Church Rituals During the Pandemic

We've all learned about places and practices that quickly spread the virus. They are prisons, nursing homes, meat packing plants and church services plus a few others. It turns out church services are perfectly designed to spread disease. People are singing and talking projecting germs and breathing them in deeply. Then, there is the practice of communion.

I've been waiting for someone within the faith to discuss how Christian services and rituals can be performed without killing those in the pews. Mostly those who write about religion only write about their demand to hold church services. The first article I found addressing a safe way to conduct church was by a Jesuit Priest.

Those attending church will need to sit in assigned spaces six feet from anyone else. Churches with large numbers will have to hold many services. Each person who wants to attend will have to make a reservation and will be turned away otherwise. The seats will have to be sanitized between services.

The priest goes into detail about Catholic communion. Wine and bread will be blessed by the priest before the service and each placed at the widely dispersed pews with sanitized procedures before each service.

There is already a shortage of priests so how would large Catholic congregations hold multiple services? The priest has a good solution. By having lay people, mostly whom will be women, conduct the services. He noted this was the solution in the Amazon where there are too few priests.

I know from experience people do not like church services that are "not the way I'm used to doing it." I remember how off putting it was to me when some genius thought came up with shaking the hands with those around you during the service. Yuck.