BPC NEWS BRIEF Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Balmoral Presbyterian Church

Where the Spirit Takes Flight

BPC NEWS BRIEF

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

mailing address: Balmoral Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 17309, Memphis, TN 38187

NEWS THIS WEEK

WORSHIP for SUNDAY April 25

FIFTY DAYS of EASTER: aaaaaaaaaaa The Spirituality of Gardening

THURSDAY, April 22, is EARTH DAY

EARTH DAY RIVERFRONT MARKETPLACE this Sat., April 24

SPRING SUNDAY STUDIES

REMINDER: Tickets Available for INTO the WOODS: Musical at the Drive-In with a Gurlen on screen

PCUSA PEACE & JUSTICE: aaaaa Kennedy, King and Restoring God’s Creation

AROUND MEMPHIS
CURRENT NUMBERS
VACCINATION RATES
ANTI-BODIES STUDY

WEEKLY INFORMATION

Birthdays
Calendar of Events
OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES
CONTACT INFORMATION

BPC Photos
Worship last Sunday

LINKS to DOCUMENTS:

SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE

is held each week at BPC

ONLINE on YouTube at 11:00 am

The BUILDING is CLOSED

BUT

BALMORAL is OPEN !

Worship with us on our YouTube Channel Sunday morning at 11:00am

and check our website at www.balmoralpc.com/

Our Session is committed to providing worship during the pandemic that reaches everyone. Those of you who do not have computer access or SmartPhone access, Idlewild will continue to broadcast all of the worship services on the radio 96.1 FM.

Stay at home! Stay Safe!

REMINDER: Everyone who comes onto the BPC property MUST WEAR A MASK, including those who are only in the parking lot. NO ONE is allowed in the building without authorization.

We must help to keep our Worship team and the SEED children safe!

Requests for use of the property (including the parking lot) MUST prepare a proposal to the BPC COVID-19 Task Force (Scott Hill and Mary Schmitz, co-chairs) for review; the task force will review the proposal, then make a recommendation to the Session for consideration.

SUNDAY

WORSHIP

Balmoral Presbyterian Church

Sunday, April 25, 2021

BALMORAL WORSHIP at 11:00am on YouTube

Scriptures: Psalm 23 & 1 John 3:16-24

Sermon: "Where God Abides"

SUNDAY STUDIES at 10:00am on Zoom

Join with members & friends of BPC and Circle of Faith

for either one of our two classes available:

> On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity & Getting Old by Parker Palmer

> Almost Everything: Notes on Hope

by Anne LaMott

(see more information about these classes below)

CIRCLE of FAITH WORSHIP at 9:00am

on YouTube

Everyone is also invited to join the Circle of Faith service led by Rev. Cliff Stockton. The link will be listed each week in the ONLINE EVENTS calendar in this Newsletter!

You will receive emails on FRIDAY & again on SUNDAY with a link to the YouTube site for Worship & a downloadable Sunday Worship Guide.

The Idlewild service will also still be available at 11:00 am on the radio at 96.1 FM or you can go online to the Idlewild Livestream broadcast at

https://idlewildchurch.org/worship-music/

Previous Worship Services at Balmoral are still available on the

Balmoral YouTube channel

FIFTY DAYS of EASTER

And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food." — Genesis 1:29

The Spirituality of Gardening

by Christine Sine APRIL 19, 2021

Here in Seattle spring is in full bloom and I love wandering round my garden admiring the beautiful daffodils and tulips and fruit blossoms. My garden room bulges with salad greens, broccoli, beans and over a hundred tomato plants waiting for warmer weather to be planted out. Like millions of others, the recent pandemic has encouraged us to expand our garden and grow more vegetables. We hope that this year at least 50% of the produce we eat will come from our own yard.

I have so enjoyed watching the growth of the community garden movement which grew in the fertile ground of the 2008 recession and has gained momentum over the last year as people have faced food insecurity and responded with new garden efforts. Also, the encouragement to both meet outside to reduce the spread of COVID and help reduce our stress and anxiety has spurred families and churches to expand their gardens to provide for themselves and their local food banks.

