Activities during COVID-19
By Sister Carol Jean Dust
On March 18, 2020, the sisters at Sancta Maria in Ripa campus, St. Louis, were asked to remain on campus and no visitors were allowed to enter, all due to precautions taken with the COVID-19 reality. A handful of sisters came together to form the “Corona Chaos Committee for Morale and Mental Health.” The committee’s main objective was to find alternative activities to keep sisters engaged while practicing social distancing. Working with community leadership, the committee designed a weekly event called Wacky Wednesday – a day each week with a special theme. On Wacky Wednesdays, sisters are invited to choose attire that would go with the theme and then participate in an activity in the dining room after lunch. The goal is to have a communal uplifting of spirits with fun, laughter and prizes while practicing social distancing.
The first Wacky Wednesday was held on March 25, the feast of the Annunciation. The attire was blue and the sisters could chose something blue, something with blue in it or something that goes with blue! The game was similar to a scavenger hunt; everyone was asked to bring to lunch the purse or backpack they would normally take when they left the house. The prizes were given to those who had the highest number of items in their purse that were on the committee’s list.
The second Wacky Wednesday was April 1, which was opening day for baseball, so the attire was anything related to sports. Of course, being in St. Louis, many sported Cardinal baseball red. The game was sports bingo with many prizes being Cardinal memorabilia.
The next theme was “School Daze,” the attire being anything that carried a school logo, event or even a former school uniform. The game was trivia, Sisters created and submitted the questions and answers for the committee to use!
During the Wacky Wednesday gatherings the sisters are following CDC guidelines and maintaining a 6-foot distance as well as wearing masks.
Related articles: