Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Grace and peace to you! I hope that you are all safe and doing well, and staying (relatively) sane during this time. I certainly miss seeing all of you on a regular basis, but I hope and trust that a day is coming soon when we can all be together again.
I wanted to take a few minutes to address two things with you. First, I wanted to let you all know that despite the reopening of a number of churches in our area this past weekend, we are still not ready to take that step just yet. The Diocese is currently working hard to develop guidelines for a plan that would allow us to return safely in a limited capacity and not place anyone at risk. After that, it will the responsibility of myself and Vestry to develop a parish plan that will then need approval from the Diocese before we can take any action on it. This is not an easy task. I know from doing some of this work that the more you look at distancing guidelines and other restrictions, the more you realize how many things will be affected and how tricky it is to get anything moving forward in a safe way. So, I would ask all of you to please be patient with this process. Once the guidelines are available and our parish plan gets worked up and approved, then we will be able to start returning in a limited way, but all this might not be for quite some time still. So hang in there.
Second, I want to say thank you to all of you who have been keeping up with your pledges and giving so faithfully! Overall, given our circumstances, we are sticking pretty close to our budget in terms of income and our expenses are quite low right now. That said, in order that things stay this way, I want to encourage you all to remember to keep up your giving during this time. If you haven't been contributing and would like to, the best way for you to do so is to write out a check and mail it to the church office. The mail is still getting checked regularly, so your check will be received. Another good option is to talk with your bank about setting up automatic withdrawal. The bank will cut a check and send it to the church on your behalf, in which case you don't need to remember to do so.
Well, that's all from me for right now. Please remember to keep praying for those who are sick and for the medical professionals who are caring for them. Pray for the speedy development of a vaccine and medication, and also for an end to the pandemic. Remember that God has this whole situation in His control and He will see us through. We have nothing to ultimately fear. Stay safe and well. God's peace to you all!
Yours in Christ,
Kyle+