The juxtaposition of secular and sacred music in stores & malls is often jarring, I find.
They should stick to the secular stuff. I don't think hymns have a place in a profit-driven, consumer-culture context. But maybe that's just me.
So, my meeting this morning went well. It was nice to see a lot of people I haven't seen in person since March 2020 and also meet the new folks who have joined since then. Here's how it played out:
- Before going, we were to do our usual COVID screener as if we were going to the office
- Vaccine passports checked at door
- Mask required when standing or moving around (including speakers, of which I was one)
- Mask not required sitting at table, but many of us still wore them when not eating or drinking
- Lunch was a soup-salad-sandwich buffet, we went up one table at a time masked
Ironically, the two organizers ended up being virtual. One due to vaccination status (his vaccination was delayed due to allergies) and one due to illness.
Thing is, with it being all people from the same organization and in a private venue (golf club clubhouse), it was much more controlled than a restaurant or bar, so less risk overall than just going out on the town. We had the place to ourselves save for some staff doing vaccine checks, stocking the coffee and lunch table and so on.