{"id":106096,"date":"2020-03-05T10:21:48","date_gmt":"2020-03-05T14:21:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=106096"},"modified":"2020-03-05T10:21:48","modified_gmt":"2020-03-05T14:21:48","slug":"local-anglican-church-bans-handshakes-amid-worldwide-covid-19-epidemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/local-anglican-church-bans-handshakes-amid-worldwide-covid-19-epidemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Local Anglican Church bans handshakes amid worldwide COVID-19 epidemic"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The local Anglican Church is reportedly giving up hugs and handshakes for nods, bows and smiles.<\/p>

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The new practices were introduced to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, COVID-19.<\/p>\n

There are no confirmed cases of the illness in Antigua and Barbuda but, according to reports, the church already amended some of its longstanding traditions as precautionary measures.<\/p>

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Members of the clergy are now mandated to wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water before conducting the communion sacrament.<\/p>

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Even then, only bread is given to congregants and this is be placed in their hand rather than on their tongue as is the custom reports said.<\/p>\n

As for the wine, only the priest gets a sip from the cup, which was traditionally shared with members of the congregation.<\/p>

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\u201cI saw them whispering so I made a little joke, I said what happen, you\u2019re saying the priest drink all and nuh gi\u2019 me none and they say we were not only thinking it, we are saying it\u201d, Rev. Ernest Flemming, Dean of the Cathedral Parish of St. John the Divine told state media.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdjustments would be needed, and I think because they understand the gravity of the situation, that they would gladly make that adjustment\u201d, the Dean said.<\/p>

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Parish Priest of St. George, Rev. Canon Reid said the response from members of the congregation have been good.<\/p>

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\u201cThey are in agreement because I think we have the mindset that it\u2019s not if it will come but when it comes, and this actually prepares all of us for that moment when we can say effectively that it is here\u201d, Rev. Reid said.<\/p>\n

The Priest encouraged all residents they take adequate precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are advocating, not only for our church membership but for the general public, that they must follow the guidelines laid down by the health authorities and what are they saying? Practice good hygiene wash your hands, use sanitizers, you know, those sorts of things. We are in favor with all of that\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n

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The local Anglican Church is reportedly giving up hugs and handshakes for nods, bows and smiles. The new practices were introduced to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, COVID-19. There are no confirmed cases of the illness in Antigua and Barbuda but, according to reports, the church already amended some of its longstanding traditions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":106097,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nLocal Anglican Church bans handshakes amid worldwide COVID-19 epidemic - Antigua News Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/local-anglican-church-bans-handshakes-amid-worldwide-covid-19-epidemic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Local Anglican Church bans handshakes amid worldwide COVID-19 epidemic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The local Anglican Church is reportedly giving up hugs and handshakes for nods, bows and smiles. 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