Covid Safety Update

FROM THE RECTOR

Dear St. Paul's:

As a member of the clergy, I never expected to encourage people not to come to church, but, given the rapid rise in Covid cases in our community and new guidelines from public health professionals, I strongly recommend that vulnerable people do exactly that—stay home. As described in the ACHI recommendations found here, I encourage senior citizens and anyone in a household with unvaccinated children or immunocompromised family members to stay away from church for the next few weeks. Likewise, I encourage everyone who is eligible to be vaccinated and boosted. Hopefully this surge will pass soon.

For now, we will continue to offer in-person worship and most of our other ministries, but, for the next two or three weeks, we will stop serving coffee and breakfast on Sundays and dinner on Wednesdays. Community Meals plans to offer to-go meals. Other ministries may be suspended, move to virtual-only, or pivot in other ways, depending on their particular needs. Stay tuned for specific communications from ministry leaders. Given these new guidelines, I expect that many of our volunteers—office workers, kitchen helpers, choir members, acolytes, formation leaders—will need to stay home. Others among us may need to help out in their absence. Please listen for ways that you might help.

The ACHI guidelines recommend that public gatherings, including church services, switch to virtual interactions where possible. At this point, given what I perceive to be an extremely high vaccination rate in our congregation and almost no Covid-hospitalizations among our parishioners, and given the spiritual benefits of taking part in a tangible, sacramental community of faith, I do not think that we need to suspend all in-person activities at this time. If we discover that our programs are contributing to the demands on the healthcare system, we may need to take additional steps. Regardless, many of us will need to stay home, and our clergy and staff will continue to look for ways to keep all of us connected spiritually, virtually, and prayerfully.

Join me in praying for those who are at risk because of Covid and those who put themselves at risk for the sake of others. If you feel isolated from our church community, please let me know. The clergy, staff, and I want to foster those deep connections upon which many of us depend, and we need your help knowing how best to do that.

Yours Faithfully,

Evan