Eighteen months into COVID, all I can do is throw out the following reminder: I’m not a doctor, let alone an epidemiologist. All I can do is look at numbers, stay current with my reading, and offer up the best recommendations I can, based on what I see.
What do we know? The numbers in this latest wave appear to be declining, in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. Farr’s Law of epidemiology still holds true: what spikes up will spike down. How low they’ll go and when they’ll hit that point, I have no idea. However, we seem to be heading in the right direction for the time being.
The long-term question, though, is how this whole virus will play itself out. Some form of this virus will always be with us; “zero-Covid” is not going to happen (the government of New Zealand has recently made that grudging admission). Vaccines appear to help bolster the immune response in people, but it does not stop transmission of the virus. At some point in time, I envision anyone age six or older being to be able to receive the vaccination if that is their (or their parent’s) wish. If we are looking for a defining moment where somebody in authority is going to come out and say, someday, “It’s all over and we’re back to ‘normal,’” I would not hold my breath waiting for it, though.
What will likely happen is that the people who are comfortable with the notion will begin resuming more and more of their prior lives; those who are not as comfortable will hang back. When people become comfortable with that in their own lives is another question.
As for the worship schedule, when changes are made we will share that information as quickly as possible.
One tradition making a comeback this fall will be our joint Thanksgiving Eve worship service with First Congregational UCC. Last year would have been our turn to host in the rotation, but no in-person worship took place. This year, First Congregational will host the service, to be held on November 24 at 7:00 p.m. We will share details as they become available to us.
Appropriately, November 28 is the First Sunday of Advent (more details about Advent will follow in the newsletter). Advent is a season of hope and anticipation, and if ever there was a time when hope and anticipation are needed, this is it. Christians are called to be hopeful people.
