Church Services and Social Distancing: What is the role of the Church in containing Covid-19 outbreak
The responsibility of the church does not stop with faith, it has to expand its mandate to ensure that people remain healthy
Social distancing has become a buzzword in the last couple of weeks and this is being presented as a panacea for the Covid-19 outbreak that is decimating health systems of several high-income countries. The term ‘social distancing’ is being criticized by several sociologists and they say ‘physical distancing’ is a better term. Semantics aside, what we really want from this is a physical separation between people so that the virus would not spread.
The SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is the causative agent behind the current outbreak, is transmitted through droplets and direct contact. Droplets are generated when people speak, cough or sneeze; and it has a maximum range of 1–2 meters. Hence keeping a distance of 1 meter from anyone will give a reasonable level of protection from the virus. Direct contact can be through person to person physical contact or fomites like utensils, door knobs or even handrails. This is the reason why handwashing has been recommended so strongly across the world. Since this corona virus is an enveloped virus, soap or concentrated alcohol can break it down.
India has been proactive in dealing with the virus; and steps like airport screening, quarantining of passengers coming from abroad, testing services to suspected patients and a massive educational campaign on hygiene, has been instrumental in slowing the increase in number of cases. Subsequently, India has gone for a 21-day lock-down aiming to prevent community transmission of disease, if any, from happening rampantly. There are doubts whether such a lock-down was the right strategy in a country like India with a large proportion of people working in the informal sector and having poor social security systems. But in any case, international public health experts have called it as a massive, albeit painful, step in the fight against Covid-19.
A lot of people tend to think that Covid-19 will be eliminated after the 21-day lockdown and we can resume our normal activities. This is patently incorrect as the idea behind a lock-down is to prevent community transmission so that medical facilities are not overwhelmed. When the lock-down is lifted, cases will rise and this has been demonstrated in several regions which adopted such a strategy. The lock-down is not a solution in itself, rather it gives us time to ramp up medical facilities, increase testing and improve hygiene practices in the community. This means that we are buying 3 weeks’ time for preparing ourselves.
Even if we are successful in mitigating this outbreak, it would be like stamping out a fire in a large forest. We cannot rest even after the small fire is doused. If there are embers (in this case the virus) and dry leaves (susceptible people), a fire can break out any time. The bottom-line is that we are in for a long haul. The hygiene practices and social distancing that we do has to continue for a longer period of time. If we let down our guard at any point, we can risk a new outbreak. These precautions have to continue at least till an effective vaccine is developed and more than 60% of the population is immunized. In the most realistic scenario, this may take at least 2 years’ time.
Therefore, the church has to accommodate these new realities in its ecclesiastical mission too, not to mention the social outreach programmes that it is leading. The idea of hygiene and social distancing (rather physical distancing with social proximity) has to be incorporated into the daily activities of the church, including the holy sacraments. Though a permanent change in practices is not warranted, there has to be compromises for the larger good of the society at least in the short-term. Apart from advocating smaller gatherings at all functions, a few suggestions are given below:
1- Handwashing facilities outside the church: All churches can install hand washing facilities with liquid soap, at the entry points of the church. This can be conveyed to the people as an aspect of physical purity too, not just a disease prevention intervention. Several Hindu temples and Masjids have these facilities, with a ritualistic purity element incorporated into the process. This may have started off as some kind of an intervention against spread of diseases at some point in the history. It’s time we adopted this.
2- Several Anglican and Eastern traditions have the ‘Kiss of Peace’ during church services. It involves physical contact between people and this could be discouraged for the time being. This practice can be easily replaced by a namaste or a bow as in Japanese tradition.
3- The Holy Communion is one of the most important aspects of a fulfilled Christian life. But in some traditions, it involves ritualistic practice like sharing a same chalice of wine. Though this conveys a sense of brotherhood and equality in Christ, it can be a dangerous practice when looking through a disease prevention lens. We can look at various options, including use of disposable paper cups, to continue the communion in all its holiness.
4- Discourage air conditioning in churches: There is reasonable evidence that closed spaces and unscientific ventilation can increase the transmission of infection. Therefore, we have to discourage the practice of air-conditioning the churches. More than an infection prevention angle, church should not become an avenue for extravagance and we have to be an example of sustainable consumption practices. After all, we still follow the Jewish carpenter who could afford only a donkey and a crown of thorns.
5- Physical distancing in churches: In this digital age where connectivity is not an issue at all, we can easily afford to webcast the Sunday services and other activities. Though a full church gives us the passion to celebrate the message of salvation with greater vigour, we cannot do that in the shadow of a pandemic. Churches can ask people to physically attend services on alternate Sundays and listen in to the webcast on other days. By this method, we can reduce the crowding inside the church. Also, the people can be asked to sit at one arm’s length from each other and not come to church when they have a cough/cold/fever.
6- Disallowing excessive mingling of children with senior citizens: From the available medical evidence, we can see that older people are more susceptible to the infection and they have a higher likelihood of dying from the cause. Covid-19 may present as just another cold in young people, which makes them ideal vehicles for transmitting the infection. Therefore, we can advice senior citizens and older people to be seated separately during church services; and also advice against close physical interactions.
7- Offertory collection can also be improvised and we can do away with the practice of passing around a cloth sack or a box. Offertory can be put in common boxes kept at strategic locations near the exits. This can reduce transmission of the virus through indirect contact.
The role of the church becomes greater during the time of human suffering. The message of salvation in its truest sense involves a chance to introspect and redeem ourselves. The church becomes a facilitator and a philosopher, in our path towards salvation. In testing times like this, when people search for the grace of God, the moral authority of the Church can become the cornerstone of faith. But the responsibility of the church does not stop with faith, it has to expand its mandate to ensure that people remain healthy.
[Philip Mathew is a physician and public health researcher. Views are his own]