations for those requiring gluten-free or alcohol-free options. Please make sure you let your priest know what you need. Remember, drinking highly fortified wine in a silver or gold cup kills most germs. Intinction is still the least sanitary even if only one person is doing the serving. Small cups can still be used (you might want to consider having people bring their own or ordering compostable cups). And as we were reminded during the pandemic, communion in one kind, bread or wine, is still full communion. It’s ok to only partake of one or the other
Perhaps you know the story that the father of our recent presiding bishop became an Episcopalian in the 1950s simply because he saw black and white people kneeling at the altar rail together and drinking from a common cup. It is a powerful symbol of who we are as Christians and what our work in the world should be.
God’s Blessings,
