Thread by @MPWRoberts

The Government is considering introducing Covid Status Certification, and it has been suggested churches could use them as a way to open again fully.
This seems such a good idea that I have a further proposal: Leprosy Status Certification.
(Thread) 1/

Leprosy is a very serious disease, and highly infectious; many believe it can be spread just by touching. 2/

Now the last thing we want to do is spread leprosy. So to touch lepers would be a very unloving thing to do; we risk catching it, and maybe spreading it (asymptomatically perhaps) to others. The church, if it takes seriously Gods’ call to love, can’t risk doing that. 3/

So if we want to offer God’s unconditional love and welcome to everyone, we need to make sure that those with leprosy don’t come to Christian churches. 4/

In fact that’s not enough; some careless people could have been infected but not yet have any obvious skin lesions or nerve-insensitivity injuries. Such irresponsible individuals pose a risk to the rest of us, who have carefully taken all the necessary precautions. 5/

How can we proclaim that Jesus’ mercy is unconditional, that he welcomes the outcast, and offers healing to the sick in body and soul, if people have to run the risk of catching such a nasty disease if they come to hear it? 6/

So I propose a ‘Certificate of Leprosy Antigen Negativity’ (CLeAN), whereby socially responsible people can certify that they have never eaten or drunk with, or in some way been a companion of, lepers. 7/

Or the kind of people who tend to become lepers – Tax collectors and prostitutes, for example. (Mark 2:15-17) 8/

We can then ask people to show their CLeAN papers or app at the doors of our churches, and we could exclude those without them from our assemblies. 9/

An alternative would be to allow the un-CLeAN to enter, but require them to sit on the floor at a safe distance from the rest of us (James 2:3). 10/

This will make the Church a great demonstration to the rest of society of the unconditional love and welcome of Christ. It may be that wider society could follow our lead by making shops, pubs and other venues similarly welcoming to all. 11/

Because it would lovingly avoid the risks associated with not only touching lepers, but touching anyone would *could* be a leper. 12/

After all, it is what Jesus would have done.

Matthew 8:3

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(PS: In case it’s not obvious, this is satire. Please note I’m not opposing sensible precautions against infection in church services, nor encouraging anyone with good reason to think they may be currently infected with Covid to attend church.)