How tough are you?

Experienced a revelation this morning.  I wear a mask when out and about.  I'm 71 and my wife is 64.  I'm tired of Covid and feel it's been mishandled.  The mask debate has become political,  Yes masks are hot,  uncomfortable and a hassle.  Having lived on this earth for 71 years experiencing highs and lows, as we all have.  If having to wear a mask is the toughest thing you ever do, you are getting off easy. 

Now to the topic,  Growing old is not for sissies.  The anti mask people are infor a rude awakening as they approach old age, God help them. The following is a conversation between my wife and I this morning.

wife: " I weighed the same weight for 5 days,  then I lost one pound, and the next day I lost a half a pound."

Me:     "Then you shit your britches."

wife:   "No, I shit my britches the day before."

Yesterday our church service surprisingly lasted just half an hour, not the usual hour.  Nothing had been mentioned before or during the service.  After the service I asked a friend why just 30 minutes, does the pastor have a special meeting he has to get to, etc.? 

Friend said "somebody complained about the service being too long."  I'm dumbfounded.  Church was always an hour.  We've only been open about six weeks, masks required, chairs are distanced, temps taken, etc.

Then I got to thinking....perhaps some folks (and we are mostly old geezers) complained, not about the service but about wearing a mask for the whole hour.  Mask does making singing the hymns a little harder. 

So, church will be only half an hour, at least for the duration of mask requirement?  Not sure, but good idea.

I liked it!  And I can't believe our pastor was able to taper his sermon length down that much, but he said as much (the message) in that short time as he would have in regular time. 

Kudos to the complainers, whoever they were.  LOL.

Candy

Is church even remotely a good idea, even if everyone is wearing masks? In the absence of social distancing (which a church congregation pretty much defines), there's still a significant risk of disease transmission.

We all have to wear masks AND practice social distancing. Just one of those two things isn't really effective. 

I'm kind of dumbfounded by how old geezers are frequently the most rabid mask deniers. I mean, I can kinda sorta see irresponsible immortal teenagers breaking the rules (and ignoring the fact that while they probably won't be harmed by the virus, they can still infect others), but old people, who have a significant chance of dying if they get it??? WTF???

I can only conclude that it's the continued politicizing of the issue (all other things being equal, old people tend to be Trumpers in greater numbers than young people). That's soooooo freakin' stupid. Yeah, masks are a mild inconvenience. I can think of a lot of other mild inconveniences that we endure due to simple consideration and common courtesy. I for one have worn a mask for several hours straight on multiple occasions, and my head didn't explode. I can endure the mild discomfort.

Our Church is still doing live streaming for Sunday worship. We are also mostly old geezers.  They do an abbreviated very informal outdoor service with masks and social distancing.  I did attend a funeral at our church this week that was held outside. 

Our pastor is being cautious, she has a real concern for the health of her congregation.

My church holds over 500 people & is allowed over 100.  People sit in every other row.  After several months of this, there haven't been any problems.

If stores can be open with no limits, allowing people their constitutional right to worship should be ok.

On a side note, I see it is another busy day in kevin's make believe school as once again he is posting all thru his alleged school day

Tom, if you had ever gone to grade school, you would know that there are always several breaks throughout the school day.

Maybe they didn't do that in the high-security facility where you spent your childhood.

We are using the "family life center", (some would call it fellowship hall) basically a big gym with a stage and other amenitities, instead of the sanctuary.  The pastor convened a "re-launch" committee to maximize the safety aspect.  

 - Metal chairs spaced pretty far out in twos, threes, fours, singles.

 - Temp taken on all entering, following the 100.4 limit.

 - No hugging/handshaking, etc. 

 - Masks required and fully complied with.

 - Live streaming and on YouTube if one prefers that.

 - No choir yet.

Our congregation is small but the plan was to limit to 20; more now, maybe 50 though we never have that many.  Following the directives of the bishop.  And now I've learned that the Bishop directed services last no longer than 30 minutes as a strategy.  Had nothing to do with mask-wearing.

But go ahead Kevin and turn it political..."old people tend to be Trumpers"...could there be a more ridiculous statement?   

That's not politicizing, Candy...it's the simple truth. You can look it up...the older a given person is, the more likely that that person is a Trumper. Furthermore, churchgoers/people of faith/religious types tend to be Trumpers more often than those who are not.

Therefore, an older churchgoer is considerably more likely to be a Trumper than someone who is not, which I strongly suspect has had a LOT to do with the widespread no-masking (and subsequent mass infections) at church gatherings.

If a church holds in-person services "safely," the risk is mitigated. But it's still much riskier than not holding in-person services at all. Masking and social distancing (even if everyone follows the rules!) reduce transmission rates but do not stop transmission, not by any stretch of the imagination. It's safer to stay home and pray with your cat.

Kevin said "...churchgoers/people of faith/religious types tend to be Trumpers more than those who are not."

I'm speechless.  Now Kevin can speak of all peoples regarding their church-going and religious faith practices?

Well, that's fine.  Give me people of faith any day.

No, I'm not "speaking for" anyone. There have been dozens of polls regarding every aspect of voter demographics. You might be interested in the Pew Institute's research:

https://www.pewforum.org/2020/03/12/how-different-religious-groups-view-religions-role-in-the-presidency-trumps-traits/

If you want to look at the 2016 election:

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/11/09/how-the-faithful-voted-a-preliminary-2016-analysis/

Note in particular the over 4-to-1 advantage Trump enjoyed with evangelical voters.

I and many, many others have been surprised, even shocked by how people of faith, with their supposed moral principles, have nonetheless cleaved to Trump, with his immorality, lies, fraud, petty nastiness, and the fact that he's a serial rapist. Some pundits say it's because of his (probably for convenience rather than genuine) opposition to women's rights re abortion. So evangelicals cheer for a monster because he says he'll work to overturn Roe v. Wade. People of faith. HA!