Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I'm sure that a number of you who have been following the news have noticed that Governor Northam has opened up the possibility for churches to begin meeting again in a limited fashion after May 15th. In light of this, you may be wondering where this places us. Well, following my weekly meeting with our Bishops, here's where things stand.
Despite the governmental changes, we are going to continue not meeting for in-person worship for the foreseeable future. As the Bishop noted in her address, there's a difference between assuming risk and creating risk. Assuming risk is what we all do when we venture out to a grocery store or somewhere else during this time. We know that there's a possibility of contracting the virus and we assume that risk. Creating risk is purposely setting up a situation where the virus could be spread. That's what we would be doing if we returned to church at this time. We would be creating a situation in which people could be placed at risk, and this would not really be a loving thing to do. So, seeking to act in a loving way, we are going to continue to refrain from in-person worship until such a time that it becomes safe for us to do so.
But that does not mean that there will be no changes. In fact, just yesterday, the Bishop gave approval for all clergy who are under 65 to go back to streaming/recording services from their churches starting May 24th. But there are some conditions to this as well. First, there can be no singing at all. Singing is being shown more and more to be a super-aerosolizer; that is, the force with which air is pushed out of the lungs through singing could cause the virus to project 16ft rather than the 6ft that comes through speaking. This means that singing is quite risky right now. Despite this, though, the playing of music alone is allowed, but that is all.
This brings me to the second condition. If there is anyone in the church with the Priest for streaming/recording, i.e. musicians, lectors, camera persons, everyone must wear a mask for the duration of the service. That means that if I have Rochelle and Darren rejoin me for instrumental music, we all need to wear masks for the whole service. Given that this is the case, and that me wearing a mask might make it difficult for some to hear me, the Vestry and I have decided that for now, I am going to continue going it alone during Morning Prayer on Sunday mornings. I will, following written permission from the Bishop, start streaming from the church again on May 24th, but it will continue to be just be me. I know that some of you are really missing music, as am I, so, in the near future, I will probably have Rochelle record some instrumental music for me to push play on before and after the service, so that I can still be the only person in the building.
This brings me to the third condition. Since I am going to be streaming from the church again, it is vitally important that we keep the church sanitized. So, I am asking people to please stay out of the sanctuary, and, if you do have to go in there for some reason, please make sure that you wipe down everything you touch with disinfectant and wash your hands thoroughly. I am going to make sure that I wipe down the areas that I use after each service on Sunday, and, of course, I will be sure to wash my hands thoroughly.
While I am going to be streaming from church on Sundays, I will most likely continue to stream the weekday services from my home. I will also be continuing to work out of my home for now, and, as always, I am available to talk by phone or email. I am not allowed to do face-to-face meetings or visits at this time.
So those are some of the small changes that we will be making in the near future. Otherwise, please continue to hang in there until we can begin our phased regathering process, which requires 14 steady days of decline before we can begin; we are not there yet. For the safety of everyone, we don't want to rush this process. It is much better to go slowly on this, so that no one is placed at risk.
I hope that you are all safe and doing well. You all remain in my prayers. God's peace to you all!
Yours in Christ,
Kyle+