I just spoke with my mom in CA. Her ward is planning to meet next Sunday. It will be held outdoors in the church's parking lot. Members have been told that they have to bring their own chairs. Masks will be worn for the duration, but will be removed to partake the sacrament. She questions whether leaders will allow anyone into the building to use the toilet.

I wish that my mom wouldn't attend, but she's desperate for church socialization; even if she gets COVID.

I still can't see how taking the sacrament would or could be safe.

Sacrament is safe in Colorado - I witnessed the procedure

The priests probably washed hands like crazy before meeting.
Then slathered hands with hand sanitizer in front of everyone and shook them out to air dry.

Advance Preparation done by people using sanitized gloves.

Bread placed into water cups and spaced out.

Only the people passing were touching the tray. No audience person ever touched the tray.

Each deacon (or person passing), carried a side bucket, and the people took sacrament and discarded little cup into bucket.

Masks always worn except for a few seconds while eating or drinking

No COVID-19 spreading

Can confirm. My brother is a TBM in Iowa. This is the procedure they are using there. Sacrament meeting is 1/2 hour and then repeated for the other half of the congregation. Since it's a tiny town, it's about 25 people for each half.

I agree with cl2. Outside beats inside, but can you talk to your mom about waving off the sacrament?

summer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ... can you talk to your mom about waving off the
> sacrament?

Sacrilege, summer!

My Mom has a family thing planned for Sunday so no additional details are forthcoming.

soon appearing in ChurchCo buildings:

'Deseret Reserve' brand sanitizer....

". . . for all faithful saints and gentiles save those to whom God has vouchsafed a superior knowledge of their fecklessness and to which all scientists will one day bow the knee in humility and submission."

>'Deseret Reserve' brand sanitizer

Every bottle individually blessed by 2 priesthood holders.

Deseret Reserve Hand Sanitizer.

Lol! Picturing the LDS Inc procurement people negotiating to buy a distillery. I can just see the heads exploding.

Be SURE to OPEN the container / bottle & pronounce the BLESSING on the contents, not on the container!!!

(how many can be blessed at one time? the whole days production? )

In many parts of California, if the meeting isn't early enough, heatstroke can be very debilitating, especificamente para ustedes, Los gringitos y las gringitas!!

Don't overlook Everywhere with temps above ~85!

not only Cali, but the whole southern parts of the N. Hemisphere!

I'm imagining them playing musical chairs in the parking lot.

Grapes, and wine, crackers and cheese, umbrella, bluetooth headphones, phone, magazine, iPad, TV, fan, fly swatter, finger foods, musical instruments, dance pants...

Wait! Where are we?

Who cares?

*THIS right here made my day!*
RMM

Many many years ago, my parents as converts drove to the tabernacle to experience GC. Being naive, they had no idea that a member had to have tickets to be admitted. So they drove around Salt Lake and looked for Col Sander. They had their own blanket and ate their KFC box lunches on the grass on temple grounds (a bunch of others had done the same thing with picnic baskets). At some point the church didn't appreciate or like the image of people sitting on their grass and trampling thru their flower gardens so they ended that practice.

Mormonism ruins Mormon's lives best picnics.

Thanks MMM.
Anytime ;)

I mean, if I'm going to go to a (boring, bland, broken) church I'm going to bring my church (happiness, spontaneity, freedom).

Let's Have A Picnic!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/07/2020 09:43PM by ufotofu.

As long as there are dance pants--I'm in!!

I wrote previously about the Church of the Virus near my home. I can walk to it across a designated wetlands area on a trail. 3 people have died from Covid-19 that we know of and likely hundreds were infected as they do not know how many and they lost count. They had an open house a month ago and it was packed. sigh... On Sunday I went for a walk in the wetlands and I heard car horns honking. They would honk periodically - about every 2 or 3 minutes. I walked up to the back of the church and they were having an outdoor meeting where the faithful were in their cars. I assume the car honk replaced the 'Praise Jesus' you normally hear in a Pentecostal service. I debated recording it as it was a bit amusing, but figured it would not play well as you could not hear the words of the sermon. I assume the Mormons would be better off in their cars than sitting outside.

Church of the Virus - LOL (except, of course, the situation is not at all funny).

I think it's a good idea to use the parking lot, if they must meet at all. And even better that attendees can stay in their own vehicles.

The honking made me laugh. But in person I'd be losing my mind - I have sensitive ears and that would be intolerable to me, not to mention not all that reverent (a condition much touted in Mormonism).

I can't imagine craving church meetings so much that I would want to participate in a parking lot SM. The concept of outdoor church though is enticing. I tried it once when I was the primary teacher (immediately upon baptism when I knew no doctrine, had no kids and didn't know what I was doing so what was god thinking, I wondered) but the powers-that-be instantly shut it down - too radical.

Non-LDS churches here are mostly holding virtual services and some do small gatherings through the week such as work parties for the garden. None of them seems in a rush to reopen, which is the prudent way to go.

I never took the sacrament as a convert. Didn't think I believed in it enough - wanted to limit my liability, so to speak. Also, still ingrained in me from my JW past was that regular members don't participate (only the 144,000 partake of the Lord's Supper, as they call the sacrament).

I'm glad, though, that LDS Inc. seems to be following the general safety recommendations. Hopefully, that is one segment of the churchgoing public that doesn't end up spreading contagion.

I've always felt that God gave us science for a reason. :)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/2020 04:03PM by Nightingale.

Actually, if there is a moderate wind and it's cool enough (sorry, Phoenix Arizona's 110 degrees doesn't count), then holding the service outside in chairs might not be a bad idea. As long as you stay physically distant and wear a mask, your chances of catching COVID19 will be pretty much the same as being in your car and maybe even a little less.

