Because of H1N1 (swine flu) some churches are changing rituals like shared communion cups and holding or shaking hands. Are they overreacting?

So far, everything we have seen shows that the H1N1 virus is much less dangerous than the more familiar seasonal flu. These added precautions result from media hype more than from actual danger.

I personally would not share any cup or hold hands with anyone except my spouse (flu or no flu). The shaking of hands is an unsanitary and antiquated greeting that pre dates history that should be replaced with the thumping of ones on chest with the right hand like the Klingons do it. Lets quit touching each other so much. Yuck!

Don't most people bathe and wash their hands before attending church? That's probably as clean as some of us get during the week. This is over reaction. Personal responsibility. If you are feeling sick don't participate. We are such a scared society.

Amen RC! And Chris, keep in mind that you may just be lucky enough to not sit near the coughers or those who manage to touch their faces the entire mass. I have always wondered why the very public greetings and 'love' we are compelled to display in the bright lights of the church are supposed to make up for or cover up the fact that we are so uncivil out in the world (and especially the church parking lot.) It's BS.

Al Gardner needs to check himself.

For the second time in about a week (I’m sure I would notice it more if I listened to him closer), Al Gardner is showing bias.

The first time was with the warning the Government gave to Humana…where the Government accused Humana of trying to scare Senior Citizens.
Al reported the story as if Humana was doing just that. Al…just because the Government says it…that doesn’t make it true. Way to be a brainless Government Pawn.
Then this morning, talking about how Mackenzie Phillips says her Father John had sex with her as a teenager and they later had a consentual relationship. Al said it certainly changed the way he thought about John Phillips. So, a dead man cannot defend himself, and an accusation made
against him is treated as proven fact? If you actually take everything you hear or read as fact Al, maybe you’d be interested in some ocean front property in Omaha. I’d be happy to sell it to you. It’s a beautiful place.
I don’t actually think Al is that dumb…he’s just biased. It’s supposed to be Charlotte’s Morning News Al. If you’re going to keep reading the news like you are, maybe you should change the name of the show to Al’s Morning Opinion.

Mackenzie Phillips, what a joke! This drugged out woman who claims to have used cocaine since she was 11 is hardly a reliable source for anything that ever happened to her. Maybe she did, and maybe she didn't or just maybe, in her self-induced drug stupor she just imagined it all. A little late to be making accusations isn't it, or as it has been said in show business, "There is no such thing as bad publicity!"? How else is this has-been going to garner any publicity but to go on America's Bleeding Heart, the Oprah show! Two hours of wasteland television time, Oprah and Dr. Phil, tops in prattle among countless other hours.

Loafer...Evidently her word is good enough for Al. He just can't think of John Phillips the same now.
Me...I am right there with you...how could anyone not take anything Mackenzie Phillips has to say seriously?

Mama Cass was the real talent!

H1N1 is not spread by hands but by coughs & sneezes - water droplets in the air. My office building, and others, have installed so many hand sanitizer stations they look like hospitals. Great for stimulating the economy but nothing more. Now we'll enjoy chapped, cracked hands and have to buy hand lotion, too! Get your rest, eat right and use COMMON SENSE.

Yeah, Mama Cass was talented but she was a nut case also.

dlr, if one coughs or sneezes into their hand and then shakes hands with others does this not spread H1N1? The proliferation of hand sanitizers will only cause bacteria to become more resistant to antibacterial and sanitizing agents and our bodies more susceptible to diseases. Besides are these sanitizers also good for killing viruses? Just asking, since I don't know.

Churches are changing rituals due to swine flu, is that overreacting? Maybe their being pessimistic and expect swine flu to become a serious crises.

We can worry about H1N1 but we don't have to worry about the economy. Kathy said yesterday that signs of recovery are all around us. Lets see, the DOW is down 40 points today following yesterdays decline of over 80 points. Home sales are down 2.7%. And there were only 530,000 new claims for unemployment last week. Yep, signs of economic recovery are all around us. With a recovery like this, who needs a stimulus package?

Hand sanitizers do not kill viruses. When you use a hand sanitizer however, it makes the areas treated inhospitable to viruses (they think it sucks) so they don't want to cling to your hands. If you sneeze into your hands you will contaminate your hands with the virus. Washing the hands with plain soap and water is best but hand sanitizers are benificial as described above when washing is not practical.