Dear St. Paul’s,
Yesterday afternoon, Bishop Susan Goff called all the clergy of the Diocese into a video conference to announce that
we were to suspend all worship for the coming two weeks, until March 25.
You may have heard from the
press release
that went out that the Diocese of Maryland and Washington D.C. are taking similar precautions.
The temporary action is intended to minimize opportunities for Coronavirus to spread. This also helps to prevent the spread to more vulnerable populations for whom the disease might be more traumatic. Bishop Goff writes, “
Mathematical models show that the virus is spreading exponentially. We can't stop the spread, but we can slow it, thereby saving lives and helping ensure that our health care system remains effective.
Social distancing
is our best means of slowing the spread.”
Effective immediately, St. Paul’s will cancel all services of public worship.
This includes worship and programming on Sundays.
We have been in touch with the family of Sonny Harris and will sadly need to postpone Sonny’s funeral. According to the guidelines,
we will also cancel the weekday noon services and activities, including the Lenten Lunch Series.
After so much planning, I realize this will come as a huge disappointment to some of you. Our Emmaus ministry will provide to-go bagged lunches for the next two weeks. After March 25, Bishop Goff will re-evaluate the situation and make further decisions about worship going forward.
During this time,
the St. Paul’s office will be closed.
The staff will keep regular hours working from home. Please know that your clergy are here to respond to your pastoral needs or to pastoral emergencies. As always, we are available and can be reached by calling the church office or the pastoral care emergency line
(804) 349-3020.
Be well,
Charlie+
Rector, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
Richmond, Virginia
Preferred pronouns:
he, him, his
