>> Wash hands frequently.
>> Cover mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing.
>> Reduce crowding as much as possible.
>> Interact without physical contact if possible; it may reduce the spread of flu.
>> Consider adjusting religious rituals such as eating and drinking from communal dishes and vessels.
Something new and funky is going on in the pews of Luther Memorial Lutheran in Omaha.
The church's pastor calls it the elbow bump.
You might also call it the anti-H1N1 hug, an alternative to the handshake.
In essence, the elbow-to-elbow tap is the Rev. Carmala Aderman's lighthearted attempt to prevent the spread of sickness while maintaining some semblance of a personal greeting among churchgoers.
Aderman is a trained microbiologist, so her germ radar might be stronger than that of your average minister. But area religious leaders increasingly are joining her in taking precautions to protect their flocks against contagious viruses such as H1N1 influenza.
While local responses appear less extreme than those reported in some other regions, calls to Omaha and Lincoln worship centers turned up precautions that ranged from reminders to wash hands more often to the elimination of the traditional handshake.
(Elsewhere, certain preachers have drained holy water fonts, shelved the common wine cup and issued outright bans on physical contact.)
Much of the church action followed guidelines the White House issued earlier this month for faith gatherings. Worshippers were told to consider, among other steps, hand sanitizer and interaction without physical contact.
Organizations such as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops also issued recommendations. Those who handle Communion wafers were advised to scrub first. Priests were encouraged to adopt their own strategies if necessary, said the Rev. Joseph Tap- horn, chancellor of the 23-county Archdiocese of Omaha.
Taphorn said he knows the faithful have questions because he has fielded calls.
Groups including an alliance of north Omaha ministers have sought advice from the Douglas County Health Department. The department has not issued specific local guidelines but refers people to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Web site, which warns against sharing cups and shaking hands.
By far the most popular response, regardless of faith, has been the installation of hand sanitizer stations.
“We've got it all over the place,” said Cece Hill, executive director of Congregation Tifereth Israel in Lincoln. “So far, nobody has gotten sick.”
Purell hasn't popped up in places of worship without at least some consternation or comedy.
The Rev. Damian Zuerlein of St. Columbkille Catholic Church in Papillion said he balked at placing a large dispenser up front where parishioners could purify before taking Holy Communion.
“I thought, no, we're not adding yet another ritual to the Mass.”
Rather, he placed hand sanitizer at the entrance of the church, near the holy water bowl — which then raises the question: Sanitize first, then dip a finger, or sanitize following the dip?
Some parishioners simply pass the holy water dish without dipping at all, he said.
Zuerlein, like most other pastors, encourages common sense approaches and individual preferences. Church leaders tell congregants not to shake hands or drink wine from a common cup if it makes them uncomfortable.
“We're emphasizing the things our mothers taught us when we were young,” said Ken Jasper- sen of King of Kings Lutheran Church. “That includes: If you don't feel good, stay home.”
The west Omaha megachurch, however, has placed hand wipe dispensers throughout its campus.
Many churches, including Aderman's midtown Luther Memorial Lutheran, for years have distributed blessed wine in small individual cups.
At St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in northwest Omaha, the Rev. Daniel Kampschneider suggested verbal greetings instead of handshakes. However, he said, that's a personal choice — as is whether to sip from the common wine chalice.
“If they feel strongly, they'll just shy away, which is fine.”
At Water's Edge, a congregation that meets at Millard West High and is part of Faith-Westwood United Methodist Church, the H1N1 virus has become more of a concern recently — so much so that the Rev. Craig Finnestad has pulled hand-to-hand contact from the worship menu.
“Today, I wouldn't even consider asking the congregation to do that,” he said. (Personally, however, he said he doesn't shrug off an extended hand.)
The Rev. Aderman has an undergraduate degree in bacteriology and has worked in hospital emergency rooms. The H1N1 flu also has infected someone in her congregation.
So, to her, the threat of contamination is real. She studied and passed along to her congregation facts about the virus. A person can be contagious 24 hours before symptoms show, Aderman told congregants during a recent service, and also for a while after one feels better.
That means they could come to church feeling fine yet expose others to the sickness, she said.
Still, Aderman recognizes the desire to mingle with minimal risk. She asked her congregation to consider alternatives to hugs and handshakes.
Enter the elbow bump.
The suggestion started playfully, she said, and some took it to heart. Others have chosen to bow or exchange a verbal greeting.
The point is that even the faithful should be wary of hands that easily pick up or pass along germs — especially as the threat of outbreak looms.
“Maybe that's one reason God invented pockets,” quipped Aderman.
Contact the writer:
444-1224, cindy.gonzalez@owh.com
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