Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I hope and pray that you are all doing well, and that you are all healthy and acting safely.
First, let me apologize for not getting an email out to you last week. As it is in "this ever-changing world in which we live in" ("Live and Let Die" -- Paul McCartney), I was working through some new directives from the Diocese and wanted to make sure that things were more concrete before I informed you of them. That said, let me give you an update on where things stand with our church. While there's a lot I could address, I'll try to keep it relatively short.
With all of the unrest in the general public and the desire to try to get back to "normal," and with several states now loosening up restrictions (our Commonwealth now taking the first steps in that direction), our Bishops met with us clergy this past week via Zoom to discuss a plan for phased regathering. Put simply, what phased regathering is is this:
1. Each parish is being asked to develop a 3-stage plan for a return to in-person worship. Each of the stages will be a gradual opening up of the church, taking into consideration any governmental directives that may be in place and the continuing need to remain vigilant and take proper precautions during this time. That said, the Vestry and I are currently beginning to work through all the "what-ifs" that might come into play in order to develop this plan. You should all be aware that there are no starting dates or time limits on any of the stages, but the Diocese will be requiring each parish to present a written plan for each of the stages to the Diocese for committee approval before that particular stage can be enacted. The end goal here is that we would return to in-person worship in a way that was at least close to what it was before; there may, of course, be some things that will be different. Needless to say, this is a somewhat complicated task as everyone's safety is of utmost importance, especially since there is currently no vaccine or medication for this illness, and there is a very real possibility for an increase in cases again. All this is to say that we will not be returning to in-person worship quickly. As sad as I am to say that, please note that well. In all honesty, we are realistically looking -- at the very earliest (and I have been told by several people that this is quite optimistic) -- at a return to in-person worship no sooner than the Fall, but it will more likely be longer than that.
2. We cannot even begin the 3-stage process until two things have happened. The Diocese has set up the application review committee (which it is doing right now) and we have had 14 consecutive days of decline in the number of new cases in VA. That means that if we have 13 days and then a spike day, we're back at square one.
So where does that leave us? Well, first, we going to keep on with things as they currently are. During this time, we'll continue to have our services live streamed from my home over Facebook. (I'm also working with a few of our parishioners who don't have computer access to implement a plan for them to participate in the service over the telephone.) Second, we'll continue to have our Sunday morning Adult Ed. class through Zoom. And third, I will continue to be available to you pastorally via telephone, email, and text while I continue to work from my home. (The office will remain closed until we are able to begin implementing the 3-stage plan.) In the meantime, the Vestry and I will be working with the Diocese to develop our own particular plan for phased regathering.
While I miss seeing all of you regularly in-person, I honestly believe that what is most important at the present moment is for us to do all that we can to keep everyone safe and healthy. Rather than acting selfishly because we're antsy and wanting to get out of our homes so that we can do what we want to do, it's important that we act in love during this time for the sake of our neighbors. That means not rushing back to church and thus put people needlessly at risk. This is especially true given that the new "at-risk" age range is 55+, which means a significant number of you are considered "at-risk."
I hope that gives everyone a pretty good sketch of where we are. Please continue to pray for all those who are sick, for the medical professionals who are caring for them, for our governmental leaders that they would act wisely for all us during this time, and for those who are struggling with loss, anxiety, depression, and loneliness. And also, please continue to pray that God would bring this pandemic to an end. You are all in my prayers.
Pax,
Kyle+