The subject of churches reopening and permitting in-person worship services has been all over the news in the last couple of days, and in Hawaii, Mayor Kirk Caldwell has said that May 23rd is the day that services may resume.

In-person spiritual services will once again be allowed starting Saturday, as long as worshippers follow social distancing guidelines and wear masks… “Gathering together safely, praying together, and taking part in group worship is so important right now, as so many of our residents have been practicing social distancing for months,” Caldwell said.

The Center for Disease Control released a draft statement about reopening churches which “advised houses of worship to hold virtual and outdoor services, use stationary collection boxes rather than passed baskets, limit rituals that involve physical contact or shared objects, and encourage worshipers to bring their own prayer books and song sheets. Choirs should be streamlined or avoided in favor of solo singers, the CDC draft stated, and buffet meals should be replaced with boxed meals.”

However …

This morning the Hawaii Chapter of the American Choral Directors put out an urgent statement.

On behalf of the American Choral Directors Association Hawaiʻi Chapter and the Hawaiʻi Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, we offer our aloha and send forth our gratitude for keeping our spiritual communities engaged and connected during this challenging time. 

We write with urgency. While the Mayor of Honolulu has announced that spiritual communities may resume gathering on Saturday, 5/23/2020, we strongly advise against congregational singing at this time. 

The process of singing and speaking creates aerosols, or droplets, that hang and travel in the air and are easily inhaled. Noting that the World Health Organization states that the COVID-19 virus is primarily transmitted through respiratory droplets, singing can be a catalyst for COVID-19 transmission. Singing also requires deep breathing, allowing aerosols to travel deeper into the lungs. 

Compared to Silent Breathing:
– Talking produces about 10x more aerosols
– Singing produces about 60x more aerosols On Cloth Face Coverings and Singing:
– While cloth face coverings block larger droplets from escaping the wearer’s mouth and nose, the covering is less effective at protecting the wearer from inhaling droplets not produced by the wearer and is significantly less effective at blocking fine-particle aerosols for the wearer and others in the area. 

The Bottom Line: 
Though the city of Honolulu has allowed for spiritual services to resume starting Saturday, 5/23/2020, conclusions of studies about the nature of singing as it relates to COVID-19  strongly recommend against congregational singing at this time. However, we do note that data around the safety of singing and our collective response to COVID-19 is rapidly evolving. 

Potential Solutions: 
– Creating live music from the piano, organ, electronic keyboard, string instruments, and percussion instruments pose minimal risk, provided that musicians practice social distancing. 
– Listening to music recorded  by musicians who are members of  your community of faith living in the same household. 
– Encouraging congregants to sing, at home, music that celebrates your respective faith. Communities can also send hymnals or song books as PDFs pending copyright licensure.

We are aware that the current literature around congregational singing is not ideal at this time. However, as pedagogues and practitioners of singing, it is our responsibility to ensure that our musical communities are kept safe and are aware of the available scholarship. Therefore, it is our professional recommendation that communities of faith temporarily set aside congregational singing during spiritual gatherings, for the safety of us all. As the scholarship changes and evolves, we will ensure that we will keep our communities of faith in Hawaiʻi updated.

Well! Things will certainly be different in this new reality!

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America released a statement about returning to in-person worship (Read it here: “Returning to In-Person Worship“) and a few things jumped out at me:

• Everyone required to wear masks, including the minister and lay leaders. Social distancing, of course.

• Making “reservations” to attend church in order to limit attendance

• No access to Bibles, hymnals, pens, information cards, or children’s books or toys or objects which can be touched by numerous people

• No chairs or cushions with fabric coverings, which are more challenging to clean (That would eliminate ALL the seating at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu!)

• No paper bulletins handed out

• No congregational singing; no choirs, just a few singers

• No communal speaking, such as saying The Lord’s Prayer, psalms or other responses.

I invite your comments in the section below!