On Thursday May 7th Oregon Governor Kate Brown held a press conference to update Oregonians about the plans to reopen. Parish leadership began to have conversations about what reopening might look like and how we could be the most safe when our county eventually allows us to hold gatherings both for our parishioners and for our building users. Then this morning, Wednesday May 13th, Bishop Elaine Stanovsky released a statement closing all gatherings and building use until June 15th.
We will not reopen the building or resume in person gatherings until we are sure that there is a plan in place to keep people safe. We will follow the guidelines of the Bishop and the Governor, wanting to honor both the rules of the church and the public health guidelines. We will follow the most stringent of these, meaning if the Bishop says we can gather, but the county doesn’t allow us to gather we won’t gather. And vice versa. If the county gives the al clear and other churches begin gathering we will follow the guidelines of our Bishop if she asks us to remain closed. We as Christians see life as sacred and our paramount goal is to honor and respect each person.
As we do reopen we will continue to offer remote worship experiences so that those at higher risk or those who are not comfortable joining in person can still take part in the sacred gatherings. We also know that our building users’ work around sobriety and support are important to human life, so we want to offer them space to meet when it is safe to do so.
To help us get ready for an eventual opening. sometime in the perhaps distant future, I have ordered masks, bought stands to hold wipes for users to clean spaces before and after gathering, stocked up on hand sanitizer, and have an army of folks hunting for lysol type wipes. We’ve ordered single serve communion packs and are thinking about how worship will be different with no singing or unison speaking.
As a community we gather to worship God, to support one another, to share the good news, and to proclaim light to the world. All of that will be central to our plan to reopen. So for now we think and pray and continue to wait. At least until June 15th and maybe even until this fall or beyond. We live in uncertain times, but through it all we trust in God with us and know that whatever the plans are for reopening we will prioritize the Christ in others and the sacredness of life as people of faith to guide our decision making.
May we all be filled with wisdom and the peace that passes understanding,
-Eilidh
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