𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁
𝗖𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝘃𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗹

The Covid-19 pandemic has been challenging us as individuals and as a nation since last February. Think back at the changes we have experienced in our culture. I was watching a college football game back from 1969. One of my thoughts was, “Those people are standing too close together!”We were recently notified that one of our church members tested positive for Covid-19. Although the individual was asymptomatic, the person did have some contact with others in our church during some church activities. This demanded a great deal of effort by all involved to respond to the situation including testing and even some being quarantined.We are thankful that no one else was infected but this circumstance demanded that we review what we are doing as a church. I can’t imagine the impact on our church if the virus had spread to others. From time to time, individuals and organizations change their course or direction to make a correction to ensure they arrive at their planned destination. These course corrections are normally based on storms or changing environmental conditions that necessitates taking action by the organization. The Pilgrims were supposed to land at the colony of Virginia, but a storm had driven them north landing at Plymouth in Massachusetts. They had to adjust and make changes to move forward.We as a church have recently experienced a storm that demanded that we review our procedures and make some necessary course corrections to ensure that we arrive at our desired destination. To be clear, our desired destination is: To provide a safe environment for our congregation to gather that minimizes the risk of transmission of the covid-19 virus to our attenders and potential transmission to at risk groups in their families.After reviewing the event, our current practices are not strong enough. For example, since our reopening back in June, masks have been optional and social distancing has not always been strictly enforced.The pastors and elders have approved the following changes to minimize the potential for transmission of the virus.
𝟏. 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝟓𝟎%
𝟐. 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠
𝟑. 𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 – 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲.
𝟒. 𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐬 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠
𝟓. 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝟑𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐝 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲.
I recognize that there are some who will not like this decision. To be honest with you, I don’t like wearing masks. But I am not wearing the mask for me but for others. I can’t tell you how many calls I received from people worried that they had been exposed. By definition, exposure means being within 6 ft of someone infected without a mask for more than 15 minutes.Masks have become a part of our everyday life.
• I have disposable mask in almost every pocket in my closet
• We can’t go into the Wegmans, Tops, Home Depot, Stewarts, and other stores without a mask.
• When we go to a restaurant, we have to wear a mask in and out.
• It only makes sense that our church practices would be consistent with what everyone else is doing when we are indoors.
The pastors and elders recognize that there are differences of opinion concerning some of the protective measures that are recommended to minimize the spread of the virus. The driving force for these measures are the injunction from Jesus, “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟.” (𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝟏𝟐:𝟑𝟏) Feel free to contact the pastors or elders to discuss these changes and provide your input. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter. We also encourage you to pray for our nation and for our church as we seek to navigate these challenging times.

Pastor Ken