Only a few days after issuing my first pastoral counsel on responding to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, the ground seems to be shifting beneath our feet on an almost hourly basis. Sporting events, college classes, and other public gatherings are canceled. Some of my colleague bishops in the Episcopal Church have directed a “fast from public worship” (the words of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry) for the time being.

I do not concur with such an assessment. Of all the times for us to truly “be who we are” as the Christian community, as the church, a public health crisis is such a time. It is good for us to maintain our public witness, to feed Christ’s people in word and sacrament on the Lord’s Day. It is not a time to be controlled by fear.

This is not to deny the reality of the threat. We should take the general advice about hygiene and social distancing seriously. Making a decision to not attend Sunday services is plausibly a wise one for some people, those who face the greatest risk if they should be exposed to the virus. I would not be alarmed to hear that Sunday attendance for the next few weeks takes a deep dive. I encourage the communicants of the diocese to exercise their best judgment, in prayer and discernment, about how best to take care of themselves.