Many houses of worship across the country sought a balance this weekend between fostering community and avoiding the spread of a deadly disease. wamu885
Midday on Sunday, Virginia Gov. Northam announced a ban on public gatherings of 100 or more people.
Arlington County declared a state of emergency Saturday, and Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey sent religious leaders a note advising each community to decide for itself whether to continue meeting. She urged leaders to take steps to reduce contagion"by increasing the physical distance between attendees, identify sick attendees, provide soap, hand sanitizer, tissues and trash baskets to throw them in, increase ventilation and clean frequently touched services.
In the Saint Katherine's Greek Orthodox Church in Falls Church, Father Konstantinos Pavlakos said he was following every precaution from the civil authorities, including telling his community to wash their hands, avoid greeting each other with a kiss, and refrain from kissing icons. Still, Pavlakos said the church would continue to share a spoon for distributing Eucharistic wine.
"We had SARS, swine flu, we've gone through the plagues," Pavlakos said."We've never lost a priest or a parishioner. I don't see why this would be any different for 2,000 years of history, why it would change today." For Sunday's service, Cooley said she recorded ahead of time to incorporate videos from guests who were supposed to speak. She stood in her church and delivered the service to a video camera and rows of empty pews.
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