Unfortunately there is often a total disconnect between what happens in the garden and our zoom worship services and now as we head back into church many of us us are relieved to leave behind our outdoor gatherings. Yet gardening is one of the most profound acts of worship we can engage in. God’s first act after completing creation was to plant the garden of Eden. And in the first sighting of Jesus after the resurrection he is mistaken by Mary Magdalene for the gardener because, as I mentioned in my last post, that is precisely what he is – the gardener of the new creation.

So much gardening activity happens on our knees, in the position of prayer and supplication. I kneel to weed, plant and harvest and often find myself meditating and praying. If I am troubled by some seemingly insurmountable problem, there is no better place to thrash it out than kneeling in the garden. If I am irritable or depressed, there is no better therapy than weeding.

However there is far more than this that makes gardening a worshipful act. I read about the life, death and resurrection of Christ in the bible, but in the garden I experience it. Every time I plant a tiny misshapen seed and watch it burst into life from its earthy tomb I feel as though I have seen the Easter story reenacted.

Early Celtic Christians were very aware of this. Often, three days before sowing, farmers would sprinkle the seed with water in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If possible they would plant on a Friday. The moistening hastened the seed’s growth and planting on Friday was always a reminder of the Christ’s death and burial. Planting was always symbolic of the planting of Christ, the seed of the new world in which resurrection life will come for all humankind as well as creation.

We are now in the Easter season, rapidly heading towards Earth Day such a perfect time to not only encourage our congregations to get outdoors, but also to help them make connections between the garden and their faith. Several years ago when Earth Day and Good Friday converged, I wrote a liturgy that brought these observances together. However I found I could not stop there, because the story of God in the garden does not stop there. On the following Easter Sunday I expanded the liturgy into a new liturgy which I called: Jesus Has Risen, A New Creation Has Begun http://godspace.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/jesus-has-risen-a-new-creation-has-begun/ to incorporate the resurrection of Christ as well.

There are other wonderful and worshipful lessons. I read about the faithfulness of God to Israel in the Old Testament, but I experience it every time I watch the rain fall and nourish the seeds that have been planted. I read about the miracle of the fish and loaves but I experience just as profound a miracle every time I am overwhelmed by the generosity of God’s harvest. I hold an apple seed in my hand and marvel at the hundreds, if not thousands of apples a seed like this has provided us with over the last 10 years.

In 2008 I wrote a book To Garden with God, (https://godspacelight.com/shop/to-garden-with-god/) that reflected on many of the lessons I had learned to that point. However, as you can imagine the learning just keeps going and last year I developed an online course The Spirituality of Gardening

(https://godspacelight.com/shop/spirituality-of-gardening-online-course/) to help others reflect on their gardens too. In recent years I have even started creating small contemplative gardens that have delighted me with yet more garden lessons.

Perhaps this summer we should not grumble because COVID has forced us to take our worship outside. Maybe we should instead rejoice in the garden experiences and curate a whole new experience for our congregations. The gospel stories come alive in the garden, not just because we understand more fully the agricultural parables which Jesus so often used, but also because the garden is the place in which we can truly anticipate God’s promise for the future. In the garden, as we watch the plants grow and bear fruit in their season it is not hard to believe that one day all creation will indeed be made whole, restored and renewed to become all that God intends it to be.

"We thank you, Lord, for all You give: the food we eat, the lives we live; help us all to live our days with thankful hearts and loving ways. Amen"

Adapted from https://faithlead.luthersem.edu/the-spirituality-of-gardening/

THURSDAY, April 22,

is EARTH DAY 2021

Stop Wondering How to Celebrate Earth Day! 16 Easy Options …

This year is very different from any April 22nd celebration before. Usually, large events bring communities together to learn, create, and grow the environmental movement. Of course, with coronavirus, the public events have been cancelled, but the celebration is moving ahead in full force.

Plus, for many of us, weekdays and weekends are blurred together these days, meaning that the Thursday celebration may as well be a Saturday.

