Hi folks,
For a while, it seemed like summer would never come. This long, cool spring that we had in the midst of these panicked times have required creative resilience from all of us. With Memorial Day weekend upon us, it seems the month of May has flown by. It has been a long stretch between my pastoral letters, and I have a few updates to share in this one with you.
With Church Council's blessing, I convened a COVID 19 Task Force this past week. I asked for a small group of wise folks with appropriate backgrounds to help me sort through the overwhelming guidelines, articles, advice and data that is coming across my desk. Mike Turner (retired doctor), Merle Taylor (nurse, who works with a community home-health agency), and Dave Holden (retired city administrator) were of great counsel and partnership this week. My thanks to them. We reported back to Council what we discussed, and now I'm writing to share those decisions with you.
The COVID 19 Task Force began by affirming our first principle in caring for community, which was “to do no harm”, but also looked at current infection rates, and a plethora of guidance from our denomination, surrounding UCC conferences, and the Council of Churches in MA and NH, and beyond.
First,
we will
not
resume in-person worship inside the building or in Cate Park for the duration of the summer.
We will assess the risk factors for the fall, and let you know towards the end of the summer. With an increased population in town, and many other contagion concerns that have not at all changed, it is the best way to keep the community strong and safe, and as healthy as possible.
Second,
we will be sending word to outside groups that our building will be unavailable for use for the foreseeable future.
Our priority will be taking appropriate measures and safety precautions to resume using the building for our own congregation and its ministries. Once that can happen, it will probably be some time thereafter before it is safe enough to expand the use of space to outside groups again.
Third, there are a handful of essential folks that need to be able to come in/out of the building, largely staff members. In order to keep those people as safe as possible, we need to severely limit the number of other people who are still coming in/out of the building. With the cleaning company suspended, the building is not being regularly cleaned with the same attention. The task force is concerned with the increased number of people in downtown Wolfeboro, and the percentage of folks in the community that have an access code to the building. It’s tempting to pop into the church to use a restroom, etc. The only effective way to strictly limit the in/out of traffic is to suspend access to the building, except upon request. Therefore,
we are going to wipe out ALL the access codes in the keyless entry box.
Essential folks will retain access-codes that work.
If you need to come into the building for something,
please make a specific request on a given time & day
,
you can email/text Gina or Krista. If there is any question about a certain request, it will go to the task force for consideration. (This new process is in keeping with how lots of schools and other community organizations are managing facilities during this time). An accepted request will be assigned a temporary access code that will automatically expire after a given number of hours.
Take a breath. This is a lot of information and news.
For me, these decisions stir emotions of both relief, and a new level of sadness. I had held onto the hope that summer days might offer a respite from restrictions and distancing, and contagion... which is not so. The nature of our seasonality, makes our risks increase during these months, not decrease.
For now, that's the news I have to share with you. I have some vision and plans about what the summer might look like for us in this prolonged estrangement.
Watch for a Chimes newsletter to come out by mid-week next week, and I will offer a few teasers about fellowship gatherings, and ways to keep us connected over the next set of months.
One of the things that has helped me to stay positive has been to identify things I can look forward to, no matter how near or far away they are. For me, starting in the fall, I have agreed to help out my alma mater, Phillips Academy Andover, as a chaplain in a very limited capacity. Like many educational campuses, they are in a fair amount of uncertainty and transition, and asked if I would serve in a one-year, part-time role to offer a weekly Sunday evening worship, and a weekly study group for students. At this point, whether school resumes in-person or online is still an unknown.
When I am overwhelmed these days, my solace is always found in nature. Basking in it. Contemplating it from inside the comfort of my home. Digging in the soil. Watching herbs grow. Taking long and leisurely walks. Trying not to miss the beauty all around me. Summer will indeed arrive. It will be different, and perhaps slower than usual. There may be a hidden gift in that!
Blessings,
Pastor Gina
(207) 239-7796
p.s. Please do remember to send in your offering,
to the best of your ability! Krista is still checking the post office box. Our counters are still processing checks and depositing them. We have expenses at church that continue, even if we are not gathering in person. With thanks...
