Why are other groups using our building while we have not yet regathered for worship?

Several folks have raised this question, and it’s a good one.  Here’s what’s going on:  As you know, the decision about when to regather for worship is to be made by the vestry, with the final say coming from me as rector.  Our vestry is in ongoing conversation about considerations that shape our timing, including local COVID statistics; input from health care professionals; parishioner responses to the summertime survey about regathering; and lots of prayer.  Simultaneously, we are working on a regathering plan which will need to be approved by Bishop Susan before we can come back to the building for worship.  The vestry meets again on September 15 and will continue our prayerful discernment about regathering.  All of us miss being able to worship together in our beautiful sanctuary.

Meanwhile, Marc has diligently been working with at least five different groups interested in using our Community Outreach space, and we are eager to bring that aspect of our ministry to life.  Many parishes host outside groups, and the diocesan regathering guidelines address the question of whether or not those groups should be allowed to use the building.  Churches are asked first to consider limiting or eliminating the availability of the church facility for outside groups, but if parishes decide to move forward—and I have made that decision, in consultation with Marc and with Bishop Susan—then outside groups are to adhere to the same COVID safety standards that we ourselves will eventually be using when we regather in person for worship:  social distancing, masks, sanitizing, and all applicable CDC and Virginia Department of Health guidelines.

So why are we inviting others to use our space before we ourselves come back into the building?  Because the leaders of each program have discerned for themselves that meeting in person is the right choice at this time for their programs (just as our vestry has not yet reached that decision for our own in-person worship); because the primary “clientele” of building users is children, not adults, and the risk of becoming infected with COVID is less severe for that age group than for the general church population; and because our building users will be providing much-needed services to local children and their families in this difficult time.

To borrow phrasing from Canoeing the Mountains, we are in uncharted territory these days, trying to navigate the pandemic with faith and grace, making the best decisions we can moment by moment.  Please keep the vestry and me in your prayers in this endeavor, and know that you are in ours. 

Blessings,

Anne