June 24, 2021
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Over the course of the past fifteen months, our staff has worked diligently to ensure the safety of our parishioners as we navigated through the unprecedented challenges related to the global pandemic. Throughout this process, we have sought to be faithful to the biblical mandate to love thy neighbor, and to care for the most vulnerable among us, which means we have often taken a more cautious approach and adapted more slowly to the rapidly shifting pandemic landscape. The staff and I are grateful for the support and encouragement we have received as we faced difficult decisions and sought to overcome often unforeseen obstacles.
As of the writing of this letter, our local region is experiencing two very encouraging trends: vaccination rates are high and the rate of new infections in low. In response to these positive signs, the following changes to our COVID-19 policies and procedures will go into effect beginning of July 1, 2021:
Mask-Wearing
Beginning in July, all fully vaccinated individuals will no longer be required to wear a mask on campus. However, all unvaccinated individuals are required to wear a mask for their own protection and that of others. This policy will be effective campus wide and will include Pennies for Heaven and all other pre-approved small group gatherings.
Congregational Singing
Also beginning in July, we will reintroduce limited congregational singing during the 10:00 AM service on Sunday mornings. For the month of July, the congregation will be encouraged to join in the singing of the Opening and Closing hymns. The other service music and anthems will continue to be sung by our Cantors. A more complete set of liturgical changes will be introduced in August in preparation for the beginning of our new program year.
We will continue to closely monitor the local health metrics and make any adjustments to our policies as needed. New signage will be placed around campus to reflect the current changes. Once again, thank you for your faithfulness and perseverance over the course of the past year. Good Shepherd is blessed to be a vibrant spiritual and educational community – with God all things are possible!
In Christ,
Doug+
