Notable this week in pandemic developments was the announcement from the CDC that vaccinated individuals no longer need to wear a mask indoors or outside, and several states following suit or announcing new timelines for expanding limits to gatherings. Reactions to the news started to percolate through faith circles and Episcopal in-boxes—refer to the Episcopal Church COVID-19 resources list of Diocesan webpages for individual diocesan updates. Many churches are looking to local COVID-19 metrics in determining outdoor and indoor worship plans week to week. Some reactions and other recent pandemic-related stories are linked below:
- Sojourners published a roundup of reactions to the CDC announcement in Do the New CDC Guidelines mean a Return to in-person worship?
- A wide range of faith voices responded to a question posed in the Reno Gazette-Journal: What has COVID-19 taught us?
- Across the Atlantic, photographer Suki Dhanda gives us this lovely photo essay in the Guardian: Faith during the COVID pandemic
- The National Cathedral is reopening for ticketed programs and exhibitions, but remains closed for worship services and cathedral tours, per WUSA9.
Meanwhile, in other pandemic-related resources, the Episcopal Church has published resources for honoring graduates, with a particular note to care for those not having the senior year they expected whether in high school or college:
As graduation season begins in the continued landscape of of closed school buildings, hybrid learning, and in school learning with masks and socially distanced, we encourage congregations to be creative in their approaches to honoring traditional spring rites of passage. Not only are high school seniors not having the year they envisioned, but many college seniors are also experiencing a very different spring as they head toward Graduation.
Congregations are invited to share their creative graduation celebration ideas, as well.