Although much of the world will be confined to their homes this year, there are many earth day activities still available to you, your family, and your friends. If Earth Day has taught us anything, it’s that small individual actions can make a big difference when aggregated with the collective efforts being made around the world.

Here are 16 simple ways to celebrate Earth Day this year!

Get Outside

One way to participate in the environmental celebrations on April 22nd is to engage in activities that will help you get to know the ecosystems you live in and allow you to contribute to the health of your surrounding environment.

1. Make a Bird Feeder for Your Yard

Birds play a critical role in our ecosystems. Making a bird feeder is a great opportunity to provide supplemental nutrition for your feathery neighbors and invite some natural action into your yard for many days to come. It’s also just a fun daily activity to track all of the birds that visit your feeder—channel your inner bird watcher.

Depending on how handy you are or how crafty you want to get, there is a range of options in terms of design and setup that will all open up your yard to more frequent visits from the birds in your area.

2. Build Your Garden

If you’re anything like us, starting a garden has been on your to-do list for years. Whether you are looking for an activity to fill the entire day or just an afternoon, this is your chance to start developing that green thumb.

No matter what kind of garden you want to start, the gardening community provides support every step of the way from assembling a planter, to starting your garden, to keeping your garden healthy.

If starting a full garden is a little beyond your interest right now, consider adding life to your existing yard. Step one, plant a tree! Planting trees in your community will benefit the whole neighborhood since trees are so important. Plus, a tree is a great permanent keepsake, representing your presence in your community as it grows bigger and bigger (that’s why we like to give trees as housewarming gifts!).

3. Show Your Plants Some Love and Maybe Share with Friends!

The best thing about terracotta pots? They look great in any room pretty much no matter what. Celebrate this Earth Day by decorating pots with your family—it’s the pumpkin carving of environmental celebrations.

If your plant game is really strong and you have room to be generous, consider sharing some of that plant love with your family and friends. Decorate pots as a gift and promulgate plants thriving in your home.

If this is your plan, let us know. We love plants….and we’re friends, right?

4. Start Composting

Yet another to-do list staple. The benefits of composting are endless. In addition to reducing your carbon footprint, you’ll also be reducing your spending. If you are able to compost a lot of your food waste, that’s less in your garbage, and that means, you can look into reducing the size of your garbage can that’s collected each week (saving you money!). It also means you’ll be able to produce your own healthy nutritious soil from food scraps without having to spend big bucks on the fancy dirt!

And we have good news: getting started with composting is not as complicated as you have been telling yourself it is. In the Earth Day spirit, get yourself, your household, or your relatives in the composting scene. You can get started with something as simple as a compost pile on your lawn with some food scraps!

Kick Plastic to the Curb

5. Invest in a Reusable Water Bottle

Eliminate plastic pollution from our homes, streets, and ultimately, our oceans. Reducing plastic is one of the biggest individual challenges, but its impact is huge! Join the global effort to eliminate single-use plastic and save our oceans by banning plastic water bottles from your house for Earth Day’s sake!

We’ve been fans of Klean Kanteen’s water bottles for a long time (even before we had the privilege of hosting Jim Osgood, former CEO of Klean Kanteen, on our podcast). Steel water bottles are not only better for the planet, but they have the power of maintaining the temperature of their contents—a power not shared by their evil sibling the plastic water bottle. It also gives you a place to put all those cool stickers you are so excited about.

6. Make the Transition to Reusable Grocery Bags

We are all familiar with the image of plastic products layering a shoreline or tragically filling the stomachs of our natural wildlife. At a time when we have been forced to be extremely intentional with our trips to the grocery store, it’s a great time to put the Kibosh on plastic bags since plastic pollution affects humans, our health, and the planet.

We got a set from the Sierra Club for Christmas that we love. Having a few of them means you are never short when making big restocking trips, and there’s enough to keep some in the car at all times so you never show up unprepared. If you opt for a canvas tote, you can turn this into an Earth Day craft activity as you decorate your new favorite grocery store accessory!

