I have nothing to say about vaccinations but thought this was somewhat coronavirus related.
For the time we have been worshiping in person (June 2020) we have altered our worship services to minimize the amount of time the people were in one space. We still sang hymns, but only 3 instead of 4 or 5. And we cut down the verses. We spoke the ordinaries. It hasn't been bad.
But today while I was putting on my robes, going over sermon notes, looking through the bulletin, this struck me...in our three hymns today we sang all the verses of the hymns: The Lord's My Shepherd I'll Not Want, The King of Love My Shepherd Is, I Am Jesus' Little Lamb.
I don't know if that says anything about the future, about pur services, or anything at all, but it was nice to see.
Jeremy
One of the sad "benefits" of the new normal is the time of worship services. It's gone way down for the reason you mention and more - the sharing of the peace has gone from 10 minutes down to 20 seconds; the time during the reception of the Eucharist is cut in half or less (less people and a different process); the number of hymns and songs is less; choir assembling and singing - non-existent; testimonies, less. In a setting where people come to church expecting to be in the building for say three hours including fellowship, being there for around an hour feels like a drive-through. But it's OK; it's the best we can do.
Our parish zip codes remain in the top five in NYC for COVID positivity, and at the absolute bottom of the list for full vaccination percentage. The inverse percentages are found - guess what? - in all the ultra-wealthy zips around town. That's why we have weekly encouragement to stay safe, watch at home if you need to, and get vaccinated. Or hit the lotto and move to the Upper East Side, but don't forget to tithe.
Dave Benke
Since there does not seem to be a shortage of vaccines, is it a matter of access for the less affluent, or is it a matter of hesitancy?
Access is better than it has been. Urban living in a city of this size is a different beast. 2/3 to 3/4 of people do not have vehicles, so depend on public transit. And way more folks than you'd think live in a very small circle footprint, let's say in a mile square area of Woodhaven Queens. Shopping, friends, family, etc. becomes self-contained. In that sense it's more like, I guess, some folks in rural areas who only traverse certain roads and trails and gathering spots. Public transit seems COVID-dangerous, whether it is in fact or not. More reason not to leave your 'hood. Now that we have local drugstores involved, that's a big positive. Where I personally live, in a different zip, the Walgreen's was full of folks this morning signing up, and none of them speak English as a first language - again, local is good, trust is higher. If you bring older mom and dad, you get a shot for yourself, so there are lots of extended family units.
Hesitancy is also a big thing. To say that it there is no racial/ethnic dimension to it would be not to listen to those who are hesitant - a good degree of the hesitancy is perceived by the folks in our area as racial, and the conversations among their black and latino, Caribbean family and friends is all negative. Which is why we spend as much church time as we can, online and off, encouraging toward the vaccine.
Finally, I think the percentages in the communities with younger demographics will change as the vaccine is available to everyone. That happens in NYC within the next three weeks, I believe - it's down to 30 and up now, but the pre-pandemic stat for these zips had the median age at around 20 (lots of kids).
Dave Benke