Date: April 20, 2022
As it happens Luke my son received the news that yesterday he has tested positive for COVID. He is feeling fine; his symptoms are confined to the effects of having an allergy. However, this does pose the question: What should I do?
The CDC guidelines are clear. A person fully vaccinated and boosted is permitted to continue to function in the normal way. The sole restriction is that I am expected to wear a mask when around people. So, armed with this information, I made two decisions in consultation with the Rev. Dr. Shawn Strout and the Rev. Dr. Kate Sonderegger. Shawn was important because I am the preacher this morning; Kate is important because she is my co-teacher in “Doctrine of God.”
I will preach and teach, but I will also physically distance. I also took an “at-home test” last night (it was negative). I will take lunch to go, and I will suggest that meetings over the next few days are on Zoom. I will suggest that the Formation Group does not meet in my home (where Luke is). I will arrange for any face-to-face meetings to take place outside. My goal is to honor the guidelines, recognize that people are still in many different places, and do everything I can to make sure that others are not infected.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President