Rather than having 65 various statements from each synod bishop regarding COVID-19, I commend my earlier share from the #ELCA and for more information this from my colleague Bishop Guy Erwin in SW California. Bishop Erwin’s wisdom echoes what I would recommend for our communities particularly around communion practices and also passing of the peace. He is also a Luther scholar so these words also have particular resonance…

“Centuries ago in 1527, facing a virulent plague far more deadly than the one that challenges us right now, Martin Luther told his people that even when in danger themselves, their first duty is the love of neighbor to which Jesus calls us all. It is foolish, he taught, not to take common-sense precautions; it is equally foolish to allow exaggerated fears to separate us from those we might be able to help, or to cause us to be concerned only for ourselves.”