Yesterday I went back to church to preach and lead the service, but I decided to follow CDC guidelines and keep my mask on. I wore the N95 mask, not one of my more comfortable masks. I tried to keep a good distance from people, even though I wore a mask. It felt strange, necessary but strange.
I have never given a sermon in a mask before. Even in the South Florida church where I last led regularly in person, we would take our masks off as we read from the podium. It's not the safest practice in terms of exposing those who came up to the podium later, but it was the practice we adopted, and it worked for less contagious forms of COVID.
I know that the N95 mask muffles speech more than other masks, so I tried to speak up when I gave the sermon. I did have a microphone, but I still tried to project my voice. After the sermon, I slipped out the side door to do a bit of coughing and drink from my Yeti mug of water.
I do understand why the issue of masking is so divisive. Masks aren't comfortable if they're effective, and yet, they are effective at controlling spread of a variety of diseases.
I am looking forward to returning next week when I can be unmasked.
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