Like ripples in a lake after you throw in a stone, our appetite for risk affects our decisions in health and safety and the ripples spread out to include family, friends, congregations, and communities. We individually make risk-based decisions every day; driving a car, wearing seatbelts, mowing a lawn, changing ceiling lightbulbs.

Most recreational activities carry a degree of risk, and as we age or we are subjected to injuries our decisions become more careful; don’t walk the slippery path with a dodgy knee, don’t go out in the chilly wind with a cough or cold. In many circumstances there is no one answer that suits everyone. Not everyone has a dodgy knee or a cough or a cold, and not all lightbulbs are in the ceillings.

With the Government’s reduction in Covid-19 measures some parishes have been asking if they can still use vaccine passes even though the Church has followed the Government guidelines and vaccine passes are no longer mandatory in our buildings. I think the Government has removed the mandate because Covid-19 has bypassed the need to use the passes.

When considering the continuing Covid-19 risk, there is no one answer that I can give to whether parishes should continue using vaccine passes when they don’t have to. The level of risk is different for each parish and even within each building.

The best answer I can give is: before deciding whether to use vaccine passes or not, a parish council should assess the risk that is present in using their buildings.

• Is there a larger number of people with underlying health conditions to consider?

• How good is the ventilation in the building?

• Is the space in the building enough to distance everyone appropriately?

• How long is everybody going to be in the room together?

Additionally, any parish deciding to continue with vaccine passes needs to consider:

• What is the trigger that says to stop using vaccine passes?

• How good are we at including people who stay at home (for whatever reason)?

Ka pū te ruha, ka hao te rangatahi. As an old net withers another is remade.

Nā Trudy Downes

Mobile 027 457 4196 trudyd@methodist.org.nz