Sharing the Peace of Christ among the body of Christ is one of the great joys in our church. It was wonderful to see the people make a big circle and hold hands in prayers last week. That sharing of Peace should be encouraged to expand not only in our church, but also to the whole world.
However, during the winter season, more people are sharing the need of guidelines due to public health concerns over the sharing of peace and communion. So our church will give attention and more effort to reduce health risks. We will now provide jars of sanitizers in our fellowship area and in Sunday School. Also, for the communion, individual bread and cups will be used until Spring comes.
Even though we will be taking these precautions, there still may be some who are concerned about being in public places. To date, here is the best advice and guidelines for churches that I have found (this information comes from Rev. Diana Holbert, a pastor of Grace UMC of Dallas):
“1. If you are coughing or sneezing, it’s probably a good idea to stay home.” You may visit our church’s website http://www.gocumc.org where you may find a message and photos of “What is going on.”
“2. If you are well, I encourage you to come together to worship and to pray for those who are sick or panicked.”
These two guidelines are simple and clear. Yes, we are going to continue to share the Peace of Christ and Love of God, not germs.