My siblings in Christ,
For the past twelve months we have journeyed together through one of the most difficult periods of recent history. As your shepherd, I have prayed with you, laughed with you, cried with you, yet above all I have watched with pride as you have risen to meet the challenge of this pandemic in creative and faithful ways. Even as we enter into Lent, the promise of new life and hope is on the horizon. Tens of thousands in our region are being vaccinated daily and the number of cases continues to fall. Therefore, bearing in mind that it is still always safer not to gather, we will move into a modified version of our Phase II protocols starting March 6th. At that time churches may increase in-person worship capacity to 30 percent with all other Phase II protocols in place. Guidance for outreach ministry remains unchanged.
As has been our practice, if you have a particular circumstance that would require exceeding these limits, I will consider them on a case-by-case basis. Please email me directly, copying Canon Shawn Wamsley, swamsley@diopa.org and Canon Kirk Berlenbach, kberlenbach@diopa.org.
As we look towards Holy Week and Easter, we will continue to closely monitor the numbers with the hope of continuing to increase capacity for those sacred days. We will offer additional guidance on this next week.
In terms of the vaccine, we are excited to announce that we are finalizing details for a vaccination clinic for clergy and other essential church staff to be held on March 13th with a backup date of March 27th. For vaccine related questions please contact Canon Toneh Smyth, tsmyth@diopa.org.
As we continue our journey, we look forward in hope to the joy of Easter. You are in my daily prayers and I am both grateful and proud of all we have accomplished. Together we will do even greater things in the name of Jesus Christ.
In Christ,
