Wednesday, June 3, 2020

When will we be able to worship together in the sanctuary?


Dear friends,

Thanks to the hard work of our Bishop Susan Haynes and the diocesan Re-Gathering Panel, we have received the guidelines that each parish in our diocese must follow in order to regather for worship in our buildings. The guidelines are available here.  They are extensive, as they should be.

Your vestry and staff, guided by our Health and Safety Officer Joel Duregger, will work together to ensure that we meet every part of the established guidelines. Our ultimate concern is safety—yours, ours, and those outside our church for whom our decision has ramifications.

Please note that no Episcopal Church in our diocese may re-open a building for worship until there has been a statewide 14-day consecutive decline in new COVID-19 cases. Other requirements include agreement among clergy and vestry about our readiness to regather; and approval from the Bishop of a detailed reopening plan. We at St. Andrew’s are beginning to work on creating that plan and meeting the various requirements outlined in the diocesan guidelines.

All of this is to say: we are not yet at a point when we can state a specific regathering date.  

The only thing I can say for sure about timing is that the earliest possible date would be sometime in late July, although I don’t think even that is probable, given all that we need to consider and do before the building can reopen. 

I know this is hard news—sad and disappointing and frustrating. I miss you, and I very much miss being able to worship God together in person in our beautiful sanctuary. I, too, feel sad and disappointed and frustrated. 

I also feel responsible. At our Celebration of New Ministry in May of 2017, when I was installed as your rector, I prayed: May all the desires of my heart and will center in what you would have me do. Make me an instrument of your salvation for the people entrusted to my care (BCP, 562). Each of you is precious—to God, and to me. The decision about when to regather in person for worship is not one that I or any of the other faithful leaders here at St. Andrew’s is taking lightly.

Please hold me and all of our vestry and staff in your prayers as we strive to prepare for an eventual return to our beloved building, and know that we are praying for you, as well. Remember that we continue to be the Church even while we are not able to gather. God is with us, wherever we are, even to the ends of the earth.  

May you feel God’s love and presence surrounding you right now.

Every blessing,
Anne

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