7. Stop Buying Plastic Ziplocks

Ziplocks are a kitchen sidekick on the way out! This Earth Day, opt-out of single-use plastic storage (or at least reduce what you’re using). Think of what you will do with all the money you don’t spend on a box of plastic baggies and the time you won’t spend making a grocery store run to get them!

Instead? Introduce your home to a sustainable option like Stasher. All the use of your average bag except healthier for the environment. Pick your color and enjoy your Earth day contribution every time you use them.

8. Volunteer or Donate to a Local Environmental Organization

Even with social distancing in action, some local environmental organizations have been able to continue operating and educating online! One of our favorites in San Antonio, Gardopia, has continued local events in the form of online lessons for starting, maintaining, and harvesting your at-home garden.

Check for any virtual events going on and show support for your local earth-lovers. If events have been postponed, consider donating, or if merch is available, invest in a shirt or a bag so you can promote their efforts all year long!

Reduce Waste Around the House

9. Commit to Water Use Reduction

First, like you already know, don’t forget to turn the faucet off when you brush your teeth and between washing dishes. Maybe this Earth Day you decide to take that effort to the next level.

About two-thirds of the average family’s water usage comes from the shower and the toilet. We aren’t saying you should stop using the toilet or stop showering…reduction is up to you and your family on that. But, for a low-risk, potentially high-impact change, get a shower timer. Something as simple as a 5-minute hourglass timer for your shower to prevent you from losing track of time can make all the difference in the world.

Can it still be an hourglass if it only times for 5 minutes? The world may never know.

10. Go Solar or Light Your Home with Eco-Friendly Bulbs

If you have the resources to get a solar system set up, now’s your chance! Check with your utility company to learn about options in your area.

But if not, what happens if you just choose to use more energy-efficient light bulbs? Well, you reduce the amount of energy consumption, you save money, and you reduce waste. Energy-efficient light bulbs use less energy (meaning they have less environmental impact) and they last longer (meaning fewer light bulbs to buy and fewer in landfills).

This change can make a big difference for the environment without disrupting your life. Why not make the jump? LED lights are also a great alternative!

11. Calculate Your Carbon Footprint

We’re not here to shame you, but calculating your carbon footprint is a great way to have a baseline understanding of how many resources you actually use. Carbon emissions are tricky beasts, but every action to reduce them counts! Our friends at Carbonbase have an awesome platform to get you started. Simply put in some data about your current living situation and planet-saving ways, and they’ll help you offset the rest. Carbon offsetting is an excellent tool we have to combat the harmful effects of carbon emissions, so why not do it for everything in your life?

12. Make the Most of Your Recycle Bin

You know that second trash can in the kitchen? Give it some love!

What does it mean to really maximize the use of that recycling bin though? Well, it means getting familiar with, and helping everyone in your home understand, what is actually recyclable. Maybe you just need a quick refresher.

Or, maybe it’s time to make an on the spot cheat sheet visible when someone goes to throw trash away—sounds like a good Earth Day art project to us!

13. Get rid of junk mail

Have you ever even considered it? Why would you!? A quick dump into the recycling bin or trash can has become an almost reflexive pit stop between your mailbox and your counter for most people.

But, what if you took the time to ask those companies to stop sending you mail at all. Reach out and unsubscribe in real life! It’s a tedious task, but well worth it for the environment and your sanity.

Get Intentional with Your Routine

14. Get Familiar with Your Local Farmers’ Market

We love our farmers and their markets! Check out your local farmers’ market and see what you can cross off your routine grocery store list for a farmers’ market replacement. Some of our favorites: produce, yogurts, spices, cheese, meats, kombucha, coffees, and dog treats.

Also bread…specifically jalapeno cheese sourdough bread…we love you, Sol y Luna Baking Company.

15. Go Vegan? Let Me Expla…

It could be a fun Earth Day activity, I promise! Just give it a chance. Look, the West’s high level of consumption of meats and dairy products is contributing to global warming. I’m not saying bail on all meat and cheese, but if there is a vegan alternative that you like, why not enjoy the substitute?

