We are now in 2021 and we are still dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. While we are not out of the woods yet, there does seem to be light at the end of tunnel. A vaccine is becoming available and, slowly, I am seeing friends and colleagues share pictures on social media being vaccinated. Fortunately, I can now count myself as one of those people! Yesterday, I pulled up to the National Guard Facility in Rochester and without having to leave my car, I received my first dose of the vaccine and on my way back home 25 minutes later!
A couple of people have reached out and asked how I was able to receive it so quickly. (Not with anger but curious.) Fortunately, I am not in charge of deciding when people receive it, I was only a lucky recipient. According to the guidelines by the state of New Hampshire, clergy are “moderate risk” of the group designated 1a. From my understanding, since hospital chaplains and hospice workers are clergy, our profession was placed near the top. I solely benefitted from that. Honestly, there is a big part of my that feels guilty that I was able to receive it so quickly in this process. I was expecting to have to wait until summer as there are a lot of people who should have been vaccinated before me, namely TEACHERS! If I could have given my spot to someone else, I would have. Alas, I was not given that option. (Here is a link from the state that I was provided to me about the phases of vaccination.)
https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs/cdcs/covid19/documents/phase-1a-technical-assistance.pdf
Because of the guilt I have about my ability to receive the vaccine, I was torn about whether I should. I decided to get it for two reasons. First, according to some quick internet searches (from reliable sources such as Business Insider and Scientific American), as of a month ago, nearly 40% of Americans say they are skeptical to get the vaccine. Many say they won’t receive the vaccine unless others get it first to show it is safe. If I can help be an example and show trust in the medical community, I will. I trust people, like Dr. Anthony Fauci and other scientists and healthcare professionals, are doing their best on behalf of all of us. I do not believe there is some ulterior motive behind all this and we are being used for some nefarious means. COVID-19 is real and the vaccine is necessary for us to “return to normal.” If people are not willing to do what is necessary (which many have not been willing, hence mask-wearing became a political) this will drag out longer than it already has and the damage being done will only get worse.
Second, I want us to be able to return to being in each other’s presence here at Holy Trinity and also in the rest of my life. Currently, I avoid indoor places with groups of people as much as possible. There are always exceptions, but by and large, the only time I am indoors with others, who are not my family, is to go shopping for groceries and other essential items. Vicky and I bundle up to go out on our weekly date for a beer. I have sat around fires in the middle of the day to enjoy a cup of coffee with a friend. We cancelled our Thanksgiving and Christmas plans with friends. As a pastor and a person, I look forward to the day where we are able to be together and sing and hug and receive communion, in-person. I look forward to not having to get take-out but eat and drink inside a restaurant. The vaccine is a step toward enabling that to happen. I did not budge or push my way or skip to the front of the line; I was just fortunate that I was able to receive it. Therefore, I did.
Now, just because I have the vaccine, or you have the vaccine, does not mean anything goes. There still needs to be precautions. The vaccine might protect me from contracting COVID, but the verdict is out on whether it prevents me from transmitting it to others. Therefore, I, and everyone else who receives it, still needs to mask, social distance and be diligent in our behavior. Here is a great link from NPR explaining why that is still necessary. This is one step, not the only step we will all need to take.
You might be asking when we will be returning to our sanctuary for worship. I wish I knew the answer. I don’t. Neither does council, even though we talk about this regularly. Unfortunately, numbers of cases and death are still on the rise across the country. While I advocate for the opening of schools for the sake of our kids and for finding ways to keep businesses open and afloat, I believe that what we do, gathering in our sanctuary, is not essential in the same way. What is most essential about what we do, loving our neighbor, we are still able to do. This does not diminish the role of physical, in-person gatherings, just a reminder that the end point of our faith is not physical, in-person gatherings. There have been Christians across the centuries who were not able to gather together and didn’t have the benefit of the technology we do. Faith was sustained and passed on to the next generation then, and we will do it now. No, this is not ideal but we can do this. Not because it is beneficial to us, but because it is what is beneficial to our neighbor.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Tim