Dear Ones,

“Wash, wash, wherever you are,
Wanderers, worshippers, lovers of cleaning,
Rinsing the germs off is easy to do,
Wash, yet again, wash…”
(sung to the tune of Come, Come, Whoever You Are, lyric modification by Julia Hamilton)

If you were in attendance at last Sunday’s service, you practiced this little song! If you weren’t, this song serves two purposes. It reminds us to be vigilant about our personal hygiene practices, which we should be at all times. It also gives us a convenient measure for how long we need to wash our hands to ensure we’ve done our best to banish germs from our hands. Sing it – aloud or in your mind – once through while washing with soap and hot water, and you’ve washed long enough!

As I write this, we know the Coronavirus is spreading quickly in Washington State as well as a few other places. Some companies (Amazon, for one) have suspended all employee business travel. While there are no reported cases in South Carolina yet, there surely will be. There are a lot of “conspiracy theories” being spread on social media. I urge you to ignore them. They are not any more likely to be true, or helpful, than wild guesses ever are.

For now, we will continue as usual. We will keep checking with reliable sources of information (the Centers for Disease Control, primarily), and following public health agencies’ recommendations. We’ll work on getting hand sanitizer back in our foyers, and make sure there’s soap in the restrooms. Please use the sanitizer. Please wash your hands, and do it well. Please cough into your elbows, or a tissue, rather than your hands. And please, please, please, if you feel sick – stay at home. As one of my colleagues says, our culture has a hard time with sick days. Sometimes we care for one another best by staying home and not spreading germs in public places.

Let me, or the Care Committee, know if you need assistance. More to come, as this situation develops. I’m sending love and a commitment to a calm response – as well as a commitment to stay home myself, if I feel sick. Hang in there, and

“Wash, wash, wherever you are…”

Blessings,
Rev. Lori Hlaban