Some meetings have contacted PYM with questions about how our community might handle the coronavirus. PYM has a crisis management team led by our General Secretary. The team includes PYM pastoral care, program, and communications expertise, an epidemiologist, and Dr. Jonathan Rhoads, our Alternate Clerk. If our region is affected by an outbreak, the PYM calendar will add notices concerning events (remote access or rescheduling) to the event notice on the calendar.
In the meantime, the Center for Disease Control posts the most accurate and timely information, including guides for religious communities.
There is also a CDC Interim Guide for Faith Communities.
Advice on prevention is currently centered in distancing strategies (like staying home when sick) and similar best practices that target transmission.
Smiling and nodding your greetings after worship instead of shaking hand is one such example.
PYM maintains an up to date list of Monthly meeting clerks and bridge contacts to whom we reach out to convene the faith community. We will use these standard communication paths to update our community in the event of an outbreak that affects PYM programs or meetings.
Please update your households contact information so that we can be sure to reach you. Also sign up for our weekly email of Quaker News & Events so that you will receive current updates.