Churches and houses of worship take preventative measures against coronavirus

Published 1:24 pm Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Deep in the Bible belt, churches and houses of worship are some of the biggest gathering places in East Texas. With news of a Gregg County man contracting COVID-19 breaking on Tuesday, many are taking cautionary measures in responding to the threat the coronavirus may pose to their congregations.

Just before news of the first COVID-19 case in East Texas, the Catholic Diocese of Tyler had already released a preemptive statement that addressed the Catholic Church’s policies and practices in light of the coronavirus.

“We want to help our parishes and all the people of East Texas to stay healthy, so the purpose of these measures is simply to apply the CDC guidelines to our liturgical celebrations,” said Father John Gomez, vicar general of the Diocese of Tyler. “In addition to these practical measures, it is most important that we continue to pray for those who are ill and for the medical and public health professionals who are working to keep our communities safe.”

Ken Warren, senior associate pastor of Green Acres Baptist Church, also responded to the Tyler Morning Telegraph, saying that the health measures haven’t changed within the church, but that they would continue to be cautious and execute “common-sense measures.”

“We’re basically taking the measures we always take. We provide hand sanitizer in the foyers, soap and water, paper towels in the restrooms,” said Warren. “For the Lord’s supper, which we’ll be doing this Sunday, we serve individual portions, rather than communal.”

Green Acres Baptist Church further said that if people are sick, that they are encouraged to stay home.

“We haven’t had to do this, but if someone does present themselves and it’s very obvious that they’re not well, we would probably ask them to go home, for their own benefit, and for the rest of the congregation,” said Warren.

The Catholic Diocese echoed this same concern in their release put out early Tuesday:

“The faithful should stay home if they are sick or are experiencing symptoms. If a person is ill, they are not bound by the obligation to attend Mass, including on Sunday. Out of charity to others, sick individuals should not attend liturgical celebrations or other parish events.”

The local Catholic Church has temporarily suspended drinking from the communal chalice during the taking of Communion, or the Eucharist. Furthermore, the statement says it will continue the practice of exchanging a sign of peace (a greeting period during the service). Temporarily, however, it is to be exchanged without physical contact. The statement also discourages holding hands during the service.

For each of the churches in the diocese, the method of receiving the communal wafer and wine is the choice of the participant, whether they take it on the tongue from the minister, or by the hand. The minister that is distributing the Communion also must practice good hygiene by washing his hands or using alcohol-based hand sanitizer regularly, before and after Communion.

Warren says that Green Acres Baptist Church is monitoring the situation, and that if the need presents itself, further changes may be made.

“Our primary strategy right now is not to overreact to a situation that doesn’t exist, but to be prepared to react to the possibility that it may exist,” said Warren. “We don’t want to panic anybody, nor do we want to create a problem before a problem is here. But we’re ready to respond to a problem if it does present itself.”