Eight of us who were good friends in high school started getting together regularly a number of years ago. I've written about our friendship in a previous column, and how important good friends are. Not being able to see these friends has been one of the losses I've experienced during covid-19. We have our own Facebook page that only the eight of us can see and post to, which has certainly seen more posts this year while we haven't been together. I did drive over to Paragould once near the end of last summer so that we could have a face-masked and distanced outdoor dinner together. And now we've started talking about the possibility of getting together again for a weekend since most of us have already had two vaccinations.
Which brings up the current dilemma, which I anticipate that all of us will experience in the near future if we haven't already. One friend doesn't intend to be vaccinated.
Early on in the pandemic I was involved in theological conversations about caring for self, meaning protecting one's self as opposed to serving others and putting one's self at risk in the context of feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and the imprisoned, and living into Matthew 25. In that case, there was a very fine line to walk between endangering self -- and potentially contracting covid-19 -- and endangering others through potentially giving someone else what you contracted. Now, as more and more people are vaccinated, those ethical dilemmas should lessen.
But what does one do when another individual, for whatever reason, cannot or will not be immunized? I will get to see my mother and hug her for the first time in over a year this Sunday. I am driving to Little Rock and will be able to go into her house for dinner and actually touch her! We were texting about how other family members who have had two vaccines are also welcome to join us, which got me to thinking about family members who have not been vaccinated. I don't want to be the vaccine police in my mother's world. We can joke about others not being invited, but would either of us actually exclude a family member who hadn't had two vaccines?
In the case of the proposed weekend trip with the girls, will we uninvite the friend who is choosing not to be immunized? Churches are beginning to meet in person. I know that having a "vaccine card" has become a political issue, but not putting the community at harm – in this case the church community – is the responsibility of the leadership of a congregation. How will they know when to lessen their restrictions about meeting in person, distancing and wearing masks if they don't know who is relatively safe from contracting or transmitting the virus?
We all pray for an end to the worldwide pandemic that we've been experiencing. I also pray for God to guide us in our conversations with friends, and particularly with those whose views differ from our own. We've had enough distancing and pain due to the pandemic without adding divisions as we finally begin to emerge from the isolation we've been experiencing. May God be with all who read this column as you prayerfully discern how God is leading you.
The Rev. Dr. Leslie Smith Belden is a minister of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), currently serving as the stated clerk of the Presbytery of Arkansas. Contact her at lesliebelden@me.com.