In the interests of inclusion (or, depending on one’s perspective, to illustrate the meaning of doublethink) the Diocese of Toronto is permitting parishes to hold worship services where proof of vaccination is required for attendance.

I can foresee some problems with this. Suppose an unvaccinated individual who identifies as non-binary shows up; should ze be turned away? The conflict of competing wokery in denying entrance to a 2SLGBTQQIA1+ unvaccinated individual could, at the very least, induce clergy heart failure and, at worst provoke the onset of the apocalypse.

Read it all here:

But it has been pointed out to us that, due to our welcome of the unvaccinated, some other people have now been unintentionally excluded because they are immuno-compromised. These are individuals who cannot attend church or any public place where the unvaccinated may be present, as they are especially vulnerable, despite being themselves vaccinated. Their exclusion was never our intention.

To that end, we have heard the request from some parishes to offer services with a vaccine mandate, requiring proof of vaccination for entry.

After much discussion, consultation and prayer, the College of Bishops has consented to permit parishes to institute a new worship service – outside of their existing and continuing schedule of services – that requires proof of vaccination to attend. It is the College’s expectation that these restricted-entry services will be the exception to our worship offerings, and not the norm.

As of this writing, the clergy, employees and volunteers have to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to perform their duties in the Diocese of Toronto:

Effective September 30, 2021, any employee, member of the clergy or volunteer who attends at a workplace must show proof of being vaccinated with two doses of a vaccine or combination of vaccines approved by Health Canada, with the second dose having been administered at least two weeks prior to the in-person attendance.

Wardens will have the unenviable job of demanding that those hapless enough to still volunteer in the diocese show their papers. The wardens are also responsible for snitching on recalcitrant malcontents. Does anyone foresee an impending shortage of people willing to be a warden?

Employees, Volunteers, and Honorary Assistants are only to show their proof to the Churchwardens of the parish. This responsibility cannot be delegated to the Deputy Churchwardens, other Employees or Volunteers.

Churchwardens are to visibly verify the proof of vaccination or negative test in person or via video chat (i.e. Teams, FaceTime, or Zoom) and record on a confidential tracking sheet. Those with proof of exemption are to submit it in writing to the Churchwardens as outlined in section 1.C. COVID-19 Mandatory Vaccination Policy

The Churchwardens are also required to follow up with those who have not submitted proof and implement appropriate next steps for those not in compliance with this policy.

There are those in the diocese who believe that this does not go far enough. They would prefer the unclean to be kept out altogether:

After much discussion, the bishops and diocesan leadership have decided not to require proof of vaccination to attend worship in an Anglican church in this Diocese. I’ve heard that some of you aren’t comfortable returning to in-person worship alongside potentially unvaccinated people, and I know this may disappoint you.

As I was ruminating on all this, a novel I read many years ago came to mind: it is “Erewhon” by Samuel Butler.

In it, Butler tells of an imaginary country where crime is regarded as an illness and disease as a crime. It used to seem a little far-fetched, but less so now. The unvaccinated, the potentially diseased, are to be shunned – have they fallen into the “evil” category yet? – whereas the church now provides a safe injection facility for those taking hard drugs, an activity that used to be illegal.

And male clergy have sex with each other, another activity that used to be illegal. Not all of them, admittedly. Not yet.

Update: The Diocese of Huron has the same vaccine mandatory vaccine rules in place. I expect most if not all other Anglican dioceses do too – or soon will.