Important COVID Restriction Changes at St. Paul’s
Thanks to our conservative safety restrictions and the full cooperation of all of you in this community of faith in the time of COVID-19, St. Paul’s has been a safe place for our children’s programs, for our staff, and for those who have joined us for in-person worship. With the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Governor Wolf’s office lifting most restrictions on public gatherings, St. Paul’s Leadership Team is announcing the following changes to our COVID protocols, effective this weekend:

  • Pre-registration is no longer required to attend in-person worship services.

  • Numerical limits are being lifted on all services, and artificial boundaries are being removed.

  • Masks will continue to be required for indoor services, and out of respect for all parties, voluntary social-distancing should still be practiced.

  • EITHER masks OR social-distancing should be observed at our outdoor services.

  • Children over two years of age and all persons who are not yet vaccinated should wear masks, for protection of the children, and in deference to other unvaccinated youth and adults.

Our state and region have been very successful in the numbers of people vaccinated, and the numbers of COVID infections have continued to drop markedly. IF COVID infection numbers should begin to rise again locally, we may have to retract these protocols, but we are confident that the actions and demeanor of this congregation throughout this crisis will continue to be highly compassionate and cooperative. Let’s all pray this progress continues!

As we open our St. Paul’s welcome wider, please know that your Leadership Team is not taking these actions lightly. We encourage all of you to make your own decisions about safety and attendance until things fully return to “normal.” However, we do feel that it is time for us to heed the latest, more permissive parameters coming from our governmental and public health officials. And we miss you!

This coming weekend, Holy Communion will be celebrated at all services, using gluten-free, individually-packaged Communion elements. If you worship with us via the livestream telecast, you are welcome to stop by the church and retrieve these elements from the basket in the foyer of the Sanctuary entrance, so you may commune with us in “real time” during the livestream presentation.

If you have questions, please reach out to Pastor Jeff or other members of the Leadership Team.