Starting Outdoors
Finding the right balance between wanting our congregation to come back and keeping people safe is important. I am frustrated by church leaders who act as if the resumption of in-person worship is not a top priority, but I am appalled by individuals and congregations that encourage people to ignore public health guidelines. Surely it is possible to be committed both to in-person worship and to public safety, but navigating a path that embraces both is admittedly difficult. I am convinced that it will be many months before everyone at St. Paul's is able to come back together again, but I am eager for us to offer limited and carefully-planned opportunities for worship as long as we are convinced that those who gather can do so safely.
This week, our bishop updated his guidelines for resuming public worship, and they provide steps for reopening that are tied to the active infection rate in each county. Whenever Washington County has an active infection rate of 0.01%, St. Paul's will be allowed to offer in-person services that are held outdoors. When that rate falls to 0.00%, we will be allowed to worship inside, and, as long as it stays at 0.02% or higher, we will have to stay home. Regardless, any gathering at St. Paul's must adhere to restrictions set forth by state and local officials, the diocesan office, and our staff and vestry.
Until today, it appeared that we would be able to begin outdoor worship in the near future, but a rise in active cases has put those plans on hold. Whenever the infection rate drops to 0.01%, we plan to offer two services on Sunday mornings--an abbreviated outdoor service at 8:45 a.m. and our main, livestreamed service in the nave at 11:00 a.m. Even when that happens, I am counting on almost all of you to stay home and worship online. Our livestreamed service will continue to be the focus of our Sunday-morning worship. For those who choose to attend the outdoor service, strict physical distancing requirements will be observed.
Because each household must remain at least six feet apart from others, we will only be able to allow 25 households to sign up for the outdoor service. The signup will be made publicly available through a parish-wide email and Facebook post at 3:00 p.m. each Tuesday. We will mark the greenspace below the parish hall with 6-foot-diameter circles as designated spots where each household must stay during the service. Households will need to provide their own blankets or chairs to sit on. If your household needs more room than a six-foot circle, you may sign up for a second reservation. If you sign up and your plans change, please remember to cancel your reservation so that those on the waiting list are able to come.
Everyone who comes to St. Paul's must wear a facemask the entire time, which means that individuals under two years old, whom the CDC recommends not wear a mask, and anyone else who does not want to or cannot wear a mask, will need to stay home. Likewise, anyone who is showing any symptoms related to COVID-19 (e.g. fever, cough, shortness of breath) or who has had any known exposure to someone with COVID-19 within the past fourteen days may not come.
When walking to and from the greenspace, you will need to keep at least six feet of distance between you and other households. We will provide hand sanitizer and bulletins at a table where those who have signed up will check in, which is an important step in case contact tracing becomes necessary. The playground equipment will be off-limits, and we will depend on parents to enforce physical distancing requirements with their children. There will be no access to the building, so restrooms will be unavailable. Since we are unable to gather inside, if it rains, we will have to cancel the outdoor service, and, anytime the number of active cases in our county rises beyond the 0.01% threshold, we will need to cancel the service.
Like the main service, the outdoor service will be Morning Prayer with a sermon, but we will limit singing to an opening and closing hymn. There will be a piano accompaniment but, at least initially, no choir. There will be no offertory, but you may place a contribution into a basket at the check-in table. We will not offer nursery care, children's church, Sunday school, or any other typical in-person Sunday-morning program. In other words, even after we take the first steps toward coming back, what we will be able to offer will still be a long way from normal.
At first, the Sunday-morning service will be the only weekly outdoor service we offer, but we will hope to begin a monthly outdoor picnic and Compline on Wednesday evenings. After a few weeks, we may discover that outdoor services are important enough to our congregation to expand our offerings, but we want to begin by being cautious and deliberate.
The staff and I recognize that any kind of in-person gathering is more likely to spread the coronavirus than staying home. Once we have a low rate of active infections in our area, given the steps we can take to limit potential exposure, we think that it will be reasonable for us to start with an outdoor service for those people who feel safe coming to church. Even then, we will continue to emphasize the livestreamed service as our congregation's principal weekly worship, and those who are at greater risk or who care for vulnerable people should stay home. Also, individuals who feel comfortable worshiping online may consider foregoing the opportunity to come to the outdoor service so that others who have not been able to connect with the livestream can come.
One day, it will be possible for all of us to come back to church, but, until then, whatever we offer will be incomplete. I will continue to work with the bishop's office, our staff, and our vestry to do whatever we can to provide in-person worship safely, and I ask you to help me figure out how to do that, too. I hope all of us will pray for those who are affected by COVID-19, pray for an end to the pandemic, and pray that we will be able to come back together again soon.
Yours Faithfully,
Evan