When does the fun come in? Well, you’ll never know if you don’t try: Have a vegan taste test. Lay out a platter or some vegan alternatives and have a group (in your home or virtually) put your food critic skills to work. Best case, you’re able to support sustainable food efforts; worst case, everyone gets to laugh at your “ew I don’t like it” face.

16. Avoid Reaching for the Car Keys

Fossil fuels are among the usual suspects for environmental damage. And Earth day is all about fighting against that harm. When you decide to venture out the door, take a second before you reach for your keys.

Plan beforehand for carpooling or consider a more leisurely mode of transportation like biking or walking. A 30-minute bike or walk is no more unreasonable than a 30-minute car ride. Maybe it’s time to start hanging up the car keys a little further from the door?

Whatever you decide to do this Earth Day, please join the celebration! There is so much work to be done, and that’s exactly why it’s so important to celebrate the wins we’ve already had, commemorate the day, and energize each other for the next steps we will all be taking together.

ABOUT the AUTHOR: Annie Bright, Co-Founder & Managing Editor, Grow Ensemble. She earned her J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, TX and is now pursuing a Masters in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tuft’s University. Annie researches, writes, and edits works on sustainability, social impact, human rights, and much more.

SOURCE: https://growensemble.com/celebrate-earth-day/#Stop_Wondering_How_to_Celebrate_Earth_Day_We_Have_16_Easy_Options_for_You%E2%80%A6

MEMPHIS MARKET THIS WEEK

FREE ADMISSION

Event time: 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Location: Riverside Drive near Beale Street Landing

We will also have covid-safe, fitness, and fun activities for all ages like FREE SKATE RENTALS!!!

The market will begin at the intersection of Riverside Dr. and Beale St. and extend south. We will be featuring over 20 unique local vendors with products ranging from Fine Art to Gelato!

The Downtown River Market is a FREE outdoor market hosted by the Downtown Memphis Commission and Memphis River Parks Partnership along the Mississippi River.

Staff will remain masked and we will encourage all guests to remain masked using signage and volunteer staff.

*no pets, please!

SUNDAY STUDIES

for SPRING

Spring Studies begin Sunday,

April 11, 10:00am.

The classes will run through May 23.

Two classes will be offered:

On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity and Getting Old

by Parker Palmer

A beautiful book of reflections on what we can learn as we move closer to "the brink of everything." Drawing on eight decades of life -- and his career as a writer, teacher, and activist --

Parker Palmer explores the questions

age raises and the promises it holds.

Leaders: Jan Kaplan and Ted Pearson

Almost Everything:

Notes on Hope

by Anne LaMott

When life is at its bleakest--when we are, as she puts it, "doomed, stunned, exhausted, and over-caffeinated"--the seeds of rejuvenation are at hand. "All truth is paradox," Anne Lamott writes, "and this turns out to be a reason for hope."

Leaders: Beverly Hooker and Mary Schmitz

Both books are available from Amazon and Thriftbooks.com

There are also multiple copies at several branches of the Memphis Public Library

"INTO the WOODS"

at the Drive-In

Come see one of your favorite Gurlens on the big screen at the Summer Avenue Drive-In!

One showing only on May 20th! Tickets will go fast, so get your ticket now using this link. And while you're online, check out other ways you can support this fabulous children's community theater group!

https://www.newspark901.org/shows--events.html

See you at the Drive-In!

Kennedy, King and Restoring God’s Creation

New twists on familiar stories and songs

by Rich Copley | April 19, 2021 (PCUSA Peace & Justice)

LEXINGTON, Kentucky — The Most Rev. Michael Curry was at a meeting of Anglican bishops from around the world at Canterbury Cathedral in England, and one of the daily themes of the meeting was “the environment.”

In a group of 40 bishops, participants were asked to share what the impact of climate change had been in their countries. Most bishops from the Northern Hemisphere, particularly North America, were fairly quiet, Curry recalled. But the Bishop of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania recalled seeing the snowcap on the mountain as a boy. Now the snow is no longer there.