I am informed that on an evening in one TBM neighborhood everyone sits outside their homes while neighbors walk by on the sidewalk and visit for a few minutes, keeping social distance and keeping up with gossip.
Less is said about Sunday services, but a lot about going for hikes and camping on a weekend.

librarian Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Less is said about Sunday services, but a lot
> about going for hikes and camping on a weekend.

Others here have pondered that many Mormons may find the stoppage of weekly meeting attendance to be a major positive in their lives. I imagine it's like taking a huge, long, cleansing breath.

Plenty of non-LDS religious leaders have said that your faith and related actions, beliefs and practices do not depend on weekly meeting attendance. While it's a habit and many enjoy it, that is not the centre of your faith, or isn't meant to be. Some religious folks I know hold that just two believers together constitute church. The big cathedrals and massive audiences are not necessary to worship, iow. It's certainly different when church, any church, is a big part of your life that suddenly the meetings are cut off but many, I'm sure, are finding the extra day to be useful, peaceful and enjoyable (despite the awful reason for it and the accompanying ever-present anxiety many feel).

It may be a new concept for many churchgoers that they don't need to be in a specific building to carry on their faith but hopefully they can find ways to uphold their beliefs while enjoying the extra time. Surely it's a good thing to find a positive in the midst of this worldwide catastrophe.

Hiking and camping are amazing activities that make life more enjoyable and bring people and families closer together. If Mormons (and others) feel a little looser about church attendance when this is all over and continue to take a Sunday "off" here and there that will be a great "side-effect" of this prolonged and deadly pandemic.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/2020 04:15PM by Nightingale.

LDS meeting house behind my home..
Ill let you know how the AC DC prelude music goes yhay I will provide

LOL, I have a stake center across the street.

When the faithful come, IRON MAIDEN will always greet them.

Mormons are attendance monkeys. The pandemic has been hard on their fragile psyches.

What fun is being blindly obedient if you can't be seen by other people?

Wow that should be the relief society theme for this year

MormonMartinLuther Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What fun is being blindly obedient if you can't be
> seen by other people?
>
> Wow that should be the relief society theme for
> this year

It is. Well, it is the LDS Theme For Life AND Eternity.

caffiend Wrote:
-- > n/t

How about FREE movies in Walmart parking lots?

DRIVE UP (shopping and watching) - at 160 locations,
August 14 - October 21 - this summer

https://ew.com/movies/walmart-free-drive-in-movie-screenings-black-panther/

Announced August 5th
I'd heard it announced earlier this summer.
Wonder how this will go.

Tribeca Film Festival - presents

Visit http://www.thewalmartdrivein.com to discover dates, store locations, and the movies for each stop on the tour.

ALL cities say Sold Out. Mostly in the South, East, Midwest.

Stuff like Friday Night Lights, The Karate Kid, Space Jam
Blockbuster, Black Panther, Pokémon Detective Pikachu, The LEGO Batman Movie, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, Spy Kids, Teen Titans GO! To the Movies, and Wonder Woman, E.T., Ghostbusters, Men in Black, Back to the Future, Beetlejuice, The Goonies, The Wizard of Oz, Cars, The Iron Giant, The LEGO Movie, and Madagascar...

Ahead of each feature presentation, audiences will screen one of a number of short films, including Bilby, Bird Karma, Brooklyn Breeze, CROW: The Legend, Fire in Cardboard City, INVASION!, Looney Tunes’ Boo! Appetweet, and Marooned.

I'll believe it when I see it. I don't know if I want to.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/09/2020 05:59PM by ufotofu.

My Mom did not attend due to a family engagement, but she heard that 90 people were in attendance. It was outdoor and featured pre-recorded music. Members were told that they could NOT sing because singing increases the possibility of spreading the virus. It lasted about 40 minutes.

They only met once because the following week...(drum roll please!) The parking lot belonged to the Single Adult Ward.

This Sunday there was no outdoor service in the parking lot because of smoke danger. California has suffered a lot of wildfires and they wisely cancelled because it's not good for breathing.

Apparently, the ward is trying to secure permission from the county health department to hold service inside the chapel. Also, the church does NOT like them using Zoom to stream their service online. So there was zero church meetings today

Ya know, one thing I find funny is that it HAS to be on Sunday. I understand why and all that but given what church is supposed to be for and the times being what they are, I would think the best thing to do would be to have one ward on Saturday, one on Sunday. Or a couple on each day if they have more wards. It just seems like the..... rigidity out weighs the intended point. If that makes any sense.

I hope your mom stays safe and just in case has an evacuation plan :(

That makes a lot of sense of meeting on a different day, but you know that the church is so heavy with directives and policies.

I forgot to mention that the meeting time was set at 8 am because of the heat.

The 8am start time makes a lot of sense. Maybe add a 7pm. And I understand that it would be hard for people that work to go during the week. But if they used Saturday and maybe a couple of 6/7 pm during the week days they might be able to pull it off. And when the weather turns, use the gym.

I guess what I mean is their own rigidity makes things harder for them. So silly when you think about it.

I wonder why the Mormon church does not favor the use of Zoom. A friend's evangelical church is doing Zoom meetings. They were having socially distanced in-person/outdoors meetings for a while, but went back to Zoom -- my guess is that it was because of excessive heat in these parts.

Virtue signaling?

It's a lot more 'rewarding' to say, "Hey! Look at us being compliant with the word o' ghawd!" from a parking lot than from your couch or kitchen table.

No further meetings have been scheduled in the parking lot due to smoky and hazy skies from forest fires and now the "massive heat wave."