Fellow Coptic Christians: I’m going to get in trouble with clergy and others for saying this, but I implore you to think twice about attending church this Sunday.
I think we can all attend church online for a week and not lose a single thing in our spiritual lives. Schools have shut down, industries have shut down, and yes, other churches (like the Catholic church) have shut down in large cities and whole states. Mayors and governors are telling you to stay away from other people. They are not panicking; rather, they are taking social distancing very seriously as a preventative measure, and as a result they are making incredibly tough, unprecedented decisions that a lot of people don’t like.
Again, this isn’t panic. On the contrary. It’s all these people following the directions of medical experts. No panic at all, simply members of the community giving up what they want for a short time (including in-person religious services), to help everyone else. It’s selflessness. Look up social distancing or #flattenthecurve and you can read all about it. This is how we do our part. And we have to do our part right now. Everyone does.
The elephant in the room that no one wants to address is this: the faithful believe you can’t get sick from the act of taking communion. I can’t address that because I don’t have the blessing, legitimacy, or the expertise. And I am not questioning anyone’s faith *at all.* I wish I had faith like others did.
But, I ask you this: can you get sick from a door handle? A napkin? a cough? Or let’s ask the real questions: can you get someone *else* sick from a door handle, a napkin, a cough? Unless you’re in a hazmat suit, the answer is yes. And again, no one has immunity right now. So there’s a good chance someone else can get sick because of you, when we’re being asked to not gather right now.
Because it’s not about you getting sick. It was never about you. It’s about the medical system, and the spread. It’s about slowing the spread of disease so that hospitals are not overwhelmed, so they have the resources to help others right now. So sure, maybe you don’t get sick, because you took communion, but what about the person who you just spread the disease to? What about them? What if they didn’t take communion today and they’re not in good health like you? Are you willing to live with getting your neighbor sick because you needed to take communion x+1 times instead of x times?
Egyptians are naturally stubborn about things like this, and Copts even more so sometimes, because they are very faithful. But they are also very intelligent and reasonable, too. That’s why the Coptic communities in the land of immigration are so vibrant and contribute so much to their communities. So, in my personal opinion, we can miss one week of church. It’s not a slippery slope–we’re all going back to school, work, sports events and so on when this is all over.
I’m sure this is going to get me in trouble with clergy members and faithful congregants, and to that I have say that I’m sorry if I cause anyone else to stumble in their journey with Christ. That is not my intention at all. And I hope you can forgive me for being outspoken about this very sensitive issue. I love the Church and this was really hard for me to write, and I look forward to the day that we have no restrictions on our ability to attend liturgies.
-ai
