Churches Prep for Virus

I was doing my usual scanning of the headlines this morning when I had to do a double take. You can imagine my momentary confusion when I thought I saw a picture of my old priest modeling bottles of hand sanitizer in the Saturday Oklahoman. So, I flipped back and sure enough it is Rev. Rick Stansberry of Oklahoma City. His parishioners will find hand sanitizer at every pew when they come to mass tomorrow. He said, "It's probably overkill, but I think things like that make people feel better."

The article headlined Preachers, teachers prepare for virus outlines steps being taken by churches in Oklahoma City (of several denominations) and schools as well. While the schools are prepared to close...even if they have heard of a single illness, the churches seem prepared to stay open and continue services. However, they are stressing that "consideration for others is crucial". They are urging people NOT to drink from the common cup if they feel ill and for people administering communion to wash their hands. They are also urging people to stay home if they feel sick. Shouldn't we always use this caution?

After calling my mother-in-law to share a quick laugh (Fr. Rick married us and will marry my husband's brother this summer), I started to think about what preparations we are making around our town if any to prevent or at least lessen the spread of this "pandemic" virus. Or, are we all just caught up in the fear mongering? Either way, it is always best to use good judgement any time we are ourselves sick or could be in contact with germs:

- WASH your hands and use sanitizer during cold/flu seasons,
- STAY HOME when you are sick -- you have a moral obligation to take care of yourself and not infect others,
-COVER your mouth and nose when you sneeze -- with a tissue not your hand,
-AVOID close contact with people you know are sick -- obviously this does not apply to your children (sorry).

Be well!