A bishop from Central Africa said growing seasons have changed and are not as plentiful as they once were. “I remember, most profoundly, the bishop from the Solomon Islands,” Curry said.

“He stood up and he spoke. He said, ‘The waters are rising.’ And he said, ‘Soon our homes, our island homes, will be no more.’ And then he turned and looked at those of us who are Americans. And he said, ‘America, we need your help.’”

The Solomon Islands was the site in the Pacific Ocean where then-Lt. John F. Kennedy and his crew were patrolling when a Japanese destroyer smashed into the boat, splitting it in two. Kennedy and his surviving crew were rescued by Solomon Islanders who helped reunite the men with the U.S. Navy. Kennedy later invited two of his rescuers to his presidential inauguration in 1961, and there is now an island in the chain named for Kennedy.

“We saved him and his sailors because we were your friends,” Curry recalled the bishop saying. “Now we need you to be our friend.”

That was 2008.

Curry, the current presiding bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church, told the story in his sermon Sunday during opening worship of Ecumenical Advocacy Days (EAD) 2021, which are being held virtually through Wednesday. The event is a national education and advocacy event for Christians from a variety of traditions and their partners. The opening worship reflected that diversity of traditions through word and music, including Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) participation, under the 2021 conference theme, “Imagine: God’s Earth and People Restored,” putting the increasingly urgent threats of climate change front and center.

“Imagine a new heaven and new Earth, God’s Earth and people restored,” Curry said at the end of an opening riff on the conference theme. “Imagine. It may not seem like it, but your work of climate justice and to advocate for that is part of God’s grander vision and God’s grander intent and mission to bring an end to what is often a human-created nightmare and to realize God’s dream for the human family, and the entire family of Creation.”

Curry, who may be best known for his sermon at the 2018 royal wedding of then-Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, invoked a familiar Scripture, John 3:16, and a song.

“The work of climate justice, the work of helping to save God’s Creation, the work of helping to save God’s world is not a secular endeavor,” Curry said. “It is the sacred work of God. For God so loved the world.

“And we who follow in the footsteps of Jesus are summoned to love as God loves. The work for climate justice is helping us to love the world as God loves the world. But the truth is, this is God’s world. You know that wonderful, old spiritual, ‘He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands’? I used to think that means he controls what goes on in the world. Now, I don’t think it means that, no. There’s an element of freedom that is part of Creation.

I’ve come to realize that he’s got the whole world in his hands is to say that this world is connected. It’s a part of a greater whole, a greater whole that is upheld in the hands of a loving God.

“He’s got the whole world in his hands. And it’s there in the spiritual when you get a little bitty baby in his hand. He’s got the old person in his hands. He’s got the birds in his hands, he’s got the plants in his hands, got the water in his hands, got the continents in his plan, got every human creature.

“He’s got you and me, brother, you and me, sister. He’s got the whole world in his hand.”

Going into the story of the bishops’ conference and appeal for friendship to address climate change, Curry invoked another great preacher, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., saying, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Other spots in the service addressed justice issues illuminated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused the cancellation of last year’s EAD gathering. The Rev. Dr. Sharon Austin, director of connectional justice ministries for the Florida Conference of the First United Methodist Church, delivered a stark recitation of her “Racism During a Pandemic.”

Austin took on several popular American slogans such as “land of the free” and “home of the brave,” detailing how they only apply to a privileged few.

“The world reminds us of the hypocrisy of our human rights,” Austin said. “Deplorable. Unfathomable. BIPOC hear the constant clamor of First Amendment rights to open and unmask while at the same time listening to statistics stating that they are at greater risk of contracting and dying of the coronavirus. Sounds like planned BIPOC genocide, again.”

The service included a multilingual prayer of the people and music from a variety of traditions, including Korean drumming.

The Rev. Jimmie Hawkins, Associate Director of Advocacy for the PC(USA), brought the opening service to a close with a sending.

“As you go out rejoicing, encounter the Creator, who waits to meet you there,” Hawkins said. “Savor Creation’s richness and diversity and live as those who praise God for its bounty.”

