Corona Virus Practices

Greetings to all, 

No doubt we have all been inundated with information and thoughts about the coronavirus. We might find that it dominates conversations with friends, people we encounter, and dialogue on social media. Many parishes have now begun to address it with their parishioners. Indeed, yesterday we received some guidance from the archdiocese, and it is always good for us to look for guidance from our archdiocese.

It is very important that we stay focused on the evidence and facts and not be given over to fear, anxiety, and hysteria. The CDC has stated that the risk of infection for each individual is low.  For example, if one looks at the number of people infected in China compared to China’s overall population we can see how the risk is low (China has nearly 1.4 billion people). 

Having said all that, the following practices and suggestions are being made in the spirit of protecting those who are most vulnerable in our parish community and also to do our part to the larger Pittsburgh community and being responsible people.

  • If we are sick, as a precaution and out of mindfulness that there are people in the community who are older and may have health conditions, it is prudent to stay home until we have recovered. This applies to us and our children as well. This may be an inconvenience to us. We might not want to miss church and we might not want our children to miss church. However we are not doing this for ourselves ...but it is for the other. 

  • In the dismissal line, instead of each person kissing the cross we will be using another commonly practiced tradition in the orthodox church…the priest will be giving out the holy bread to each person as they come up rather than kissing the cross. This will prevent many hands going through the bread bowl. After communion, a subdeacon or altar server will hand out a piece of holy bread to each person taking communion. They will have washed their hands :)

  • It is strongly suggested that we curb or refrain from excessive hugs and kisses even during the kiss of peace during the liturgy, just temporarily, as we go through this time and especially once cases begin in Pittsburgh if they haven’t already. A simple bow to one another will suffice. 

  • There will be No changes with the administration of communion. However there are the following suggestions… Which I’ve been wanting to make even in past years. When we approach the chalice, it is appropriate to put one’s head back and to open one’s mouth as wide as they can so the communion can be dropped in. This decreases the chances of a spill. It also makes the giving of communion much easier. It is not necessary for us to take the communion off the spoon with our mouth. 

    • These practices are being widely practiced in the parishes presently. We want to be a responsible community. We especially want to look out for those in our community who are more vulnerable. 

    Remember to cough and sneeze in our arms! :)  Many are doing the elbow bump to greet one another :)

    This is all in the spirit of being proactive, responsible, and looking out for our brother and sister. It is not done out of a spirit of fear. Thank you for your time and for being “mindful of the other.”

    Ministry and organization heads, feel free to forward this to the members of your groups.

    Note: All of the above suggestions have been approved...and vetted :) 

     

    Yours in Christ,

    Fr. Joshua Makoul