“It ain’t over ‘til it’s over” – Yogi Berra

In the time of 2020 and early 2021, the world in general and our neck of the woods in particular went through an extraordinarily trying stretch. It was the time of The Pandemic, the coming of Covid-19, or as many simply term it, Covid. I myself frequently refer to those days as “The Time When the Sky Fell.” We went through a season of an absence of in-person worship, when we substituted Virtual Worship for our gatherings. There were no Fellowship Dinners, no before-church coffee, and no real-live committee meetings – did we ever think we would yearn for the opportunity to assemble for a Finance Committee or Church Council meeting?

Then, as we eased back into “In-Person Worship,” we wore masks, had pews in the sanctuary roped off, participated in abbreviated services, washed our hands a lot, and observed other safety protocols. We made do because this was the only way we could come together. The masks weren’t comfortable. We didn’t always get to sit in our customary pew. But we were back together.

Then, around the end of June, after some fifteen months of these precautions, we were able to lift the most stringent of rules and we began to resume church activities as they once stood.

I would LOVE to tell you that this is all a history lesson, and that we have put all this in our rear-view mirror. I would love to say that to you. But I can’t.

Here’s the story: the newer, more virulent, more resistant “Delta Variant” is now the predominant strain of the virus in the United States, accounting for 83% of the cases in this country as of this writing. And, AND, there is a new mutation called the Lambda Variant. Early studies suggest that it is more transmissible than the original strain of the coronavirus.

Where the rubber hits the road locally is that the most recent statistics show that Hardin County has a 19.5% positivity rate for those tested for the virus. At the height of the pandemic closings officials considered anything above 5% to be quite risky. In the last 14 days, our county has averaged 14 new cases per day (as opposed to half that one week ago). In the face of this, only 34% of our fellow Hardin County residents have had at least one dose of the vaccine. I have been fully vaccinated since the shot became available and I encourage you to talk to your doctor about the vaccine.

All of this is to say that we haven’t heard the last of Covid-19. And, we have not come to the point of dismissing the necessity of precautions in our worshiping community. Shared air supply and close proximity to infected or exposed persons can increase our personal risks because of the airborne transmissibility of this virus.

Plainly speaking, the numbers are going the wrong way. Our leadership will be keeping a finger on the pulse of all this and will make plans appropriately. I hope that you will continue to be careful. I also encourage you to support the decisions of our officers as they make every effort to keep our church families safe.

The peace of the Lord be with you.