Epidemic

I think that seminaries should offer a Typhoid Mary award every year. It would go to the person who brought the most insidious disease into the community each year. I am not sure who is at fault this year, but being sick is all the rage these days.

On Wednesday morning, the Rector advised those who were feeling under the weather to remain in their rooms and recover. He encouraged them to visit the doctor as well. There must have been some element of prophecy in his words, because Influenza A (diagnosed in a few of the men) has struck the house. So far, first and fourth theology have been hit the hardest, but I suspect that we are only seeing the beginning. Living conditions such as those present in a seminary lend themselves to the spread of disease. This is especially true when some of the men, after sleeping for a day or so, get bored with their room and insist on wandering about the house touching things. One of the infirm was recently warming soup in the microwave of our communal lounge. In the most pastoral way possible, I insisted that he Clorox everything he had touched before leaving the room.

Thanks be to God it has been a little warmer today and yesterday. This has provided us the chance to open the windows and circulate some fresh air. With any luck, the disease is mostly contained and we will have only a few more victims.

While the flu is not likely a mortal illness for any of the men in the seminary, to catch it still implies certain serious repercussions. There is a quiet panic among some of the men. They cannot afford to be sick. To miss a week's worth of class would be academic suicide. In other instances, to carry the flu virus would prevent them from visiting the nursing homes and home bound in their teaching parishes, thus preventing them from acquiring their monthly quota of hours spent with the people.

On the up side, some of the deacons have had the opportunity to practice their traditional ministry of taking communion to the sick. And, it has managed to keep some of the more, shall we say, "outspoken" members of the community in their rooms. That can't be all bad.

The picture above is a photo of the flu virus. Cute, huh?