April 30, 2009

CHICAGO – The Rev. Rebecca Bourret was vacationing at a resort in Cancun, Mexico, when the deadly swine flu broke out some 800 miles away in Mexico City. She's back in Massachusetts now preparing for Sunday worship.

"We weren't near Mexico City at the time we were there, so I wasn't concerned," said Bourret, Christ Lutheran Church, Natick. "Many people die of more common illnesses, even just the common flu."

Across the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), members are weighing how best to respond to the deadly flu.

"You don't want to overreact and incite panic," said the Rev. Robert G. Moore, pastor, Christ the King Lutheran Church, Houston. "On the other hand, you need to be proactive to protect people."

But where to draw the line isn't clear.

The World Health Organization raised the pandemic alert to its second-highest level on April 29. In the United States, some states, such as Texas, issued disaster declarations.

Still, health officials aren't certain of how dangerous the flu will become.

Moore's congregation quickly called off a youth trip to Mexico City after the outbreak. Calling off Sunday worship, however, wasn't on the radar. At midweek he was doubtful of foregoing the "passing of the peace" – usually done with a handshake.

If needed, "the peace can also be shared with a smile," said Linda Schoene, Christ the King's congregational nurse.

Congregations should remind people of good health practices, such as frequent hand washing and covering the mouth when coughing, Schoene said. The bigger challenge is getting people to stay home when they're sick.

"You don't want parents putting kids with colds in the nursery either," she said.

The ELCA Rocky Mountain Synod planned to kick off its regional assembly April 30 in El Paso, Texas. One local pastor, the Rev. L. Wayne Kendrick, said he was asked whether surgical masks would be provided to the 400 participants expected.

"No, we're not," said Kendrick, who leads Peace Lutheran Church. "There's no swine flu, either here or across the border in Juarez."

The synod has reserved eight vans to take some registrants to Juarez on May 1 to view ministry sites. Some people have backed out of the trip because they don't want to cross the border into Mexico, the synod said.

"Most people aren't aware that every day 25,000 residents of El Paso cross the border to work in Juarez," said Madelyn Busse, diaconal minister and assistant to the bishop. As of 3 p.m. April 30, the trip was still on.

In Minnesota, students from Concordia College, Moorhead, learned that the Mexico Summer Study Abroad program was canceled after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked that "nonessential" travel to Mexico be avoided.

"We wanted to honor that," said Dr. Per Anderson of Concordia's Global Education Division.

In Seguin, Texas, students hoping that Texas Lutheran University might ease their workload were disappointed. The school issued a statement assuring them that final exams were still on.

The ELCA statement, "Worship in Times of Public Health Concerns" is at http://www.ELCA.org/worship/, on the Web. Guidance on pandemic flu preparation is at http://tinyurl.com/dcgwq4/, on the ELCA Web site.

ELCA News Service