Communion in a Time of Pandemic

Yesterday I was in charge of drive through communion for the third time.  If you're interested in the logistics of how it works, see this blog post.  Today I want to think about what I've observed after 3 episodes.

--There's a core group of people who come every time.  They're not the same people who used to come to church every Sunday.

--We have at least one congregation member who zips over during a break from work.  She works at Publix, the local grocery store.  She wasn't able to do this during times of regular Sunday worship.

--There's a car with 2 women who weren't attending our church during pre-pandemic days, and I'm not sure how they came to find drive through communion.  They're our most faithful ones for drive through communion.  They are an elderly mother and a mid-life daughter, and the mother speaks no English, only Spanish.

--Yesterday, a car with 2 young men pulled up, both African-American with beards.  I didn't recognize them, but I give communion to anyone who comes.  Unlike some, they seemed familiar with the sacrament.  They did take a picture of the church sign that says, "Go in peace, serve the Lord" before they pulled away, which made me wonder if they're related to anyone in the congregation or if they found us on their own.

--One week, a woman on a bicycle rode up.  She stopped and looked at me expectantly.  I asked if she was here for communion, and she nodded.  As I handed her the elements, she looked confused.  I'm still not sure she was really there for communion, but she didn't speak much English that I could tell, so I wasn't sure what she wanted or needed.

--I like distributing communion, but it is a tough gig in the summer.  It doesn't seem worth it to turn on the AC for the whole sanctuary, so by the end, I'm feeling overheated and irritable.  I wish it wasn't such a sweaty endeavor for me, but at least I'm not doing any laying on of hands in this time of pandemic.