As 2020 Draws to a Close and Looking to 2021!
Perhaps the question I am asked most often is, “When will we open up the church for worship again?”. My answer is typically something like this, “Our session has adopted a policy and chosen to be safe rather than sorry. At the present time with the age of our congregation it is still too dangerous. We would rather err on the side of safety. The one thing we do not want to have to do is open up for a few weeks and then have to close again.” When we do return to in-person- worship, we will keep our virtual services going. With the help of a grant from our Peace River Presbytery, we are acquiring the technology to do both at the same time.
The new year brings hope and encouragement. Our time together again for worship is getting closer. The development of effective vaccines is something I thank God for every day. As critical as vaccines are, the most critical thing is getting people vaccinated. It appears that will take some time. Most of our congregation falls in the 1b category set out by the CDC which follows the category of doctors, nurses, hospital staff and people in nursing homes. Almost all of the rest of us fall in category 1c. Again, this will take some time, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it is not an oncoming train.
We all want to gather again, and that time is closer than it ever has been for the last nine months. But it is during this time of anticipation that we need to maintain our vigilance and not make the sacrifices of the last six to nine months for naught. We will gather together at the earliest and safest moment.
In the meantime, we will be looking at possible “baby steps” to take at first. There are 3 such steps that come to mind. One of these is opening our Thrift Store on a limited basis. Lorna and I have talked a bit about some possibilities that may be workable and safe. We will pursue this more in the coming weeks.
A second possible step is extending an invitation for a limited number of people to come and sit in our sanctuary during the recording our music recording sessions. The limit will be 8-10 people. The folks already involved in these sessions find them meaningful and helpful and would like to extend the opportunity to others (not to sing but to listen and be able to see others). The logistics need to be worked out. At that point we will share them with you.
A third is 6-8 people coming together in the annex. We were going to try this earlier in the fall but then things began to heat up with COVID-19 and we decided to wait until it was safer. Hopefully, sometime in the next month or 2 it will be safe enough. At first this could be a time to talk about your experience of the last 9+ months. It could also include some future question-and-answer sessions, special speakers or study topics. There are lots of possibilities for this kind of small group arrangement.
Mask wearing and a quick temperature check will be a requirement for all three options and any other creative ideas that bubble up.
As we move cautiously into this new year, I would like to remind you with an abbreviated version of our Session’s policy statement adopted in June of this year.
Abbreviated Statement
The decision to return to worship together in person will be made with a commitment first and foremost to the safety of our congregation and any and all who join us in worship. The second foundational aspect of our decision will be based upon the wisdom of doctors and science -- and not on our personal desires or what other churches may or may not be doing. These experts remind us that gathering together to worship, at this time, even with social distancing, is still a significantly higher risk activity than many other activities we can now do more safely wearing masks and observing social distancing.
We long for the time we can safely worship together. In the meantime, we will creatively look for other ways we can come together even in smaller groups -- observing the appropriate social distancing and encouraging the wearing of masks as appropriate.
Palmetto Presbyterian Session June 2020
As challenging as these past months have been, we have adapted to the changing times. That is the mark of a healthy congregation with dedicated people.
Grace and Peace, John