■ CHURCHES:
Worshipers are bumping elbows and refraining from communion, but so far, attendance hasn't slowed.
Central Florida worshipers are increasingly being asked to bump elbows, use hand sanitizer and, if they’re feeling ill, refrain from communion or stay home as fears — and cases — of coronavirus spread.
“Normally there is a time during the service when we welcome each other by shaking hands,” said Senior Pastor Scott George of Pine Castle United Methodist Church, south of Orlando. “But we’ve changed that during the last couple of weeks. We’re trying to be wise about it without scaring people.”
That’s the mission for many faith leaders, who are hoping to provide comfort while complying with guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to practice so-called “social distancing.”
At Maitland Presbyterian Church, co-pastors Megan and David Collins have sent an email to congregants to say the “meet and greet” portion of services is being put on hold, and they encouraged anyone not feeling well to stay home and watch the sermon via a live stream through Facebook.
“People were relieved,” David Collins said. “If you tell people, ‘Just do what you feel comfortable with,’ then you’re kind of setting them up for some awkward interactions. When you offer your hand, some people are going to feel pressure to reciprocate.’”
Just eliminating the practice, he said, offers both a degree of safety and peace of mind, especially to elderly worshipers, whose age puts them at greater risk of contracting the virus and becoming seriously ill.
“This is all about caring for our most vulnerable,” Collins said.
No cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, have yet been reported in Orange, Osceola, Seminole or Lake counties. But elsewhere around the country infections have been reported in both worshipers and faith leaders.
In Houston, an individual who tested positive for coronavirus attended an Ash Wednesday Mass at a Catholic church.
In New York, a rabbi who later tested positive for coronavirus held services at a temple in late February. The temple has since been locked on orders from health officials and more than 100 families are now self-quarantined.
In Orlando, a spokeswoman for the Catholic Diocese said there have been no changes to worship practices here. Instead, churches are promoting “personal hygiene and following CDC guidelines.”
“Each parish, school and diocesan entity is instructed to have hygiene products including tissues, hand sanitizer gel, and disinfecting wipes available for use by employees and visitors in work areas and public areas,” said Jennifer Drow, secretary of communications for the diocese. “We also encourage all employees to receive an annual flu vaccination.”
There were no orders from the diocese — yet — to change communion practices in Orlando, but elsewhere around the nation, including the hard-hit Seattle area, Catholic parishes and other churches have suspended the practice of serving communion wine from a shared chalice and having priests place communion wafers onto worshipers’ tongues.
At The Experience Christian Center in Orlando, Senior Pastor and founder Derrick McRae said churches need to take precautions but keep their doors open.
“I don’t think that our country should ever go into a frenzy of fear from this virus,” he said. “I think worship facilities should provide hand sanitizers and all the precautionary measures... [but] I don’t ever intend to shut down. My faith tells me that God’s going to protect and provide.”
Meanwhile, people may feel a greater need for their houses of faith now more than ever.
“They’re worried about their families, they’re worried about their friends, they’re worried about their bank accounts,” George said. “In fearful times, people run to the place where they’re going to find peace.”