You might not have the blood of Christ this weekend.
/ Alex Resila
FAYETTEVILLE -- The flu has hit us hard and hit us often. Churches are no exception to that. The Catholic Church is offering the same advice that it did four years ago with the outbreak of swine flu. This includes giving all parishes a sheet with ten key points for understanding the flu. There are no sweeping changes as each church must decide what is best for their congregation.
Monsignor Robert Yeazel is the pastor who makes those choices for Holy Cross in Dewitt. "Instead of at the kiss of peace for example, we invite them to just say hello to their neighbor and not shake hands," said Yeazel "To make sure that we don't pass any germs that way, we've done away with the cups during flu season."
One church in Fayetteville has come up with a little bit of a different way to spread the sign of peace, through the use of American sign language.
Linda Even is the Pastor for the United Church of Fayetteville. "We taught the congregation the sign for peace," says Even.
Jackie Meyer is a member of her church's signing choir. She has been used to this since it was started for deaf parishioners twenty years ago. With the flu in full swing and her congregation used to it. She thought to incorporate this into their mass for the sign... of peace.
"It gets the message across but without having to say a thing," says Meyer "They were very comfortable with the idea of American Sign Language."
"It's a place to rejoice, it's a place to honor the lord and it's not a place to get the flu," said Yeazel.