SOURCE: https://www.presbyterianmission.org/story/kennedy-king-and-restoring-gods-creation/

PICTURE:

The Most Rev. Michael Curry, presiding bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church, preached Sunday during opening worship for Ecumenical Advocacy Days. (Screenshot)
The Rev. Jimmie Hawkins, Associate Director for Advocacy for the PC(USA), closed worship Sunday with a sending. (Screenshot)

IN THE NEWS AROUND MEMPHIS

NEW CASES ARE ON A ROLLERCOASTER!

The number of new coronavirus cases reported in Shelby County on Tuesday, April 20, is the lowest it has been in nearly two weeks.

The Shelby County Health Department reported 65 new cases today, the lowest number since the agency reported 59 new cases on April 7.

The 65 new cases is down from the 150-plus it has been reporting in the daily cycles. But weekends are typically slow test times, said David Sweat, deputy director of the Health Department.

“And so, in spite of the fact that we only had 65 cases reported yesterday, we know that in fact the epidemic is growing,” Sweat said. “That is what we’re concerned about and that’s why we want to remind everyone of the importance of always wearing a mask when you’re indoors.

STAY VIGILANT,

even if you are fully vaccinated!

SOURCES:

https://dailymemphian.com/section/metro/article/21423/memphis-coronavirus-new-cases-dip-april-20?utm_source=early_word_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=earlyword_2021-04-21

https://www.localmemphis.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/breaking-down-the-latest-in-covid-19-data-in-memphis-the-mid-south/522-f8f560a9-b24b-437d-b7b4-7258630181ac

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COVID-19 ANTI-BODY STUDY

More than half the population of Shelby County (51%) has antibodies to COVID-19, a critical bit of information in the race to herd immunity.

The figure is the sum of the vaccination rate (roughly a third) plus some good ol’ gumshoe detective work by Xinhua Yu, a University of Memphis researcher who has been sifting through run-of-the-mill blood samples doctors have ordered in Shelby County to detect everything from cancer to infection.

Since November, Yu has analyzed 315 random samples a month, looking for antibodies to COVID-19. Without fail, he’s found the antibodies in 19%-20% of them, more than twice the local positivity rate of 8.2%.

That means for every positive case in Shelby County as far back as last fall, at least one or two others were infected but likely with such mild cases, they went to bed, woke up feeling fine and never knew, Yu says.

To know where a jurisdiction is in an epidemic, every case – every immunity – counts.

As a researcher, Yu started last fall trying to convince people to see their doctors to have blood drawn so they would know if they had anti-bodies or not.

SOURCE: https://dailymemphian.com/subscriber/section/metroshelby-county/article/21411/medical-investigation-antibodies-research

VACCINATION RATE

Tennessee is still dragging behind the nation in the rate of vaccinations, despite the vaccine now being readily available.

Locally, the goal is to vaccinate 700,000 people to reach herd immunity. But without vaccines approved for children under 16, that means reaching larger numbers of adults, which McGowen says will be difficult.

Since public vaccination began in the last days of 2020, 480,000 doses have been delivered in Shelby County, including shots given by some 90 private partners, including pharmacies and physician offices.

The city has tried a number of things to boost participation at the public sites, including opening up no-appointment days at the Pipkin. Certainly, one of the strategies is eliminating appointments at all the public sites. But that is a hard decision when administering vaccine that, for the most part, must be stored at extremely cold temperatures.

Appointments indicate demand, which immediately translates into how much vaccine to thaw for next day’s clinics, McGowen said.

Beyond the well-documented hesitancy, McGowen is also aware that people may be putting off getting the vaccine because they expect the public sites will be open indefinitely.

“Well, quite frankly, public vaccination efforts can’t go on forever,” he said, noting that the early signs of that are well in place now with COVID-19 vaccine available in many pharmacies and private doctors offices.

Click the link below to get current locations for VACCINES:

HERE'S WHERE YOU CAN GET VACCINATIONS