Area churches make modifications against swine flu

Many area churches and synagogues are modifying their services due to the swine flu outbreak.When worshippers in Catholic churches shake hands as a sign of peace or share the communion cup and offering plates, religious leaders want to be sure they don’t also pass the swine flu.Father Terence Curley of St. Thomas Aquinas in Nahant said he published a note in the bulletin suggesting parishioners not shake hands during the sign of peace.”I suggested that due to the flu they offer the sign of peace verbally or say a silent prayer instead of shaking hands,” he said.Curley said the parish does not share wine from a communal cup except on special occasions and communion is usually placed in the hand, not the mouth. He added the parish always keeps an ample supply of hand sanitizer on hand.Rabbi Baruch HaLevi of Congregation Shirat Hayam in Swampscott said hand sanitizer is always readily available in the synagogue and would become “more prominent” in the synagogue. He urged everyone to take necessary precautions and suggested on his blog that people take a hiatus from handshakes, hugs and kisses in houses of worship at least for now.”Whatever we decide, I for one am going to do my part in not spreading this nasty disease so forgive me for passing by your hand on Shabbat,” he wrote in his blog.But he also urged people not panic unnecessarily.”In fact, to put it into perspective, based on my research more people in this country have drowned in toilets – roughly 100 a year – than of the little piggy virus,” he said.Archdiocese of Boston Secretary for Communication Terrence C. Donilon said on April 28, the Archdiocese sent information, which was developed in conjunction with the U.S. Center for Disease Control, to parishes and that it echoes what was published in 2006 at the time of the avian flu outbreak. The release stressed the need for good hygiene and encouraged Ministers of Holy Communion to wash their hands or use an alcohol based anti-bacterial solution before Mass. It also asked clergy to instruct people who feel ill not to receive from the cup. Donilon said in areas where the outbreak of the disease has been the most significant, bishops have introduced several liturgical adaptations in regard to such practices as the distribution of Holy Communion and the exchange of the Sign of Peace in order to limit the spread of the disease.