I was invited to do a drum fill in at a local Church with the praise and worship band. I do this for them periodically. It had been several weeks since I had last been there. I attend another Church in the interim. There was a marked change in behavior that I found curious. Normally, I am greeted with hugs and handshakes. Today, awkwardly "fist bumps" were the best they could manage. My first thought was perhaps some of my sins had been outed. I might have been seen going to the A.B.C. store( liquor store). In the old days we called it the state store. Anyway, as we 12, circled to join hands to pray before our performance, it became clear that hand holding was no longer the accepted norm. I know I looked puzzled as I watched the group bump their hands together over their chests and pushed their folded elbows out like they were going to do "The Chicken Dance". They then touched elbows as they prepared to pray. The ladies on either side of me exempted themselves and held my hands. The one whispered to me, "They're worried about germs". Hmmm... ok. During the service, communion was observed. This had changed also. They used to break bread. You would take your turn, remove a piece of the body and dip it in the Blood of Christ, then consume. They now passed the plate with the little crackers and the trays of juice in miniature plastic shot glasses. A little more sanitary , I guess. I watched as parishioners sneezed, coughed and scratched their noses before selecting their cracker and shot glass. So I asked unashamedly about the sudden changes. They explained since the recent unusual snow event in our southern town, a lot of colds and flus had been reported and they were practicing "isolation" as a means of stemming the outbreak. This just appears odd to me on so many levels.
