New Year
Happy New Year! Let’s hope 2021 is better than 2020, or at least less uneventful and more predictable. Our youngest grandson was born in February of 2020, so it wasn’t all bad. I would like to count the storming of the capital on January 6 as really being part of 2020.
I received my 1st dose of COVID vaccine January 4. I encourage each and every one of you to have the vaccine as soon as you are able. The sooner the majority of Americans have had the vaccine the sooner we can put COVID behind us.
Hoosiers age 80 and older can now register by going to https://ourshot.in.gov, searching for a nearby vaccine clinic and selecting an appointment time. Appointments may also be made by calling 211. The online registration is very easy. I’ve heard that calling sometimes doesn’t go through, probably because lots of people are calling. A caregiver or loved one may make an appointment on behalf of an eligible senior.
I know some people are leery about taking the vaccine. There’s a lot of misinformation, and some downright lies, floating around out there. But the truth is based on science, and science tells us that the vaccine is 95% effective after the 2nd dose.
If you want to witness examples for yourself then know that at the time of writing this three people in our church have had the 1st dose of the vaccine. Each of us will have the 2nd dose of the vaccine by February 1st. We will let you know if anything bad happens to any of us.
All of this is important because the sooner COVID is under control the sooner we can resume church services, the sooner we can shake hands and hug each other, and the sooner we can have fellowship like we used to! Hopefully we can do all this in time for a church picnic this summer!
Speaking of church services and COVID. We made a policy that if Miami County is in a “red” status we will cancel church services. In mid-December the county went red and as of the time of this writing we are still in the red. Hopefully we will be out soon. I miss seeing all of you – even if it’s behind a mask! I want to be back in church with all of you! But I also want all of us to be healthy so we can all celebrate Christmas together in 2021, 22, 23 and so on. Being willing to forgo a couple of in person church services now will help us to achieve that long term goal.
I am praying for all of you, and I hope you are praying for me and for each other as well. We will pull through this with God’s help, and we will be stronger for it.