Important Updates About Coming Back to Church

Grace and Peace be with you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

To say that we are in a time of uncertainty would be not only repetitive, but an understatement.  Many of you have reached out to me to say how much you miss church.  You have shared that you had no idea how much you took for granted being able to attend worship in a pew.  I understand and agree.  Many of you have reached out to ask when we will be able to return to worship. Our staff and vestry have been preparing for how this may happen.  Thank you to all who filled out the survey, it was most helpful.

At this point, I write to share that we have submitted our plan for returning to in-person worship to the diocese.  Our timeline will be known when we receive response from the diocese.  For now, we are doing all we can to prepare to offer in-person worship in as safe a way as will be possible.  We will share the adaptations necessary for us to worship together once we get final approval.

All that said, I know many of you don’t feel comfortable coming back to the church at this time.  With the ever-changing statistics around COVID-19 and the high risk involved, it is completely understandable that some of you don’t feel comfortable attending church in person.  Please don’t feel any pressure.  Holy Spirit will be here whenever the time comes for all of us to regather.  We will all approach this liminal period in our own way and there will be no judgment in our community on how you move forward.  Further, not yet attending church in person is not in any way a reflection of the strength of your faith.  This period is temporary and God is steadfast in His love of all of us.

I will have more details for you about what worship will look like once I hear back from the diocese.  I believe it is safe to say that the service will be shorter as all the medical experts advise against long in-person gathering.  We won’t be able to sing hymns together.  We will need your commitment to keeping all our people safe which will be reflected in your compliance with keeping attendance numbers to a limit through an RSVP system, wearing appropriate personal protection equipment, social distancing, etc.  Once we have approval, we will give full details to all who have signed up to attend.  Finally, we will continue to offer on-line worship just as we have been for as long as we need to.

I am praying for all of you and I miss you.  Let the church office know if you need anything.  In the meantime, hold fast to the promise that in God all things will be made new and that our hope is that nothing can keep us from the love of God made known to us in Jesus Christ.

We love you and God loves you.